An account of one of the biggest public corruption scandals in American history, exposing how a charismatic Malaysian defense contractor bribed scores of high-ranking military officers, defrauded the US Navy of at least $50 million, and jeopardized our nation's security.
A masterly investigation into one of the Navy’s worst scandals in modern times ... His reporting is astonishingly detailed ... Whitlock is particularly good at revealing the way that Francis profited from the "entitlement" of Navy officers.
Highly readable ... Mr. Whitlock chalks up the scandal to "the stench of entitlement" that the Navy developed after public acclaim during the war on terror. A dubious theory, in my view ... The investigation into the Fat Leonard mess may have inflicted more damage to the Navy than the corruption did, and here Mr. Whitlock is incurious.
[Whitlock's] research and detail are impressive and give this book weight and importance ... In a time of global tensions, a rising China, and political instability at home, the story of Fat Leonard should be a very loud wake-up call for America.
