The what history reveals about America's top secrets Connelly, Matthew James 1967- creator text bibliography nyu 2024 First Vintage Books edition. monographic eng

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xvii, 540 pages : some illustrations, some maps ; 21 cm "Before World War II, transparent government was a proud tradition in the United States. In all but the most serious of circumstances, classification, covert operations, and spying were considered deeply un-American. But after the war, the power to decide what could be kept secret proved too tempting to give up. Since then, we have radically departed from that open tradition, allowing intelligence agencies, black sites, and classified laboratories to grow unchecked. Officials insist that only secrecy can keep us safe, but its true costs have gone unacknowledged for too long. Using the latest techniques in data science, historian Matthew Connelly analyzes a vast trove of state secrets to unearth not only what the government really did not want us to know but also why they didn't want us to know it. Culling this research and carefully examining a series of pivotal moments in recent history, from Pearl Harbor to drone warfare, Connelly sheds light on the drivers of state secrecy-- especially incompetence and criminality--and how rampant overclassification makes it impossible to protect truly vital information. What results is an astonishing study of power: of the greed it enables, of the negligence it protects, and of what we lose as citizens when our leaders cannot be held to account. A crucial examination of the self-defeating nature of secrecy and the dire state of our nation's archives, The Declassification Engine is a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving the past so that we may secure our future." Preface: Should this book be legal? -- The radical transparency of the American republic: a reintroduction -- Pearl Harbor: the original secret -- The bomb: born secret -- Code making and code breaking: the secret of secrets -- The military-industrial complex: the dirty secret of civil-military relations -- Surveillance: other people's secrets -- Weird science: secrets that are stranger than fiction -- Following the money: trade secrets -- Spin: the flipside of secrecy -- There is no there there: the best-kept secret -- Deleting the archive: the ultimate secret -- Conclusion: The end of history as we know it. Matthew Connelly. Includes bibliographical references (pages [407]-502) and index. n-us--- Transparency (Ethics) in government United States Transparencia en el gobierno Estados Unidos Government information Access control United States Información gubernamental Control de acceso Estados Unidos Public administration United States Administración pública Estados Unidos Security classification (Government documents) United States Executive privilege (Government information) United States Official secrets United States Secretos de estado Estados Unidos Classification de sécurité (Documents gouvernementaux) États-Unis Privilège de l'exécutif (Information sur l'État) États-Unis Secrets d'État États-Unis Information sur l'État Accès Contrôle États-Unis Administration publique (Science) États-Unis United States Politics and government États-Unis Politique et gouvernement JK 468 C752d 2024 352.3/790973 9781101973677 (paperback) 1101973676 (paperback) 2023301865 YDX 240311 20260324135013.0 23602377 eng