Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Kompromat
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1974
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
https://www.cbsnews.com/team/jeff-pegues/ * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Pegues * http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers/jeff-pegues
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2016065932
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016065932
HEADING: Pegues, Jeff, 1970-
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100 1_ |a Pegues, Jeff, |d 1970-
670 __ |a Black and blue, 2017: |b eCIP t.p. (Jeff Pegues) data view screen (b. 03/04/1970; The justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS News; previous to joining CBS News, Pegues spent ten years at WABC-TV in New York; recipient of three Emmy Awards, numerous Emmy Award nominations, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists)
PERSONAL
Born March 4, 1970, in Washington, DC; married.
EDUCATION:Miami University of Ohio, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Journalist, broadcaster, news correspondent. WSVN-TV, Miami, FL, evening anchor; WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD, reporter, 2003-13; CBS News, Transportation Correspondent, 2013, Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent, 2014–.
AWARDS:Three-time Emmy Award-winner; Sigma Delta Chi Award, Society of Professional Journalists, for excellence in journalism, 2013.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Jeff Pegues is the Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent for CBS News, featured on television broadcasts and other platforms. Born in Washington, DC, he grew up in Westport, Connecticut and attended Miami University of Ohio, where he was a scholarship football player as a starting wide receiver. Following college, Pegues went into broadcast journalism, working as an evening anchor for WSVN-TV in Miami, Florida, in the 1990s. From there, he moved to WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked as a reporter, and earned the first of numerous Emmy Award nominations. His next professional move was to WABC-TV in New York, where he was a reporter from 2003 to 2013, and earned three Emmy Awards, reporting on a high-profile custody case as well as presidential elections, Hurricane Sandy, and Hurricane Rita, among other major stories.
With his move to CBS News in 2013, Pegues began as Transportation Correspondent, but soon moved to Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent, a major beat for network news. He is the author of two books: Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America, published in 2017, and Kompromat: How Russia Undermined American Democracy.
Black and Blue
Pegues’s first book, Black and Blue, is an examination of the conflicts between the police and black communities in the United States, with police shootings of armed and unarmed black men creating a volatile and toxic atmosphere of distrust on both sides. Pegues, an African-American with years of experience covering policing and the justice system, felt that he could offer an insightful viewpoint, as he told Steve Scott in CBS New York website: “I wanted to get the facts out there … I felt because of my upbringing and because of my experience covering law enforcement over the last 25 years that I could present this divide equally in a book.” Pegues uses his access to law enforcement officers around the country as well as to community activists to present a report from both sides of the divide, providing facts and statistics as well as perceptions from the community about how they view the police and the opposite from the police point of view. He also offers possible solutions from politicians, activists, and the police about how to better bridge this divide.
Writing in the online Manhattan Book Review, Owen Hamill commented: “Black and Blue isn’t forceful enough to effectively mediate the dispute, resulting in a tepid exploration of an urgent issue.” A Kirkus Reviews critic offered a more varied assessment of Black and Blue, terming it an “informative book that could have been presented better.” The critic, however, further noted: “The book is filled with useful insights that will help readers with varying perspectives understand the genesis of these tensions and how
they have grown over the years.” A Bookwatch contributor noted of Black and Blue: “The result is an exploration which is key to understanding the nature of police forces, their concerns, and the issues that are central to public health and safety efforts.” Still higher praise came from a Forever Lost in Literature website contributor who observed: “Pegues was incredibly thorough, touching on every detail that he could think of. The only downside to this was that certain things felt a bit repetitive at times, but … I’d rather have repetition than a lack of information. … This book is definitely an eye-opener; even if you, like me, think that you know quite about this situation, there is a lot more to learn and be aware of.”
Kompromat
Pegues led CBS coverage of the 2016 Russian interference in the U.S. election, and in Kompromat he provides an overview of how Moscow was involved in the cyberattack. He provides exclusive interviews with the FBI and members of the Department of Homeland Security to look at this world of cyber spies and hackers, at the possible collusion with the Trump campaign, and at Russia’s continuing efforts to interfere with U.S. elections.
