The Pentagon Papers: Uncovering the Hidden History of the Vietnam War

rick: Well written and very informative

United States on Nov 01, 2023

Michael Griswold: The Pentagon Papers were first published in an era when the American public largely trusted their elected officials to tell them the truth. That is the first thing one must understand as they read through the Pentagon Papers. The papers caused such a stir upon their publication in 1971 because they provided the public with a view of the war in Vietnam that was dramatically different than what policymakers had been saying publicly. It’s easy to say that “they lied to us” and move on, but I think reading the Pentagon Papers provides a broader lesson in presidential decision-making.

The Pentagon Papers tell the ultimate insiders’ story of how four different Presidential administrations (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson) became involved in Vietnam-each one more than the one before it. As they became more involved, the range of policy options becomes narrower and narrower until Lyndon Johnson is left pouring more and more troops into a war that is being questioned both by the American public, and as the Pentagon Papers show us, members of Johnson’s cabinet.

I think one also becomes aware of the dangers of overconfidence and misperception that can occur...

United States on Nov 21, 2021

mrsooline: Reading this book can be drudgery-like reading "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," but there is a lot of gold to be mined if you're looking for examples of how deceptive our government can be in doing things they'd rather not have us citizens know about and how morally questionable the Vietnam war really was. In the end you may feel like a lot of other people in wondering just what we did over there and was it worth the cost in young American lives. I think this is required reading to create truly informed citizens.

United States on Sep 16, 2021

Thomé Madeira: Perfect, precise and accurate narrative of the greatest blunder of the Cold War , that dragged 58.000 lives , wasted in a war that had no reason, even many still say they were "fighting for freedom" , when actually they were pones of an empty political game that, at the end, worth nothing...sad

Brazil on Sep 15, 2021

Odysseus: I will not add to the plethora of positive reviews here at Amazon. Yes, the book is thick (Over 700 pages), and it certainly does not make casual or "light" reading. However, the "Pentagon Papers" are, without doubt, one of the greatest journalistic triumphs of the 20th century. The reader is given a detailed, incredibly intimate summary of how policy makers in Washington decided to get the US involved in Vietnam, tracing the story from the mid-1950s through the Tet Offensive of 1968. In short, the US found itself involved in Vietnam for the following combination of reasons: A severe case of post-WWII "We-are-the-Victors" hubris, a terminal view of the world in "Either-Or / Us-versus-Them" terms, a firm belief in placing military solutions above diplomatic & economic alternatives, a blind faith in "experts" (In this case, Ivy League academics and Generals in the Pentagon), and last (But certainly not least), the mere fact that we, the USA, had the wealth, material means, and financial wherewithal to do so..................

United States on Aug 02, 2021

bob: We all know the existence of the "Pentagon Papers" but I suspect not many of us have had a look through them.
It generally shows that successive administrations from the end of WW2 through much of the Pres. Johnson years felt compelled to do something about indo china becoming communist. They all had grave doubts on how to go about it. It seems that US Policy was built more on hope and the need to do something, than on a realistic outcome?
This material is often dry to read through (as the original documents are presented) but should be required reading for anyone who wants to get a better understanding of those years. Also required reading for any aspiring national politician of any country.

United Kingdom on May 30, 2020

Jeff Marzano: I read this book as part of my ongoing research into the assassination of President Kennedy. In my opinion the conflict in Vietnam is one of the keys to unraveling this greatest of mysteries if it can even still be called a mystery today.

The conspiracy theory is President Kennedy was going to end America's involvement in Vietnam once he was re-elected in 1964. And that was something the Military Industrial Complex was never going to allow to happen.

The great Fletcher Prouty worked with Allen Dulles at the CIA up until the time JFK got killed. Fletcher felt there never was any real military objective in Vietnam. The goal was to create a bottomless money pit of military spending. So the CIA was doing things in Vietnam to prolong the conflict for as long as possible even if this meant getting American military personnel killed.

Author and historian John M. Newman has shown how the CIA and American military intelligence were telling President Kennedy and Secretary Of Defense Robert McNamara all lies about the true state of affairs in Vietnam. But they were telling then Vice President Lyndon Johnson the truth about what a quagmire Vietnam had become and would...

United States on Jan 01, 2019

Professor: Brilliant for A level coursework but make sure you allocate enlightened to read it

United Kingdom on Oct 22, 2018

Dirt Maggurt: ordered due to cheap price as it was used. was not readable due to extremely bad quality of book. would have requested refund but due to cheap price payed it was not worth time or effort.
one positive was quick shipping....

Canada on Jul 26, 2018

ik: Good

United Kingdom on Jun 23, 2018