The Declassification Engine

What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets

By: Matthew Connelly

Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey

Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDHILL HISTORY PRIZE • Every day, thousands of new secrets are created by the United States government. What is all this secrecy really for? And whom does it benefit?

“A brilliant, deeply unsettling look at the history and inner workings of ‘the dark state'.... At a time when federal agencies are increasingly classifying or destroying documents with historical significance, this book could not be more important.” —Eric Schlosser, New York Times best-selling author of Command and Control

Before World War II, transparent government was a proud tradition in the United States. In all but the most serious of circumstances, classification, covert operations, and spying were considered deeply un-American. But after the war, the power to decide what could be kept secret proved too tempting to give up. Since then, we have radically departed from that open tradition, allowing intelligence agencies, black sites, and classified laboratories to grow unchecked. Officials insist that only secrecy can keep us safe, but its true costs have gone unacknowledged for too long.

Using the latest techniques in data science, historian Matthew Connelly analyzes a vast trove of state secrets to unearth not only what the government really did not want us to know but also why they didn’t want us to know it. Culling this research and carefully examining a series of pivotal moments in recent history, from Pearl Harbor to drone warfare, Connelly sheds light on the drivers of state secrecy— especially incompetence and criminality—and how rampant overclassification makes it impossible to protect truly vital information.

What results is an astonishing study of power: of the greed it enables, of the negligence it protects, and of what we lose as citizens when our leaders cannot be held to account. A crucial examination of the self-defeating nature of secrecy and the dire state of our nation’s archives, The Declassification Engine is a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving the past so that we may secure our future.

©2023 Matthew Connelly (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“It may be the most presciently timed book ever written. . . . It's the love story between America and its secrets.” —Jon Stewart

“Connelly has defined an existential crisis: the suppression of American history. . . . The Declassification Engine makes the case that the culture of secrecy diminishes democracy. And it has now become a culture of destruction as well.” —Tim Weiner, The New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating and urgent. . . . If you believe in the founding principles of the American form of government, then the stakes could scarcely be higher.” —Patrick Radden Keefe, Foreign Affairs

Great book and well read.

In our world of constant left-right rancor, this book addresses some big problems that neither side wants to fix. Its a good blend of people and modern tech with historical contexts.

Informative and Deeply Disturbing

I bought the book after listening to a Jon Stewart podcast and was not disappointed.
We may live in a democracy but the government is a living Hydra with departments and leaders that manipulate and direct public policy with impunity. Government officials have an impact on public policy long after they are out of office or retire and we have limited knowledge of what and why they did what they did when they did it.
This book offers a deep dive into what we don't know and are only beginning to discover.
The AI future may not bode well for modern democracy in that transparency may reveal TMI.

Great read, unbiased view on the problem of over-classification

Great read, Matthew Connelly has again outdone himself with a book that gives one a new view on the past, present, and future of our nation’s secrets.