“This account succeeds as reporting on what happened in 2016, but should be approached with realistic expectations, offering neither new revelations nor conclusive insight on Russian motives,” noted Publishers Weekly reviewer Ed Burmila of Kompromat. San Francisco Book Review writer Danielle McManus also had a nuanced evaluation of the book, observing: “Though the organization is a bit uneven, the information and its implications are a desperately important contribution to America’s growing realization of its own vast–and increasingly exploited–vulnerabilities.” Writing in the online Foreword Reviews, Karl Helicher had a higher assessment, commenting: “This accessible addition to the literature of technology and politics reveals that cyberwarfare, through manipulating social media and hacking voting records, has replaced terrorism as the number one threat to American life; it will require a bipartisan political effort to level the playing field.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Bookwatch, July, 2017, review of Black and Blue:Inside the Divide between the Police and Black America.
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2017, review of Black and Blue.
Publishers Weekly, May 14, 2018, Ed Burmila, review of Kompromat: How Russia Undermined American Democracy, p. 45.
ONLINE
CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/ (March 26, 2015), “Jeff Pegues.”
CBS New York, https://newyork.cbslocal.com/ (May 12, 2017), “CBS News’ Jeff Pegues Talks about His New Book on Race & Policing, Black And Blue.”
Forever Lost in Literature, http://www.foreverlostinliterature.com/ (July 20, 2017), review of Black and Blue.
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (July/August, 2018), Karl Helicher, review of Kompromat.
Harry Walker Agency, https://www.harrywalker.com/ (October 21, 2018), “Jeff Pegues.”
Manhattan Book Review, https://manhattanbookreview.com/ (October 23, 2018), Owen Hamill, review of Black and Blue.
New York Times Online, https://www.nytimes.com/ (January 15, 2017), Amanda Taub,
San Francisco Book Review, https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/ (October 21, 2018), Danielle McManus, review of Kompromat.
Washington Times Online, https://www.washingtontimes.com/ (August 5, 2018), Joseph C. Goulden, review of Kompromat.
Jeff Pegues
NEW
Award-Winning Broadcaster
Jeff Pegues is one of the rising stars in network news. During his 25 year career in broadcast journalism his storytelling skills have won Emmy awards and garnered attention. He has covered most of the big stories of the past two decades as a “street” reporter for the top local news station in the country and is now breaking new ground for CBS News. In just two years with the celebrated news organization he has been promoted to cover one of journalism’s most important beats. Currently he is the justice and homeland security correspondent for all CBS News platforms.
Jeff Pegues
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jeffrey Pegues is a CBS News correspondent and author based in Washington, D.C., where he reports for all CBS News platforms. His book, Black and Blue: Inside the Divide between the Police and Black America, explores the longstanding rift between local law enforcement and people of color.[1] Black and Blue was released on May 9, 2017 by Prometheus Books.[2]
Pegues was named a Correspondent for CBS News on May 29, 2013.[3] Four months into his tenure, he became CBS News' Transportation Correspondent. In late 2014, he was promoted to CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent, one of the most challenging and high-profile beats in network news.
Prior to joining CBS News, Pegues was a reporter for WABC-TV in New York City. He received numerous Emmy Awards during his nearly ten-year run (2003-2013) at WABC-TV. Pegues is credited with bringing the story of David Goldman and his international fight for his son into the headlines. Jeff has also been recognized for his outstanding reporting at the height of Superstorm Sandy. As the storm crashed into New York City he reported on the rising flood water and spreading fires in Queens. In 2005, he reported on Hurricane Rita from Texas.
Prior to WABC-TV, Pegues was a reporter for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned Emmy Award nominations. At WSVN-TV, the Fox Affiliate in Miami, Florida, he worked as an evening anchor. At the time, it was the top-rated evening newscast in that market.[4] In 2004, Jeff covered both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention.
Contents
1 Personal
2 Early life
3 Awards
4 References
5 External links
Personal
Pegues, who is married, currently resides in Maryland. He is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he was a starting wide receiver as well as a back-up to Canadian Football League legend Milt Stegall.
