The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency

by Annie Jacobsen Narrated by Annie Jacobsen

Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A Pulitzer Prize Finalist and the definitive history of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Area 51

No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA, or "the Pentagon's brain," from its Cold War inception in 1958 to the present.

This is the book on DARPA--a compelling narrative about this clandestine intersection of science and the American military and the often frightening results.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Pulitzer Prize Finalist in History

One of The Washington Post's Notable Nonfiction Books of 2015

One of The Boston Globe's Best Books of 2015

One of Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2015

The Pulitzer Prize Committee

A brilliantly researched account of a small but powerful secret government agency whose military research profoundly affects world affairs.

author of God’s Bankers Gerald Posner

Annie Jacobsen’s considerable talents as an investigative journalist prove indispensable in uncovering the remarkable history of one of America’s most powerful and clandestine military research agencies.”

The Washington Post Dina Temple-Raston

A fascinating and sometimes uneasy exploration of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency....

Nature Ann Finkbeiner

An exciting read that asks an important question: what is the risk of allowing lethal technologies to be developed in secret?

Seattle Times Mary Ann Gwinn

Annie Jacobsen has a gift for unearthing secret, long-buried information.

Mother Jones Bryan Schatz

In this fascinating and terrifying account, Annie Jacobsen regales us with the stories behind the agency's 'consequential and sometimes Orwellian' innovations, including autonomous weapons systems—killer robots that could decide, without human intervention, who lives and who dies.

Booklist (starred review) Vanessa Bush

Jacobsen offers a definitive history of the clandestine agency.... She explores the implications of DARPA work on technology that will not be widely known to the public for generations but will certainly impact national security and concepts of war.

Bookforum Chris Bray

The Pentagon's Brain puts Jacobsen in the company of important writers ... such as Shane Harris and Rajiv Chandrasekran.

author of God's Bankers Gerald Posner

Annie Jacobsen's considerable talents as an investigative journalist prove indispensable in uncovering the remarkable history of one of America's most powerful and clandestine military research agencies. And she is a great storyteller, making the tantalizing tale of The Pentagon's Brain — from the depths of the Cold War to present day — come alive on every page.

author of God's Bankers Gerald Posner

Annie Jacobsen's considerable talents as an investigative journalist prove indispensable in uncovering the remarkable history of one of America's most powerful and clandestine military research agencies. And she is a great storyteller, making the tantalizing tale of The Pentagon's Brain — from the depths of the Cold War to present day — come alive on every page.

Library Journal

07/01/2015
Science is often viewed as a way for humanity to improve. However, in journalist Jacobsen's (Operation Paperclip) latest, it is directed at winning war—arguably humanity's cruelest facet. The author has methodically written the history of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), from its inception at the height of the atomic era in 1958 to the present. Her sources include countless archival materials, such as government documents and interviews. The author delves into how the success of DARPA rises and falls with America's military prowess, and how the technologies the agency has created affect daily life, from the Internet to global positioning systems (GPS). This technology is vastly overshadowed by the creation of biological, nuclear, and data mining operations—which receive much attention within this book. Jacobsen's account will serve as the model for histories of military research and development and is likely to lead to more works and articles about DARPA. VERDICT This engrossing, conversation-starting read is highly recommended for policymakers, historians, scientists, and others who study technology's implications. It will complement Jonathon Moreno's Mind Wars and Sarah Bridger's Scientists at War. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.]—Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio

Kirkus Reviews

2015-06-17
The history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the military's top-secret research and development agency. During the Cold War, the arms race between the United States and Soviet Union was a result of the belief in mutually assured destruction. If one nation were to strike with nuclear weapons, it would precipitate its own downfall. This constant tension created a unique environment in which the American military needed to invest heavily in new arms and technology to stay one step ahead of their Soviet foes. Officially created in 1958 by President Dwight Eisenhower, DARPA was tasked with leading the military's efforts to develop the means to prevent a Soviet nuclear strike or invasion. The department quickly evolved to encompass all manners of defense, including cutting-edge psychological and biological warfare. Jacobsen (Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, 2014, etc.) is no stranger to secretive government projects, and she weaves a dramatic history of the agency that exposes, through newly declassified documents and firsthand interviews with former DARPA scientists, the astounding and often terrifying developments that emerged from the program. One of the greatest pleasures of Jacobsen's thoroughly crafted narrative is the anachronisms of obsolete high-tech. For instance, the author details the development of ARPANET, the predecessor to today's Internet, and the room-sized computers that it was designed to use. However, not all DARPA projects are as apolitical and quaint. There is the unavoidable truth that DARPA was created to develop sophisticated weaponry designed to annihilate populations. One of the most egregious examples is Agent Orange, the extremely toxic defoliant. Chronicling DARPA to the present day, Jacobsen also sketches portraits of the immensely brilliant, ambitious, and flawed scientists that dedicated themselves to science and country. Filled with the intrigue and high stakes of a spy novel, Jacobsen's history of DARPA is as much a fascinating testament to human ingenuity as it is a paean to endless industrial warfare and the bureaucracy of the military-industrial complex.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170292202
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/22/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	493,249

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