History · Similar reads

Books like The Pentagon Papers

The best books like The Pentagon Papers are The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, and The Forever War. The Pentagon Papers by Neil Sheehan et al. is about vietnam war, government secrecy, media and democracy. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

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    The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

    Lawrence Wright · History

    Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower is the most comprehensive account of how al-Qaeda came to attack the United States on September 11, 2001.

    A kindred history read.

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  2. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
    Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

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    Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

    Thomas E. Ricks · History

    Thomas Ricks was the Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post when he wrote Fiasco, and the book reflects years of direct access to the military officials, planners, and soldiers involved in the Iraq War.

    A kindred history read.

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  3. The Forever War
    The Forever War

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    The Forever War

    Dexter Filkins · History

    Dexter Filkins spent more than a decade covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the New York Times, and The Forever War is his attempt to render what he witnessed in a form that is closer to literature than journalism.

    A kindred history read.

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  1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

    04

    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

    Yuval Noah Harari · History

    Sapiens traces the full arc of human history from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa roughly 70,000 years ago to the present.

    A kindred history read.

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  2. The Best and the Brightest
    The Best and the Brightest

    05

    The Best and the Brightest

    David Halberstam · History

    David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest, published in 1972, is both a history of American intervention in Vietnam and a study of institutional failure.

    Both dig into vietnam war.

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  3. Dispatches
    Dispatches

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    Dispatches

    Michael Herr · Memoir

    Michael Herr went to Vietnam as a correspondent for Esquire in 1967 and spent eighteen months embedded with Marine and Army units before the experience broke him psychologically.

    Both dig into vietnam war.

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  4. The Things They Carried
    The Things They Carried

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    The Things They Carried

    Tim O'Brien · Memoir

    Tim O'Brien served as a foot soldier in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.

    Both dig into vietnam war.

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  5. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
    1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

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    1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

    Charles C. Mann · History

    Charles Mann's 1491 sets out to correct a widespread misconception: that the Americas before Columbus were a mostly empty wilderness populated by small, isolated bands of hunter-gatherers living in gentle harmony with an untouched nature.

    A kindred history read.

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  6. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
    1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

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    1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

    Charles C. Mann · History

    Where 1491 ends, 1493 begins.

    A kindred history read.

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  7. 1776
    1776

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    1776

    David McCullough · History

    David McCullough's 1776, published in 2005, covers a single year of the American Revolution — from the winter siege of Boston through Washington's crossing of the Delaware and the surprise victory at Trenton.

    A kindred history read.

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  8. A Man on the Moon
    A Man on the Moon

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    A Man on the Moon

    Andrew Chaikin · History

    A Man on the Moon is Andrew Chaikin's exhaustive narrative history of the Apollo program, from the first lunar orbit of Apollo 8 in 1968 through the final mission, Apollo 17, in 1972.

    A kindred history read.

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  9. A People's History of the United States
    A People's History of the United States

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    A People's History of the United States

    Howard Zinn · History

    Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, first published in 1980, retells American history from the perspective of those who rarely appear in conventional textbooks: Native Americans, enslaved people, industrial workers, women, immigrants, and dissidents of various kinds.

    A kindred history read.

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Books like The Pentagon Papers: quick answers

What are the best books like The Pentagon Papers?

The best books like The Pentagon Papers by Neil Sheehan et al. are The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks, The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Pentagon Papers, such as vietnam war, government secrecy, media and democracy.

What should I read after The Pentagon Papers?

A natural next read after The Pentagon Papers is The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright. A kindred history read. Other strong choices are Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks, The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.

What books are similar to The Pentagon Papers by Neil Sheehan et al.?

The Pentagon Papers centers on vietnam war, government secrecy, media and democracy. Books with a similar feel include The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks, The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, Dispatches by Michael Herr — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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