Cold Zero

July 23, 2001
This close-up look at the FBI's most elite unit by a 15-year veteran—including firsthand accounts of actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge—is alternately funny, exciting and disturbing. With his liberal arts background and experience as a D.C. speechwriter, Whitcomb was an unusual candidate for special agent. Currently director of information management for the Bureau's Critical Incident Response Group, he recounts his 1980s epiphany, following a State of the Union address, that he wanted to help preserve American democracy; he chose the FBI as his medium. He details the tricky, competitive process of becoming an agent, and humorously recalls how, as a cocky, ambitious FNG ("fucking new guy"), he clashed with his conservative superiors, yet soon valued their expertise as he chased an assortment of fugitives, bank robbers and kidnappers from a rural Missouri field office. He details these cases and his own growing expertise, then depicts with gallows humor the "physical and emotional hell" of applying to join the Hostage Rescue Team's (HRT). He succeeded and became a sniper, and offers excellent insight into the science and mindset of this rarefied killing art. In skillful prose, Whitcomb upholds the FBI's party line. Alongside sharp observations of the rituals and absurdities of federal law enforcement, he fiercely espouses an unreconstructed "thin blue line" philosophy whereby he perceives figures such as David Koresh and Randy Weaver simply as evil men and incompletely addresses civic disillusionment with the Bureau following Waco, Ruby Ridge and the FBI crime lab scandals. Still, Whitcomb ably portrays conflicts between the agency's factions—Washington bureaucrats, profilers and negotiators, and the gung-ho HRT—during these major crises. This valuable book makes a compelling read for armchair G-men everywhere. (Sept. 13)Forecast:There's always a market for insider FBI stories, and Whitcomb's involvement in the controversial Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents gives this one extra currency. A six-city author tour and print advertising in major newspapers should lead to brisk sales.

May 15, 2001
An insider's look at the FBI's crack Hostage Rescue Team.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2001
A member of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, Whitcomb's detailed, firsthand knowledge of the team's hairraising experiences in such highprofile missions as Ruby Ridge and Waco helps to offset his somewhat awkward prose style. The book isn't badly written, by any means, it's just a little bland. Like a secondstring toughguy novel, there is plenty of action and energy but little finesse. Still, it's a fascinating story, a closeup look at a group of agents whose job requires them to put their lives on the line so the lives of others may be saved. Controversy often surrounds the work of the HRT, and while Whitcomb, of course, is not an objective analyst, he does offer valuable information about why the group does what it does. Expect this account to generate interest from those on both sides of the arguments over Waco and similar incidents.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)