Early life
Born in 1974 in Washington D.C., Pegues spent part of his childhood in Westport, Connecticut.[5]
Awards
Pegues is the recipient of three Emmy Awards. In 2013, he received the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for excellence in journalism.[6]
References
https://www.c-span.org/video/?428528-5/washington-journal-jeff-pegues-discusses-policing-minority-communities
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Blue-Inside-between-America-ebook/dp/B01KE3VLUK/ref=la_B071LS96X5_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497064251&sr=1-1
Eck, Kevin (27 May 2013). "WABC Reporter Moving to CBS News". TVSpy/TVNewser. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers/jeff-pegues
https://www.c-span.org/video/?428528-5/washington-journal-jeff-pegues-discusses-policing-minority-communities
https://www.spj.org/sdxa13.asp#tv
External links
WABC-TV Jeffrey Pegues Bio
CBS News Jeff Pegues Bio
Jeff Pegues College Football Statistics
Categories: American people of African descentAmerican television journalistsTelevision anchors from New York CityMiami University alumniLiving people1974 birthsAmerican male journalistsAfrican-American journalistsCBS News people
CBS NEWS March 26, 2015, 12:05 PM
Jeff Pegues
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Jeff Pegues
Jeff Pegues CBS NEWS
Jeff Pegues is the CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent based in Washington, D.C. He joined CBS News in July 2013 and reports for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
Since joining CBS News, Pegues led the Network's coverage of the New York City Metro-North derailment and reported on the Navy Yard shooting, among other stories. He has more than two decades of experience covering stories of national and international magnitude, including presidential elections, Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, Hurricane Rita and the story of Elian Gonzalez.
Pegues joined CBS News after nearly 10 years and numerous Emmy Awards at WABC-TV in New York, where he broke many high-profile stories, such as the 2008 child custody case of David Goldman, a New Jersey father who was involved in a five-year custody battle with his son's Brazilian relatives. Pegues' coverage gained the attention of the State Department and eventually helped reunite Goldman with his 9-year-old son.
Previously, Pegues was a weekday anchor and reporter at WBAL in Baltimore. He also anchored the top-rated evening newscasts at WSVN in Miami in the late 1990s. He is a proud graduate of Miami University of Ohio where he was also a scholarship football player and starting wide receiver in the early 1990s.
QUOTE:
“I wanted to get the facts out there,” he tells WCBS anchor Steve Scott. “I felt because of my upbringing and because of my experience covering law enforcement over the last 25 years that I could present this divide equally in a book.”
CBS New York
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/05/12/author-talks-jeff-pegues/
CBS News’ Jeff Pegues Talks About His New Book On Race & Policing, ‘Black And Blue’
May 12, 2017 at 4:00 am
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — In this episode of Author Talks, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues discusses his new book “Black and Blue: Inside the Divide between the Police and Black America.”
“I wanted to get the facts out there,” he tells WCBS anchor Steve Scott. “I felt because of my upbringing and because of my experience covering law enforcement over the last 25 years that I could present this divide equally in a book.”
So how wide is the divide?
“Well there’s still a problem here, and we’re seeing it in the headlines. These stories — very emotional, sad stories — continue to pop up. And so there is still a divide,” Pegues says. “However, progress is being made from the research that I’ve seen in that police departments are moving forward with reforms.”
He says police departments and communities are working together on those reforms, like transparency, accountability, body cameras and increased training.
“So there is still a divide and it’s going to take some time for that rift to be healed, but there are steps being taken on the local level and in a positive way in cities across the country in the wake of Ferguson, Baltimore and problems in Chicago,” Pegues says. “Lessons are being learned and changes are being made.”
Pegues goes on to discuss the history behind this tension in the country, the difficulties of the job that police officers are tasked with doing, and whether he thinks body cameras are helping the situation.
Find the full interview above, and learn more about “Black and Blue” here.
QUOTE:
This account succeeds as reporting on what happened in 2016, but should be approached with realistic
expectations, offering neither new revelations nor conclusive insight on Russian motives.
Print Marked Items
Kompromat
Ed Burmila
Publishers Weekly.
265.20 (May 14, 2018): p45.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Kompromat
Jeff Pegues. Prometheus, $ 11.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-63388-429-8
This volume delivers on its promise to pull back the curtain and show readers the shadowy world of
cyberespionage in action before, during, and since the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It is an excellent
primer for readers who know about "Russian hackers" broadly and want a detailed look at what happened
and what evidence points to Russia and the Kremlin. Close followers of this story, however, are unlikely to
learn new information.
Pegues supplements his retelling of the hacking of DNC email servers--the "33,000 emails" Trump
famously dared "someone" to find during the campaign--with numerous expert and insider interviews. The
story of a system slow to react to a new and unfamiliar threat is reminiscent of the many journalistic
accounts of the intelligence and security community's attempt to raise alarms about al-Qaeda before the 9/11
attacks. A key takeaway is the inability or refusal of the campaigns and government officials to recognize
the breadth and seriousness of the hacking problem until significant damage had already been done. In this
sense, the book reveals how dispiritingly little decision makers have learned from experience.
