First published 2011
Donald Rumsfeld chronicles his journey from Depression-era childhood through eight decades of American public service. He details his path from Naval aviator to youngest Defense Secretary in history, serving under Nixon and Ford, then returning to the Pentagon during the Bush administration's response to 9/11. Rumsfeld confronts the major controversies of his career: the battles over military transformation, decisions during the Iraq War, and crises at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. He shares encounters with world leaders from Margaret Thatcher to Saddam Hussein, and American presidents from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. Drawing on previously classified documents and personal archives, Rumsfeld offers his direct perspective on pivotal moments including Watergate, Vietnam, and the war on terror. The memoir presents both his successes and failures with characteristic bluntness, providing readers with insider access to major historical events and the decision-making processes that shaped them.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, autobiography, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, military-history, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-access, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Pentagon
Period: Watergate, Vietnam War, War on Terror
815 pages · Hardcover · Sentinel
Content warnings: war