This book outlines the many ways in which those studying the information received, knew that something big was going to happen, but where and when could not be determined.

The author outlines the many organizations involved, some of whom did not share information when needed. After the bombing of the Twin Towers in New York City, the FBI and NYPD (New York Police Department) did not work together.

The book started out well, but mid way - the end, I got bogged down with too many names, too many details not clearly written.

Having said that, still, I would recommend it. ( )

Veteran FBI Agent Keith Slotter has chosen to discuss John Miller, Michael Stone, and Chris Mitchell’s “The Cell ", on FiveBooks (http://five-books.com) as one of the top five on his subject - The FBI and Crime, saying that:
“…This book really focused on the decade building up to 9/11 and it talks about many of the plots that occurred, all leading up to 9/11. The FBI, MI5 and MI6 were all trying to get their arms around what was going on in their desperation to try to piece together where this was going, and then 9/11 kind of happened out of the blue. …”
The full interview is available here:
http://thebrowser.com/books/interviews/keith-slotter ( )

I think books like The Cell are important and need to be read to remind us of the message sent loud and clear by terrorists on 9/11. I believe, particularly at this time with a new liberal administration in Washington, DC, the message of 9/ll has been trivialized. As a result, the work of those people who protect the US from further attacks on America is buried and lost with little appreciation given to those who work very hard to keep our country safe and our population alive. What possible difference could a several trillion dollar increase in budget spending with a so-called "stimulus package" that isn't really going to stimulate much beyond bigger government going to make if all that's left of our country is destroyed buildings and dead citizens.
The Cell traces the beginning of the invasion of terrorism into the United States through small groups/cells set up by radical islamic fundmentalists to its ultimate success in the attack of 9/11 in the US. What I liked most about this particular book was the lack of finger pointing. I've read other books about 9/11 wherein authors were not as interested in educating people about how such terrorism begins and spreads but instead wanted to nail down blame and make it stick with all the dedication of a dog gnashing his teeth into a ham bone. That particular stance serves no purpose in my view. We need to be aware of how terrorism works, how it's funded, how it recruits new members, and what kind of tools we need to stop it. The Cell not only examines how 9/11 happened, I believe the book also points out what we need to do to keep it from happening again. Unfortunately, I believe the current government has lost sight of this significant message. ( )

Good depiction of the terror path that lead to 9/11, although the FBI role in the TWA 800 cover-up was completely whitewashed. It was the only disappointing section in the book.