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Tribe

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CIA officer Harry Brennan runs afoul of the CIA's leadership and the White House after they shut down Operation TALISMAN, aimed at giving a knockout blow to al-Qaeda, with no explanation. Harry's life is in danger. Worse, so is that of his daughter, Laurie, who is kidnapped by Islamist terrorists in Yemen. Harry Brennan sets out to expose a conspiracy and in doing so, save his daughter's life. In Yemen to rescue Laurie, Harry becomes the target of Predator drone missiles--aimed by his CIA boss... Written by a former insider and censored by the U.S. government, TRIBE resonates with authenticity rarely seen in the political thriller genre.

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 16, 2011

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About the author

James Bruno

13 books18 followers
James Bruno is the author of four bestselling books. He has been featured on NBC's Today Show, CNN, Fox News, SiriusXM Radio, in The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, and other national and international media. His spy-mob thriller PERMANENT INTERESTS and CHASM, a thriller about war criminals, have landed simultaneously on three Amazon Kindle Bestseller lists, including #1 in Political Fiction and #1 in Spy Stories. They were joined by TRIBE, a political thriller centered on Afghanistan. HAVANA QUEEN is an espionage thriller set in Cuba. THE FOREIGN CIRCUS, a book of satirical essays on U.S. foreign policy is also an Amazon bestseller. Mr. Bruno is a contributor to POLITICO Magazine and Washington Monthly, and an instructor at ThrillerFest.

Mr. Bruno served as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State for twenty-three years and currently is a member of the Diplomatic Readiness Reserve, subject to worldwide duty on short notice. Mr. Bruno holds M.A. degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Columbia University, and a B.A. from George Washington University.

His assignments have included Cuba, Guantanamo Naval Base (as liaison with the Cuban military), Pakistan/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Washington, DC. He has spent ample time at the White House and has served in a Secret Service presidential protection detail overseas. He also knows the Pentagon, CIA and other foreign affairs agencies well.

The author is honored to have been denounced by name recently by the Castro propaganda machine for his latest thriller, "Havana Queen."

Based on his experiences, James Bruno's novels possess an authenticity rarely matched in the political thriller genre. His political commentary in POLITICO, Fox News, Washington Monthly, SiriusXM Radio and foreign media has won national and international attention. If you like taut, suspense-filled thrillers written by someone who has actually been at the center of the action, read James Bruno's books. You will not be disappointed!

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Jim Crocker.
211 reviews28 followers
January 4, 2019
Although written some seven years ago in 2011, the characters in TRIBE can easily be substituted with a host of contemporary candidates drawn from our (2019) now-ensconced politicians and cabinet appointees with no trouble at all. What I am saying is that the “truths” unveiled and highlighted in TRIBE back in 2011, stand as well or “better” today as they did then.

Right off, we meet our Holy Trinity:
** Oil = Father
** Democracy = Son
** Free Market = Holy Spirit

But the book also sports a good measure of "fun and games," as well:

“Inside I am confronted with a stripped-down Shari straddling Norfolk who is holding onto a two-door safe like a bronco buster, his pants jacked down to his ankles.”

Fortunately, I was not drinking coffee when I read that passage.

However, my take-away quote is a little more serious:

“The true masterminds are money and power. It’s as simple as that.”

The setting, of course, is Afghanistan. And the timeless question remains: What are we doin’ there?

Thank you, James Bruno, for this fascinating peek behind the curtain. Bruno’s writing in TRIBE is timeless and poignant as ever.

Cheers!
JIM in MT
http://adamjames.blackdogebooks.com/
2 reviews1 follower
November 29, 2011
James Bruno’s political thrillers are smart, fast-paced and true-to-life, marked by riveting suspense and multi-faceted characters you either love or hate. In Tribe, expect to find all of these ingredients in spades. His focus – Afghanistan, corporate greed and a presidential election – are straight from today’s headlines. It’s a page-turner you won’t be able to put down. I was so engrossed reading it I almost missed a plane.

Bruno’s world is of power and spies, secrets and lies. He leads the reader into a chiaroscuro setting of clandestine operations and political double-dealing that is simultaneously entertaining and frightening. In Tribe, we have a cynical but honorable CIA officer, Harry Brennan, whose operation to eliminate al-Qaeda and defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan is inexplicably scuttled by higher-ups. After bucking orders and proceeding with the operation anyway, Brennan is reprimanded and reassigned to Washington where he gets sucked into a world of big shots playing their power and sex games (including the femme fatale who boosts Brennan’s career as she beds him), and some of the slimiest, most believable Washington political villains you've ever witnessed dissembling on the news talk shows. Bruno’s eerily accurate depictions of the Beltway power demimonde gives the reader a crash course in how cynically our spies and politicians play their games, heedless of the lives and deaths of others. And Brennan’s sleuthing to uncover the truth behind the decision to abort his Afghanistan mission keeps the reader guessing throughout the story.

