by Tim Weiner
First published 1990
The Pentagon operates a shadow budget worth thirty-six billion dollars, funding classified weapons programs and covert military operations beyond public scrutiny. Weiner exposes how defense officials manipulate congressional oversight and exploit budget loopholes to finance their hidden agenda. The investigation reveals a parallel military economy where billions disappear into unmarked accounts, supporting everything from experimental aircraft to undisclosed foreign interventions. Defense contractors and Pentagon brass collaborate to keep these expenditures invisible while taxpayers unknowingly foot the bill. This expose demonstrates how the military-industrial complex operates outside democratic accountability, turning government secrecy into a tool for unlimited spending on projects that Congress never approved and the public never authorized.
Genres: political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, government-conspiracy
273 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing