The Pentagon, Steve Vogel
The Pentagon, Steve Vogel
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The Pentagon
A History

Author: Steve Vogel

Narrator: Paul Heitsch

Unabridged: 19 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/18/2020

Categories: Nonfiction, Architecture

Synopsis

The creation of the Pentagon in seventeen whirlwind months during World War II is one of the great construction feats in American history, involving a tremendous mobilization of manpower, resources, and minds. In astonishingly short order, Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell conceived and built an institution that ranks with the White House, the Vatican, and a handful of other structures as symbols recognized around the world. Now veteran military reporter Steve Vogel reveals for the first time the remarkable story of the Pentagon's construction, from it's dramatic birth to its rebuilding after the September 11 attack.

The Pentagon's post-World War II history is told through its critical moments, including the troubled birth of the Department of Defense during the Cold War, the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the tumultuous 1967 protest against the Vietnam War. The pivotal attack on September 11 is related with chilling new detail, as is the race to rebuild the damaged Pentagon, a restoration that echoed the spirit of its creation.

This study of a single enigmatic building tells a broader story of modern American history, from the eve of World War II to the new wars of the twenty-first century. Steve Vogel has crafted a dazzling work of military social history.

About Steve Vogel

Steve Vogel is the author of Through the Perlious Fight and The Pentagon: A History. He is a reporter for the national staff of the Washington Post who covers the federal government and frequently writes about the military and veterans. Based overseas from 1989 through 1994 and reporting for the Post and Army Times, he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War, and subsequently reported on military operations in Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Vogel also covered the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and its subsequent reconstruction. He lives in the Washington metro area.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Fishface on August 26, 2019

For a book about a really big building project, this was incredibly gripping, even suspenseful. Full of towering historical figures debating whether and how the Pentagon was going to be built, making it happen despite (and in part because of) the attack on Pearl Harbor, and -- in a country where it......more

Goodreads review by Paul on October 31, 2011

I bought this book in August 2008 as part of my ongoing effort to learn more about the American "military-industrial complex". It turns out that there are not many books on the Pentagon; this was one of the few devoted to it. Admittedly it appeared to be mainly about the actual building rather than......more

Goodreads review by Ari on November 02, 2009

A very detailed history of the Pentagon. The building, not the Defense Department. In some ways, it's a paradigmatic defense procurement program. Huge, hugely over budget, pushing the technical envelope, and subject to endless political meddling. One of the things you learn is that Roosevelt thought......more

Goodreads review by Spencer on August 01, 2018

Thanks again to @steve_vogel for a book that was as excellent the second time around as it was the first time, ten years ago. It's also nice to know that 14-year-old me made at least one good choice in 2008. This work was then, and remains, easily one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of......more

Goodreads review by Anne on March 24, 2013

This is a book about a building--how it was built, the action it has seen, and its place within the U.S. military. The book defies every opportunity to become a yawn and gives a intriguing account of the people and politics that went into building the Pentagon. If you live in the DC area this is a m......more

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