From his bio, it is clear the author is steeped in the hardball ways of Washington politics and national security. Frankly, I think we get more real life insight in a Bruno thriller than in a typical Bob Woodward tell-all; yes, our ruling class is just as manipulative, hard-nosed and corrupt as you thought it was, including those who rise to the top in the opaque world of spy agencies. Bruno describes them vividly as they blithely destroy careers, lives and countries in pursuit of their own ends. He has outdone himself with Tribe, and I hope he writes fast, because I'm already getting impatient to read the next one.
Profile Image for Dale Day.
Author 22 books1 follower
September 8, 2011
A novel of international intrigue and political maneuvering, this is something I highly recommend to all.

Harry Brennan, a mid-level CIA analyst and operative, becomes embroiled in a mission to wipe out the Taliban in Afghanistan From the onset, he senses something wrong, especially when he's told that headquarters has canceled the mission. To support a Mujahideen leader – and friend, Brennan goes ahead with the operation. After wiping out the Taliban camp, the Mujahideen warriors are counter-attacked and seriously decimated. Brenna has no doubt that someone at the highest levels of the US government has betrayed the Afghan fighters.

Harry Brennan is, without a doubt, the equal of Tom Clancey's Jack Ryan, David Baldacci's Oliver Stone, and Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt. He is, at first, thrown to the CIA wolves, finds himself then moved to a high-level Top Secret group, meets a society firefly who introduces him to the highest levels of government and the private community, especially executives of oil companies seeking to gain access to unlimited oil in the “stan” nations now free of Russian domination.

As a writer, I find myself jealous of Mister Bruno's skills as a story teller. He has sucked me into the sights, sounds and touch of the novel. His use of words goes beyond the limits of just telling a story – he shows it to us! Here is just one small sample of his work:

“Washington between November and March is simply rotten. Damp cold seals the city like a sarcophagus. Advancing winter makes its bitter presence felt by wreaking ice and snow squalls on a city JFK described as combining southern efficient and northern charm. Snow removal isn't contained in the local DNA. The self-absorbed citizens barrel down the metropolis's unplowed thoroughfares like kamikaze pilots. Leaving the office nights at nine therefore, doesn't irk me so much in this dismal time of the year. The days stink and I shiver, not of cold, but at the mere thought of the demolition derby rush-hour in a vast urban skating rink.”

The Tribe can be found @ http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B005D...
and is available in Kindle Edition and Paperback.

James has also written “Chasm” and “Permanent Interests.”

I easily give The Tribe a five-star review and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the inner workings of the intelligence community and wish to learn more about the highly complicated social structures of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It will also open your eyes as to how politicians and bureaucrats design our foreign policy with far more than “national interests” in mind.
Profile Image for Fiona Ingram.
Author 3 books734 followers
October 27, 2011
Meet Harry Brennan, CIA officer and go-to guy on Afghanistan. When his mission in Afghanistan is aborted and he finds himself back in Washington, Harry starts digging until he finds out what everyone doesn't want him to know. And it comes as no surprise to Harry that it's all about money, or oil to be exact. As the Western world's need for oil increases, something must be done to break the stranglehold of the Arab world on oil supplies. A secret deal has been struck to get a U.S.-financed trans-Central Asian oil pipeline to the Arabian Sea built through Afghanistan and Pakistan. This scenario would bring Croesus-like wealth for the oil companies, back-channel cash to politicians and cement American political and economic supremacy in Central Asia at Russia's expense. It would also force the Afghan allies to share power with the Taliban so pipelines could be built and US troops finally withdrawn. Harry finds himself enmeshed in the double and triple cross of the relentless Washington political machine. In a surprise turn of events, Harry finds himself branded a traitor and fleeing for his life from jihadists in Afghanistan and Predator drones in Yemen, a target of his own CIA, while trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter.

This is a brilliant book that is well-paced and -plotted with many interesting layers. It is clear the author has first-hand experience of the novel's politics and his encyclopedic knowledge of the turmoil of the Middle East and Afghanistan is impressive. The author has created in Harry Brennan a likeable character, with a conscience that compels him to do the right thing in a political arena where most people are doing the wrong thing. The author is a former insider and the book has undergone US government censorship, which explains the occasional `vague' patch. However, nothing can detract from this riveting read. Harry Brennan's laid-back inner monologue adds to the appeal of the author's style. Readers will also enjoy Harry's pertinent, humorous references to the books, movies, and well-known personalities of popular culture that underscore his worn, somewhat cynical take on politics. The author has an eye for detail and a style of rich description that the eager reader can feast upon. The fund-raising scene is the ultimate description of US politics devouring itself - hilarious yet frightening. Written with an underlying dry, perceptive sense of humour, I really enjoyed this book. Highly recommended.
First reviewed for Readers Favorite by Fiona Ingram
Profile Image for Alain Burrese.
Author 20 books49 followers
August 4, 2012
"Tribe" by James Bruno, author of "Permanent Interests" and "Chasm," starts and concludes with a bang, and in between delves into the the cutthroat politics that inhabit Washington D.C. and various organizations that go by their initials. If it were a movie, it would most likely be found in the drama/thriller category, rather than the action section. There's action all right, but it is not straight through with a high body count as with some in the thriller genre. It's more of a political intrigue novel, and one that reveals some of the underhanded, backroom, sleazy, and too often, politics and dealings that go on in our government and government organizations.

