Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War (National Book Award Finalist)

As an adult I enjoyed reading this immensely. The book is definitely a “page-turner” and I now have a clear understanding of the Pentagon Papers. Reading more of this author’s books.

I really enjoyed this book so much that I bought another one of his books after,Bomb. Full disclosure, I did read this book with along with the audio book voice to keep my focus due to ADD. I might have stopped to think about details a little too long. LOL I couldn't put the book down! I enjoyed reading a book that I could take away historical information. He also has source notes, pages and pages of source notes to verify the details in this book & all of his books. I like reading a history book with an easier more enjoyable read, but still very factual and interesting. I liked the hard back bc it was durable to take on the go and not get damaged. However, it does add a little extra weight to carry around, but to me worth it. My back in 10 years might disagree. I enjoyed the correlation from things that happened long ago to more current issues arising currently in 2017...Not to give away any spoilers!

There were several comments here regarding how the troops were treated upon their return and they are quite correct. That happened. I knew a lot of people that went through that. One of them whose boss, my best friend’s father growing up, returned and the hecklers weren't smart enough to know what it means when a military man has a thousand yard stare and no insignia. He was just getting ready to wade into those morons when the airport security said they'd take care of it. I don't blame Daniel Ellsberg for their treatment. I blame the stupid liberals that did it. I actually went back and read 'Do It' by Jerry Rubin and even Saul Alinsky's moronic work etc. Their thinking was and still is quite vacuous. It reminds me of the opening lines to Yeats “The Second Coming”"Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity."There is some flat out wrong information in here regarding Daniel Ellsberg never leaving Boston. During the time where the author says he never left Boston, he was in Colorado. Specifically in Littleton two blocks from my house. I'm pretty certain that was the time frame because I was on summer vacation. I remembered it being several months after I was briefly introduced to Daniel Ellsberg that he turned himself in, but it wasn’t, obviously. Summer vacation can be boring and the mind foggy after 46 years. Daniel stayed at the home of John Paul Vann for several days. Mr. Vann asked his son Pete and I if we wanted to go with him to drop a friend off at the airport. Pete had warned me that his father, briefly home from the war, had someone special over and to let them know if anyone asked me any questions. So obviously I had to deny knowing anything. I knew what his father was so I was all in. While over at Pete’s house Mr. and Mrs. Vann would be in their room and then go talk to their mystery visitor at the top of the stairs and then they’d go back to their room as the visitor went back down stairs.When we said "Sure" regarding going with him to the airport, we were given very specific instructions as to where and when to sit in the car etc. I was to sit directly behind John Vann. Pete sat behind Mr. Ellsberg. After we had driven for a while as Mr. Vann scanned the rearview mirror constantly, he finally several blocks away stopped and turned around looking me right in the eye and said, “Rick I would like you to meet my good friend Daniel Ellsberg.” After these events Mr. Vann went back to Vietnam and was given the equivalent rank of Major General and control over our armies and theirs. When he returned he proceeded to kick VC and NVA ass until his death June 9th in 72. I’ve always suspected the South Vietnamese government did him in. They were never fans of each other. Quite a few years back I wrote a five part article on that event. It kept coming back at me later in life. My wife even worked for a man who knew Mr. Vann over there. What I learned there helped all of the pieces fall into place. I met a man not too long after that who actually worked for Mr. Vann in Vietnam.I have a serious problem with comparing what Daniel Ellsberg did with what Snowden has done. By the time I got to the end of the book I felt that was the major reason he wrote this book. What the Pentagon Papers exposed was deplorable. How Nixon managed to derail his entire life and administration was amazingly crazy and amusing in retrospect. Snowden reminds me more of the morons that abused our soldiers when they returned; a vacuous radical ideologue that understands nothing. Ellsberg showed actions that equate to murder and mayhem and Snowden’s actions will probably lead to murder and mayhem. I have nothing but respect for Daniel Ellsberg and absolutely none for Snowden.

A fantastic read full of drama and excitement. I read this with my 9.5 year old and it was a perfect selection that brought about many dinner table and drive-time conversations about government and our responsibilities as citizens. Ellsberg exposed the lies that through three presidencies that both launched and then continued the US involvement in the Vietnam conflict.This fascinating history about Ellsberg and his struggle with exposing the truth about Vietnam reads like a spy novel. Ellsberg wanted to expose the truth about Vietnam and ended up ending a presidency. (The Plumbers!)Sheinkin's writing is superb and you should check out his other books including "The Bomb" and "The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery" both also excellent reads that both inform and entertain.