Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

This book is engrossing. Even at this far removed distance in time, and despite of all we know about it, the details of this story are shocking. The presentation is impassioned and at the same time matter of fact and direct about the decades of presidential deception on Vietnam. E.g., Elsberg is listening to a President Johnson speech and notes his reaction and details the lies LBJ told in it. Four presidents lied about Vietnam. All of the four ignored the best advice from the military advisors on what it would take to "win": all the presidents did less but hoped that what they did would bring a resolution to the conflict. An excellent narrator, perfect for this book, Dan Cashman. The introduction and some of the chapters are narrated by the 70-something Daniel Ellsberg. It's a winner.

Heading to Vietnam, I wanted to find a book that covered US politics in the region, some history, the Pentagon Papers if possible and anything else that might be of interest. I was lucky to find this book, because it covers all of these topics in intense detail. It's worth reading twice. And there are no other books on Audible at this time that cover this topic with such critical insight. Aside from the strange ding-dong chapter introductions, everything else is very good, including the narration. This author sounds great reading his own work- a rarity.

This book is also very interesting because Ellsberg discusses in great detail how he changed from a Cold Warrior to a Progressive person who learned over many years how to think for himself. He goes into exceptional detail about the Gulf of Tonkin, to which he was privy to Top Secret memos at the time of the supposed attacks.

This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the Vietnam War, the US government's involvement and the many US administrations that kept the war going, and why.

I agree completely with the previous review. The information is fantastic. As a gen X'er, I am a little young to have real knowledge of what was going on in LBJ, Nixon, Vietnam era. At first I thought the switch between Ellsberg as reader and the other reader, which happens several times, distracting, but as the book progressed I appreciated hearing some of it from the authors own lips. The other reader is very good. I really liked this book. I felt by the end that I had a good mental picture of what was going on in Vietnam, what the issues were, and why we ended up in such a mess.

I was 9 years old when this started to unfold. It was never a topic they talked about in school - ever. And I sure feel like I, and the rest of the nation, lost out on an unparalleled educational opportunity. The entire exercise begs an ongoing debate over who broke the laws/rules in the best interest of the country.

The story, though read with a general sobriety, was nonetheless filled with moments of intensity - exactly what you'd hope for when hearing the story of someone knowingly breaking the law and throwing his career away in order to tell the American people what the "deciders" in government knew about Vietnam, and deliberately ignored, in its arrogant zeal to, well...., just in its zeal.

This is one of the most thrilling true stories I've ever read. Mr. Ellsberg is an amazingly intelligent man and an exceptional writer. The oscillating narration between Mr. Ellsberg and Dan Cashman doesn't in anyway diminish the experience of the listen. They both do an outstanding job, so if you've never picked this book up do yourself a favor and download it.

I thought it was a very interesting Book. I listened to it mostly cause I am a Viet Nam Vet and wanted to know about Daniel Ellsberg. That was the main reason I listened to it. I didn't care for the Book that much but was glad I listened to it. I guess I would recommend it to a friend.

I lived through this era (young, but present & alert) and didn't know lots of what the Pentagon Papers were about, and what their attempted suppression led to. Very impressive narrative of an individual's self-endangerment for an intentional & noble purpose.