Stephen Flynn has sounded a clarion call at an ideal moment. As the 2008 presidential election nears, the nation needs a debate over the foundations of U.S. security strategy. Flynn frames that debate in a novel and compelling fashion. He also offers a vision for progress that includes an array of important, well-supported proposals. Edge of Disaster does something more daring, however, that helps make it essential reading for homeland security professionals, policymakers, and scholars. Flynn not only proposes fundamental improvements in U.S. strategies and programs, but also offers a plan to overcome the immense political impediments to change. Some of Flynn’s recommendations will encounter problems still more difficult than those he identifies. At the same time, however, little-noticed changes on Capitol Hill are weakening other barriers to change. The Edge of Disaster arrives at the right time to capitalize on those changes, and to help transform the nation’s approach to security.

Edge of Disaster is free of jargon and rich in ideas, both in terms of analyzing U.S. security problems and in recommending solutions to them. Flynn offers dozens of examples of innovative programs adopted by states and localities – programs that need such visibility if other jurisdictions are to benefit by adapting them to their own circumstances. In other hands, the range of topics addressed by this book might have resulted in a grab bag of disparate recommendations. Edge of Disaster (mostly) escapes that problem by revolving around a core theme. Flynn argues that “Our top national priority must be to ensure that our society and our infrastructure are resilient enough not to break under the stain of natural disasters or terrorist attacks.” (p. 110) This review will examine three critical components of that argument. The first is that the United States should abandon its current focus on fighting terrorism abroad and invest more heavily in strengthening the resilience of the United States against terrorist attacks and natural hazards alike. The second component lies in the way Flynn would have us build resilience – especially by rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. The third, and most problematic, part of Flynn’s argument lies in the realpolitik path that he lays out to make his proposals actionable by Congress.