Imatge de l'autor

Daniel Ellsberg (1931–2023)

Autor/a de Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

8+ obres 1,019 Membres 14 Ressenyes 1 preferits

Sobre l'autor

Daniel Ellsberg, a Harvard graduate, ex-Marine, and Rand Corporation analyst, was recruited to serve in the Pentagon during the Johnson administration. Now a prominent speaker, writer, and activist, Ellsberg lives in California and Washington, D.C.
Crèdit de la imatge: Daniel Ellsberg, à Dresde (Allemagne), en février 2016

Obres de Daniel Ellsberg

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Democracy dies in darkness is a tag line that the Washington Post adopted during the reign of our unbenevolent despot and it is an apt way to think about this fascinating and important memoir by Daniel Ellsberg. The book works through Ellsberg’s time as first and advisor and supporter of the Vietnam war to his eventually disillusionment about the lies being told and his principled opposition to it. Ellsberg was there and he has the facts and the recall to walk us through it in detail in such a way that I find it hard to believe anyone would come out from reading this book and not being angry about what happened. His main point is that the people who knew what was going on DID provide information and guidance to those making the decisions that should have guided them to stopping our involvement in the war. However, the outward facing communication with the public was not truthful and indeed democracy did die in the darkness, as he realized that “the president’s ability to escalate, his entire strategy throughout the war, had depended on secrecy and lying and thus on his ability to deter unauthorized disclosures—truth telling—by officials.” Given this situation his decision to “break the law” and release the Pentagon Papers is not only understandable but heroic. The writing is factual, understandable, and interesting. A fantastic book.… (més)
 
Marcat
MarkMad | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Jul 14, 2021 |
Words of James Madison, drafter of the First Amendment:

“A popular government, without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."


Words of H. R. Haldeman spoken to President Nixon, Oval Office tapes, June 14, 1971, on the impact of the Pentagon Papers:

"To the ordinary guy, all this is a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can’t trust the government; you can’t believe what they say; and you can’t rely on their judgement. And the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this, because it shows that people do things the president wants to do even though it’s wrong, and the president can be wrong.”

Ellsberg’s story of his deed is well told. Here is a man who risked his life for his country and then threw away his career and potentially his freedom to end a fruitless and murderous war. Score a point for the good guys.
… (més)
 
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Keith62 | Hi ha 5 ressenyes més | Jul 12, 2021 |

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Obres
8
També de
3
Membres
1,019
Popularitat
#25,282
Valoració
4.1
Ressenyes
14
ISBN
28
Llengües
2
Preferit
1

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