The strong reporting does not, however, lead to new ground being broken. Readers who have followed this
long-running story closely will find no new bombshells. The interviews mostly add color and depth--for
example, a former FBI investigative specialist describes WikiLeaks as "the fast food of spying"--rather than
revelations. The book is a strong and compact summary of the problem, the actors behind it, and its
significance; in that sense, it is good journalism and good reporting. What it is not is an expose. The author
and publisher are careful not to overpromise, though, and the book is presented honestly as what it is: a look
behind the curtain.
Though thorough, it has two shortcomings. One is the confusion over a key element of the narrative: what
was or is Russia's goal? At points Pegues presents evidence that it is a larger Russian effort to undermine
American democracy, sow dissent, and damage the credibility of American elections. At other points it is
suggested that the Russian agenda, driven by Putin's strong dislike for Hillary Clinton, was partisan and
designed specifically to harm her campaign and benefit Trump. Evidence exists to support both
interpretations, and the conflict between these two narratives is not resolved.
Second, the chapters on the measures being taken to prevent similar cyberattacks in 2018 are not persuasive.
Certainly any measures known to reporters are unlikely to be effective against hackers who, throughout this
story, are depicted as being multiple steps ahead of any attempts to thwart them. What's missing is an
analysis of whether the goal of undermining American democracy is succeeding, or how Trump and House
Republicans have advanced that goal by claiming electoral fraud, discrediting the Justice Department and
intelligence communities, and more.
This account succeeds as reporting on what happened in 2016, but should be approached with realistic
expectations, offering neither new revelations nor conclusive insight on Russian motives.
Ed Burmila is an assistant professor of political science at Bradley University and has written on American
elections and politics for Rolling Stone, The Nation, and other publications.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Burmila, Ed. "Kompromat." Publishers Weekly, 14 May 2018, p. 45. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539387441/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5bf8d3e0.
Accessed 19 Oct. 2018.
QUOTE:
The result is
an exploration which is key to understanding the nature of police forces, their concerns, and the issues that
are central to public health and safety efforts.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A539387441
Black and Blue
The Bookwatch.
(July 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bw/index.htm
Full Text:
Black and Blue
Jeff Pegues
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781633882577 $24.00 www.prometheusbooks.com
Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America comes with the authority and
experience of a CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent who provides statistics and facts
from both sides of community-police interests, and who explores a wide range of social, political, and
security issues central to law enforcement and public safety. Pegues had access to some of the top officials
in the country, including FBI director James Comey and the police chiefs of top cities, and he's interviewed
community leaders and others who offer their different perspectives on problems and solutions. The result is
an exploration which is key to understanding the nature of police forces, their concerns, and the issues that
are central to public health and safety efforts. The result is also recommended for discussion and debate at
the high school to college and community levels.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Black and Blue." The Bookwatch, July 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A501397178/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2b190155.
Accessed 19 Oct. 2018.
QUOTE:
The book is filled with useful
insights that will help readers with varying perspectives understand the genesis of these tensions and how
they have grown over the years.
An informative book that could have been presented
better.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A501397178
Pegues, Jeff: BLACK AND BLUE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Pegues, Jeff BLACK AND BLUE Prometheus Books (Adult Nonfiction) $24.00 5, 9 ISBN: 978-1-63388-
257-7
The justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS News debuts with an examination of the tensions
between police and blacks, presenting potential obstacles to improvement formulas for tension
reduction.Pegues grew up in a black family in a mostly white environment, and he writes that he suffered no
ill treatment by police due to his skin color. However, as a journalist for 10 years at a New York City TV
station and while roaming the nation for CBS, he has observed countless examples of police malfeasance,
including multiple shootings of unarmed black men. The author, who has won three Emmy Awards,
attempts to understand the tensions from many perspectives: victims of excessive force, police chiefs, street
cops, black community activists, academic researchers, and elected politicians from city councils to the
White House. "No matter where you live," writes Pegues, "whether we like to admit this or not, the
relationship between the police and communities of color affects all of us." The book is filled with useful
insights that will help readers with varying perspectives understand the genesis of these tensions and how
they have grown over the years. Unfortunately, the story is hampered by excessive quoting from interviews,
reports, and speeches, which limits the author's ability to develop his own narrative style. Some of the
interview transcripts are gripping and enlightening, but many are turgid and uninteresting; ditto the reports
and speeches. In one of the more successful chapters, the author recounts his return to his birthplace of
Westport, Connecticut. Pegues relates his childhood experiences and then includes a transcript of a
conversation with the police chief, an immigrant from Greece who rose through the law enforcement
hierarchy. Another successful chapter centers on a conversation with a Chicago alderman, a former street
cop elected to represent a mostly black neighborhood. An informative book that could have been presented
better.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Pegues, Jeff: BLACK AND BLUE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A485105118/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=beca74eb.
