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The Pentagon Papers
- The Secret History of the Vietnam War
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 37 hrs
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Americas
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Publisher's Summary
"The WikiLeaks of its day" (Time) is as relevant as ever to present-day American politics.
Not fake news! The basis for the 2018 film The Post, The Pentagon Papers are a series of articles, documents, and studies examining the Johnson Administration's lies to the public about the extent of US involvement in the Vietnam War, bringing to light shocking conclusions about America's true role in the conflict.
Published by The New York Times in 1971, The Pentagon Papers riveted an already deeply divided nation with startling and disturbing revelations about the United States' involvement in Vietnam. The Washington Post called them "the most significant leaks of classified material in American history" and they remain relevant today as a reminder of the importance of a free press and First Amendment rights. The Pentagon Papers demonstrated that the government had systematically lied to both the public and to Congress.
This incomparable volume includes:
- The Truman and Eisenhower Years: 1945-1960 by Fox Butterfield
- Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam by Fox Butterfield
- The Kennedy Years: 1961-1963 by Hedrick Smith
- The Overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem: May-November, 1963 by Hedrick Smith
- The Covert War and Tonkin Gulf: February-August, 1964 by Neil Sheehan
- The Consensus to Bomb North Vietnam: August, 1964 - February, 1965 by Neil Sheehan
- The Launching of the Ground War: March-July, 1965 by Neil Sheehan
- The Buildup: July, 1965 - September, 1966 by Fox Butterfield
- Secretary McNamara's Disenchantment: October, 1966 - May, 1967 by Hedrick Smith
- The Tet Offensive and the Turnaround by E. W. Kenworthy
- Analysis and Comment
- Court Records
- Biographies of Key Figures
With a brand-new foreword by James L. Greenfield, this edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning story is sure to provoke discussion about free press and government deception, and shed some light on issues in the past and the present so that we can better understand and improve the future.
Listen to the Articles of Impeachment and Supporting Reports
Audible has a long history of recording and releasing public documents in audio to keep listeners informed. Our recorded versions of the documents relating to the impeachment investigation into Donald J. Trump are available now, free of charge.
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What listeners say about The Pentagon Papers
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sean
- 02-08-18
Awful as an audiobook
This may be the worst suited book for an audio version ever. I gave up after four chapters. There is nothing enjoyable about someone reading a list of dates and events, let alone multiple government documents word for word. Through the first four chapters there was almost no narrative, except in the foreword. I am considering purchasing this book in hard copy as I like both documentary evidence and this subject matter, but this book in this format was as hellacious as a firefight in a Vietnamese monsoon.
27 people found this helpful
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Not appropriate for audio.
Narration: stilted, boring, burdensome---reason enough to avoid listening.
Content: important for archives but unless you are insured to robotic narration, skip this one.
19 people found this helpful
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- Mike Williams
- 04-25-18
Good Historic Document, Poor Delivery
Please, please, please make sure narrators and familiar with the material they narrate. This narrator’s pronunciation is atrocious which significantly distracts from the material. If the historical content wasn’t so significant I would have stopped listening. It was painful!
8 people found this helpful
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- Stefano Manenti
- 02-25-19
great book ! The inside story of VN war
quite long reading but really interesting: the debate behind the key decisions in VN. Narrator great as well
3 people found this helpful
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- ritware
- 10-30-19
Why Vietnam?
This book answers in detail why we were in Vietnam, how we got in and eventually reasons we lost Vietnam. The read was interesting yet exhausted. I have a better understanding of the subject.
2 people found this helpful
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- kennon s. & Elizabeth
- 12-13-21
K Stephens review of the Pentagon papers audiobook
I recommend a shorter version of the Supreme Court back and forth and get to the point of the final decision. I found that very distracting and somewhat irrelevant. As a Vietnam veteran this was a real iopener on the history of the war. I would also recommend citing other sources to read about what happened through to 1975 for a complete reference.
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- pen name
- 01-25-21
not my cup of tea.
not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea not my cup of tea. this is not for us...…………..
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- Jryan117
- 06-13-20
couldn't pay attention
i really tried to listen but the narrators voice is so vanilla and business like that I end up zoning out and miss paragraphs at a time.