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

Boring. Lots of excuses.

Esper tells his boring life story and accomplishments. A few tidbits of Trump's idiocy and callousness that were hyped to sell the book was all there was. I had heard about shooting the protesters in the legs and calling all his advisor's f'ing losers before. The only new-ish thing was the bit about bombing Mexican drug labs - but I heard all about that on TV anyway. Unfortunately, Esper seems to lay out many excuses in anticipation of the criticisms he's expecting when the book is published, including the big question, why didn't he say something at the time? Oh, he stayed to protect us from someone worse getting into the position. Right. Why did he take the job in the first place when he knew who Trump was?

I was bored and walked away from listening to this book halfway through. His book tour with Cable pundits shows there is not much else to see here, folks. In my opinion, the remarkable career he laid out for us, was all tainted when he accepted a leadership position in the Trump administration. He, and everyone else, knew who Trump was long before he was elected. In my opinion, criticizing trump AFTER getting fired and publishing a book doesn't count.

Bragging, ego driven, worthless drivel

I thought this book was about his behind the scenes interactions at the White House. It is only about him bragging about cutting 1/1000th of the military budget and pretending like that makes him a hero. In addition to the warmongering and pressing for future conflict, I'm shutting this off and not going back. Not simply because I disagree, but because it's insulting to the average American. I'm grateful that he didn't let Trump blow up Earth. But he brags about his own troops blowing up others. What a waste of a book. The narrator was okay though.

Duty, Honor, Country

A Sacred Oath was an honest and educational read. Though I spent 43 years in an Army uniform, 34 years on Active Duty, and graduated from the United States Military Academy [1973], I never had such a clear understanding of the responsibilities and workings of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. It appears to me that Secretary Esper did his best to maintain those high standards taught at the Academy.

Self glorifying. Should've been printed earlier.

Was looking forward to this book due to the proximity of Esper to the president. I found the self- promotion distracting. A lot of military history and so many acronyms that I needed to keep a list.....and my dad was a "lifer" Marine. While Esper did bring some new info to light much of this book was a mix of rehashing, military history, and Democrat bashing. Could someone please write a book without demonizing their political opponents? Facts are facts. Let them stand on their own merits and let the readers decide where their own political opinions stand.
I'll be requesting a refund.
Give me back my credit.
Take my money out of Esper's wallet.

Boring!

Was expecting a lot of outrageous Trump stories, not a biography of boring details about his job.

Strong bias leads to disappointment

I believe Esper’s political bias becomes painfully obvious after the first few chapters. Esper wants you to know that he did a phenomenal job in every role that he held; that Trump voiced some incredibly unbecoming and belligerent thoughts and ideas, but they come from a good place… Sound egregious? That’s where I stopped.

Another testimony to the insanity of the Trump presidency

Until hearing this audiobook I can’t say that I understood who Mark Esper really was. Now I know and I’m grateful for his contributions and the dedication of he and his Team to the values we hope our leaders follow. How close we came as a country to complete collapse. Frightening

A Great Listen!

The narrator’s style and voice inflections made Esper’s story come alive. I appreciate Mark’s honesty, his determination to keep the military apolitical, and willingness to always strive to do the right thing! I can tell he loves this country and the people he serves.

Same script, same cast. More whitewashing.

Remember the days' when an entire PR team took care of rehabilitating someone's image. Today, all it takes is a book.

"I didn't want to, but I had no choice." Is the new and sorry excuse for everything.

A Unique Perspective

This was a great book. It’s not a “tell all” like most of the ex-Trump officials have been writing. It is literally his memoirs. It’s very interesting to hear his perspective of events and you get a better look at the sober minds that worked to keep our government and military functioning the way they were intended too. It’s not a juicy tell all like a Bob Woodard book, so some parts are a bit slow. But definitely worth a read.