Accessed 19 Oct. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105118
How Russia uses lies to shape public opinion
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JEFF PEGUES
Print
By Joseph C. Goulden - - Sunday, August 5, 2018
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
KOMPROMAT: HOW RUSSIA UNDERMINED AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
By Jeff Pegues
Prometheus Books, $24, 287 pages
As the son of civil rights activists in uber-racist Alabama in the 1960s, CBS reporter Jeff Pegues is justly appalled at racial slurs, whatever the source.
But he was particularly offended when his research for this book turned up examples of Soviet attempts to stir racial animosity in the United States dating back decades.
The KGB did not like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. for several reasons. As Mr. Pegues writes, “His calls for non-violent protests didn’t suit their recipe for stirring up civil unrest. They believed more militant leaders such as the Black Panthers were more apt to ignite violence.”
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So the KGB “launched a campaign that included forging documents that portrayed Dr. King and other prominent civil rights activists as sellouts, calling then ‘Uncle Toms’ who were secretly in cahoots with the U.S. government.” False articles were sent to the African press.
The major lie: “President Lyndon Johnson had secretly planned methods to keep black people in a subordinate status and had bribed King to tame the civil rights movement.”
When King was assassinated in April 1968, he KGB changed its slant, “depicting him as a martyr and implying the U.S. government was behind the assassination.”
Mr. Pegues cites this bit of KGB nastiness to reinforce the contention of his book: That Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was yet but another chapter in a campaign of kompromat (compromising material) waged against America.
Such activities were known to our intelligence agencies for years. In the 1970s and 1980s, CIA exposed the widespread Soviet distribution of forged documents that purported to show U.S. officials making comments tailored to enrage foreign governments.
As one officer familiar with this history explained to me, “Now the Russkies use the Internet — not pieces of paper — for their mischief. Technology does have a downside.”
For whatever reason, the forgery campaign attracted little public attention. Now, however, the subject is of keen interest, for, as Mr. Pegues writes, the public is realizing that “the Russian propaganda machine seeped into the fabric of our democracy by poisoning our free speech.”
As the justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS News, Mr. Pegues had interview access to intelligence officers of all ranks, ranging from James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, and John Brennan, former CIA director. Understandably, many sources are unnamed.
As he writes, intelligence agencies and other government officials have maintained that the Russian operation “did not alter votes.”
A major reason is that the election system is dispersed — “clunky,” in the apt description of former FBI director James Comey.
Whether the Trump campaign had any connection with the Russian effort remains a matter of highly-partisan debate, and no matter what is concluded by the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller III, the question is apt to be debated for decades.
Mr. Pegues‘ account favors neither side in the 2016 debate. But he is unflinching in his criticism of Russia’s using lies in attempts to shape American public opinion.
“This is warfare,” he states bluntly. “They attempted to compromise our voting booths and influenced us, without our knowledge, thereby waging an invisible war.”
James Lewis, a former intelligence hand now with he Center for Strategic and International Studies, puts the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Putin is convinced that America has a secret plan to destroy Russia,” he says. In pushing back, “he discovered he has got a great opportunity to do things that the Russians have wanted to do for decades, like destroy NATO
“Remember, he is a former KGB agent he knows the playbook. He’s acting in a way that goes all the way back to the Tsarist intelligence services “
Mr. Pegues offers an explanation as to how a controversial memo by a retired British Secret Intelligence Service officer got into FBI hands.
The “dossier,” as it is termed by the media, was commissioned by a yet-unknown person at the Democratic National Committee. Of challenged accuracy, its 30 pages alleged that Russia had “compromising” information about candidate Donald Trump.
