"The study was a history of America's war in Southeast Asia - and a top-secret record of official deception about a bloody conflict no one felt America could win.". "Henry Kissinger called the leak of what became known as the Pentagon Papers "the most extensive release of classified documents and information ever to occur in this country." The Justice Department tried to stop publication - and failed. Richard Nixon's attempt to punish the man who gave the secrets away also failed - and led the way to Watergate.". "The former Pentagon aide who brought the secret history of Vietnam to the world was the first person in U.S. history to face criminal charges for passing government secrets to a newspaper. His name is Daniel Ellsberg, and this is his life. It is an extraordinary tale of courage and conscience, but also of uncontrolled ambition and personal failure."--BOOK JACKET.