A Sacred Oath

Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times

By: Mark T. Esper

Narrated by: Joe Knezevich

Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Former Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper reveals the shocking details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump administration.

From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history—a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest in two generations, and a White House seemingly bent on breaking accepted norms and conventions for political advantage. A Sacred Oath is Secretary Esper’s unvarnished and candid memoir of those extraordinary and dangerous times, and includes events and moments never before told.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Mark T. Esper (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Really enjoyed this book

This is the 5th or 6th book I have listened to about the trump presidency. This was the most in-depth of all of them. I believe after listening to this that Esper is a man of integrity. I believe he had the best interest of the country in mind. There were times the book went into the minutiae of the government and that gets tedious but it is worth wading through to get to the information on the other side. Too bad he was in his position under such difficult times as he probably could have accomplished more had things been different.

Running for President?

Mark’s book is just another form of media. It was great to learn of more than 50 yrs of behind the scenes running of the DOD. My white Father was proud the serve under General Greene who was black. Hopefully the future is safer because of his commitment to the Constitution!

Securing What We Hold Dear

Narrator excellent. Gallant patriots defended our Constitution in the midst of perhaps the most threatening time in our history. No need to name call, simply the reality in force.

Opening consitant with "doing the right thing"

Opening consitant with "doing the right thing" argument which attracted me to buy the Book.

I will therefore "read" on ...

Excellent book

Mr.Esper gives a balanced but frightening inside look at the DOD and Trump’s attempts to use it against its’ own citizenry. You will walk away from this book thanking G-d that people had the moral courage to say no to a tyrant.

Inspiring and insightful for all audiences

I went into this book without much background knowledge of Mark Esper or how he ran the Dept of Defense. As an officer in the military who was deployed for a good portion of Secretary Esper's administration, I was extremely interested in the inner workings of his office and his "inside offence" strategy. I simply couldn't wait to continue this book each day. I even supplanted my typical exercise playlist each day with the oratory magic of Joe Knezevich reading "A Sacred Oath." As a military officer who worked some strategic programs in the Middle East, this really opened my eyes to what was happening at the highest levels of our government that resulted in major efforts to move money, personnel and equipment in theater.

History books are not filled with stories of the efforts and sacrafice made by those attempting to avoid disaster. We don't know what would have happened if Secretary Esper and his team didn't make the bold decisions and conduct his "inside offense/outside defense" strategy the way they did, but I truly believe it would have been a terrible result for our country. We all owe a huge debt to men and women like Mark Esper who stood strong for our nation's values and the Constitution of the United States of America. I hope he can serve our nation again in the future because he is a true leader and visionary with the moral courage and integrity our nation needs.

One of the Republicans who tried to hold the line

Evidently a good man doing a hard job. One of the "adults in the room" . Well written and performed

I learned a lot!

A liberal, I learned there were very competent and conscientious leaders in 45's cabinet

An Eye Opening Read!

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand the workings of the Secretary of Defense. This opened my eyes as to the broad involvement they have in not only our country’s safety but to the world platform as well. This is a very good read!

As a veteran, I appreciated Sec Esper’s explanations and discussions

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read some reviews and almost didn’t get it. Very glad I did. As a veteran I was riveted by the discussions around the military and hope that ppl who’re unfamiliar will get a better understanding and appreciation for our way of life. I was also shock that he was permitted to share so many details re troop size and strength and weapon systems. I personally think he let himself off the hook by playing politics with the documents request from Adam Schiff. It was a request from a congressman with a need to know and clearance to rcv. It was not unprecedented and therefore should have been processed period. Running a routine request up the flagpole is definitely interference. Also, he believes he’s a thoughtful listener and he probably is, but that Lt Col Vinman’s retirement took him by surprise was incredulous to me. Was he the only person in America who didn’t see that coming??? He may have thought they had Vinman covered but did they check in with him?
All-in-all it was a terrific audio/read