Sen. John McCain — not a Trump friend — learned of the dossier at a September 2017 security conference in Canada. His source was a former United Kingdom ambassador to Moscow. The ambassador supposedly said the dossier had information that was “a mortal threat to the U.S. democratic system.”
As Mr. Pegues relates, Mr. McCain asked a trusted friend, David Kramer, formerly an assistant secretary of State, to go to London and obtain a copy. Mr. Kramer did so, and “McCain hand-delivered it to the FBI.”
Mr. Pegues ends with a plea to tighten security over the machinery — much of it electronic — of voting places.
Given Russia’s unquestioned skills at meddling with American minds, could meddling with election results be far behind?
• Joseph C. Goulden writes frequently on intelligence and military affairs.
QUOTE:
Black and Blue isn’t forceful enough to effectively mediate the dispute, resulting in a tepid exploration of an urgent issue.
Black and Blue: Inside the Divide between the Police and Black America
We rated this book:
$24.00
In Black and Blue, author Jeff Pegues is careful to hear from both sides of the issue. International Association of Chiefs of Police President Terrence Cunningham defends the actions of police officers involved in controversial shootings, while activist Ja’Mal Green demands a change in police culture and criticizes Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel for his handling of the city’s rising violent crime. Valuable as these points of view are, the effect is to merely provide a wide-ranging confirmation of the existence of a problem, even if the two sides don’t always agree on even the nature of the problem.
Ceding much of his book to lengthy political speeches on police-community relations and interview transcripts in which he shies away from contradicting or fact-checking his interview subjects, Mr. Pegues fails to assert any authority of his own. The book’s most interesting ideas — police forces as revenue generators, the relationship between race and class, etc. — are mentioned by the interview subjects, with Mr. Pegues offering no or minimal follow-up. With the two sides of the issue sometimes in emphatic disagreement, Black and Blue isn’t forceful enough to effectively mediate the dispute, resulting in a tepid exploration of an urgent issue.
Reviewed By: Owen Hamill
QUOTE:
Pegues was incredibly thorough, touching on every detail that he could think of. The only downside to this was that certain things felt a bit repetitive at times, but hey, I'd rather have repetition than a lack of information.
This book is definitely an eye-opener; even if you, like me, think that you know quite about this situation, there is a lot more to learn and be aware of.
Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between The Police and Black America by Jeff Pegues
Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between The Police and Black America by Jeff Pegues. Prometheus Books, 2017. Hardcover, 279 pages.
Black and Blue centers on the tough, complex issue of the conflicts between the black community and police in America, and I commend Jeff Pegues for the in-depth and extremely careful work he has done with this book. Frankly, I was a bit worried before diving into this book: would this be objective? would it be fair? is it legitimate? From what I've read, the answer to all of these questions is 'yes,' along with the fact that this is an extremely well-written book. Pegues presents his research in a flowing, gripping manner that is highly engaging and readable.
Pegues is a CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent with many years of experience as a reporter, skills which he has used to construct an informative, staggering account of a major problem in the United States. Pegues really did an exemplary job providing fact and statistics regarding those in law enforcement, the black community, and issues of violence and conflict that occur. His many observations and facts regarding conversations he has with those involved in these issues were plentiful and thorough, which I feel provided much invaluable information and insight into why and how this issue has only seemed to have gotten worse over the years.
I greatly appreciated that Pegues presents arguments from both sides, which leads to a broad understanding of the struggles that exist on both of those sides and even how there are not even enough resources available to help tackle some of these issues. He describes how many law enforcement areas do not receive adequate funds to properly train police officers, which leads to many issues. Officers then do not have the ability -- or do not realize the need -- to get to know the community they police in. In addition, he expands on the fact that there is also an extreme lack of discipline among many law enforcement agencies, and much too much leniency regarding the bad cops.
One of the most important points that Pegues notes, however, is the fact that black communities are often neglected and left to fend for themselves, creating a bad cycle of poverty and inability to reach the opportunities and lifestyles of other communities.
This is a hard, frankly depressing read. What I really liked about Pegues' presentation was that although he did provide necessary commentary to bring ideas together, he also largely presented his conversations with people and observations in a manner that really lets the reader draw their own conclusions and understandings (which should be fairly obvious). Pegues was incredibly thorough, touching on every detail that he could think of. The only downside to this was that certain things felt a bit repetitive at times, but hey, I'd rather have repetition than a lack of information. There is no real conclusion that I can deduce from this as far as how to overcome these issues, however.
