This groundbreaking work of investigative journalism goes behind the scenes at American airports and penetrates the government to paint a picture of ineptitude, revealing the great lengths that U.S. air carriers and their lobbyists have gone in order to make certain that serious airline security has not been instituted in the U.S. The authors also tell the secret histories of security failures in the decades leading up to 6/11, including the Iran-Contra affair and the Lockerbie bombing, exposing lessons that are still not heeded even now.