The main character, Harry Brennan, is a CIA officer that must wrestle with his career, love interests, the attraction of power and money, a deal he's made, right, wrong, and the truth. And not all of these issues are wrapped up tidy with a bow at the end, and that's because seldom do they get wrapped up that way in real life. There are moments of satisfaction, and there are moments that make you wish something else had happened, again, just like real life.

The story is written in a first person narrative by Brennan, and the author does a good job of keeping your attention, describing things, and making you care about what happens to Brennan next. He's not super-human, nor is he morally perfect. He wrestles with the choices he must make, but tries to do the right thing more than naught. And I really liked that he ponders if those choices made any difference. I did find that the book jumped around a bit in places and that I'd have liked to have read different transitions, or maybe have had a few gaps filled in a bit more completely. However, this is often the case, because a book can only be so long.

I guess one of the reasons I wanted a bit more in places is because the author, James Bruno, can provide it. Reading this novel, you recognize that that Bruno is more than familiar with the workings of the State Department and the dealings with Afghanistan, as well as Washington policy making. I also have to say, being from Montana, I also caught and appreciated the small Whitefish, Montana reference. It's always nice to see something from your own backyard included in something.

I enjoyed "Tribe" and like how Bruno included not only action, but something to make you think a little about morality, loyalty, and what's truly right or wrong.
Profile Image for Dale.
1,950 reviews66 followers
February 17, 2012
Power plays in Afghanistan and in D.C.

When I first picked up the book Tribe , I assumed that the title referred to the complicated loyalties of local Afghan politics that create the hard-to-decipher undercurrents that permeate Afghan politics. After all, the cover photo features the silhouette of what looks to be a mujaheddin soldier brandishing an assault rifle. My assumption was wrong on multiple levels.

If I were more adept with my weapons identification skills, I would have known right away that the soldier was brandishing an American M16, not the omnipresent AK47 favored in Afghanistan - which is a clue to the direction of the book. While wild and hairy adventures in Afghanistan and Yemen exist in the book, this is not really a book about American adventurism in the Muslim world. Instead, the tribe referred to is the brotherhood of intelligence agents - Russian, Afghan, American who do the secret work of their governments but really have more in common with one another than they do with the people who issue their orders...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
Profile Image for Richard.
177 reviews12 followers
October 5, 2011
4 1/2 stars.. I love James Bruno, he can really spin an entertaining novel from cover to cover. This one was not my favorite, but a great read to say the least. If you have never read Bruno and you are a fan of some good spy fiction give him a shot. Thanks James for another great read, can't wait for the next one.
Profile Image for Mal Warwick.
Author 30 books491 followers
April 6, 2017
A Great Story of International Intrigue that Could Have Been Better Told

Harry Brennan is a veteran CIA field agent, equally skilled in recruiting informants and in front-line combat, but he has little respect for his superiors in the agency and poor insight into the finer points of the high-stakes office politics that threatens to sideline him. Following a botched mission to Afghanistan, he comes to believe that someone in the agency tried to have him killed in the field to conceal a plot to shift U.S. foreign policy to the benefit of Big Oil. The stakes in this latter-day version of the Great Game couldn’t be higher: $25 trillion in oil reserves, a brokered peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government, and the election of a President — not to mention Harry’s life and the life of his college-age daughter.

Tribe might have been an outstanding book. The backdrop shifts from Afghanistan, where espionage, major power rivalries, and the outsized ambitions of commerce so often converge, to the Georgetown cocktail circuit, the White House, and the CIA. Harry Brennan is a satisfyingly complex figure. Descriptions of life and work in the CIA, the White House, and on the front line in Afghanistan ring with credibility. The story itself is powerful and almost plausible. And James Bruno’s writing style is evocative.

Unfortunately, Bruno hasn’t produced the book that could have been crafted by a more experienced writer steeped in the principles of narrative technique. Time contracts and expands with no apparent logic: a span of minutes may occupy pages, while the passage of weeks or months is dispensed with in a phrase. Scenes shift without warning, in the absence of even the most rudimentary transitions.

James Bruno is a former diplomat, military intelligence analyst, and journalist who clearly possesses a wide range of knowledge about the themes touched on in Tribe. However, this is his third novel. Here’s hoping he’ll study narrative techniques before he writes the fourth.

(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
Profile Image for A Book Vacation.
1,485 reviews729 followers
September 30, 2012
I usually love first person narratives, but I had a really hard time connecting with Harry, or even understanding much of what he was talking about, as I read this novel. He describes what’s happening around him in what I consider a rather choppy format, jumping from idea to idea, and I found it all to be a little too disjointed and technical for me to follow, personally. I’m not one who really keeps up with politics, though I usually do love a good political thriller, but I was unable to connect to this novel. I thought the premise was interesting, but otherwise, it just wasn’t for me. I think those who enjoy very technical political thrillers will really enjoy the novel, and if you check out the other reviews here on Goodreads and also on Amazon, you’ll see that there are many who really did enjoy this book, so I highly suggest checking out their reviews as well and then deciding if this is a book for you. Personally, though, I can only give it two stars.

To see my full review:

http://wp.me/p1jhaj-2uJ
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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