This book is definitely an eye-opener; even if you, like me, think that you know quite about this situation, there is a lot more to learn and be aware of. Overall, I've given Black and Blue four stars!
*I received a copy of Black and Blue in exchange for an honest review. This has no bearing on my sentiments towards the book itself.*
QUOTE:
This accessible addition to the literature of technology and politics reveals that cyberwarfare, through manipulating social media and hacking voting records, has replaced terrorism as the number one threat to American life; it will require a bipartisan political effort to level the playing field.
Kompromat
How Russia Undermined American Democracy
Jeff Pegues
Prometheus Books (Jul 10, 2018)
Hardcover $24.00 (288pp)
978-1-63388-429-8
In Kompromat, Jeff Pegues, who covers justice and homeland security for CBS News, offers a chilling, cautionary investigation of the cyberwar between the United States and Russia, one that serves as a wake-up call for citizens and policy makers. Indeed, the book shows that the Cold War did not end; it evolved into a high-tech battle that compromises officials and elections.
The book features insight into high-level officials, including CIA Director John Brennan and James Comey, the controversial former FBI director whom the author views as a thoughtful straight-shooter. Included are many illuminating interviews with officials who learned through experience what the general public has only recently begun to understand: expert Russian cybercombat poses a challenge that must be met with full force by the US government.
Among the most astute interviews are those with Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, who defines hacking as war without firing a shot, and Jim Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who assesses Russian cyberwarfare as Russian president Vladimir Putin’s response to what he believes is the United States’s plan to destroy Russia.
The interview that will likely resonate most with US citizens is with Michele Reagan, Arizona’s conservative secretary of state, who refused the short-lived Trump Commission on Election Integrity’s demand to turn over the state’s voting records. Together, these interviews create a vibrant atmosphere that gives the book the feel of an espionage thriller.
This accessible addition to the literature of technology and politics reveals that cyberwarfare, through manipulating social media and hacking voting records, has replaced terrorism as the number one threat to American life; it will require a bipartisan political effort to level the playing field.
Reviewed by Karl Helicher
July/August 2018
QUOTE:
Though the organization is a bit uneven, the information and its implications are a desperately important contribution to America’s growing realization of its own vast–and increasingly exploited–vulnerabilities.
Kompromat: How Russia Undermined American Democracy
We rated this book:
$24.00
Despite its title, Kompromat is more about Russia’s transition from Cold-War spycraft to cyber-war sabotage centered on digital propaganda, hacking, and trolling rather than the Kremlin’s well-known practice of using kompromat to blackmail its targets. But the book also stands as a strong argument that the ongoing cyber war is a much more significant and urgent issue than kompromat. Jeff Pegues is a journalist who has done fairly wide-ranging (consequently somewhat lacking in depth) research into Russia’s digital campaign against the US by interviewing various intelligence, computing, Russian relations, and hacking experts.
By the end, the book makes a persuasive argument that we’re at war with Russia and that they’ve set the terms and the battleground–and they’re winning by a huge margin. As one intelligence expert explains, Russia is leading “a huge campaign to destabilize the United States and our allies.” Even more bleakly, another intelligence expert explains that “this is essentially a war without firing a shot. This is an adversary that has attempted to implant a cancerous tumor inside of our country and is helping it metastasize to kill the body.”
Pegues explores the Putin-backed hackers and troll farms that exist purely to disrupt America’s national conversations and its faith in its most prized institution–free democratic elections. The book has a somewhat haphazard feel to its organization and at times the information, though solid, isn’t well synthesized–many chapter sections include directly transcribed conversations rather than an integrated synthesis of the information from those conversations. Though the organization is a bit uneven, the information and its implications are a desperately important contribution to America’s growing realization of its own vast–and increasingly exploited–vulnerabilities.
editor
Chris Hayden been working at City Book Review since 2012, so that makes him the keeper of knowledge. He manages the office and book reviewers (all 200 of them!), which is no small feat. If you’re looking at the book reviews here, you’re seeing them because he sent the books out for review. Without him, this place would fall apart, because no one else in the office knows how to use the postage machine. Two words: job security.
Reviewed By: Danielle McManus