SHORTLISTEDFORTHECUNDHILLHISTORYPRIZE-Everyday,thousandsofnewsecretsarecreatedbytheUnitedStatesgovernment.Whatisallthissecrecyreallyfor?Andwhomdoesitbenefit?“Abrilliant,deeplyunsettlinglookatthehistoryandinnerworkingsof’thedarkstate’....Atatimewhenfederalagenciesareincreasinglyclassifyingordestroyingdocumentswithhistoricalsignificance,thisbookcouldnotbemoreimportant.“--EricSchlosser,NewYorkTimesbest-sellingauthorofCommandandControlBeforeWorldWarII,transparentgovernmentwasaproudtraditionintheUnitedStates.Inallbutthemostseriousofcircumstances,classification,covertoperations,andspyingwereconsidereddeeplyun-American.Butafterthewar,thepowertodecidewhatcouldbekeptsecretprovedtootemptingtogiveup.Sincethen,wehaveradicallydepartedfromthatopentradition,allowingintelligenceagencies,blacksites,andclassifiedlaboratoriestogrowunchecked.Officialsinsistthatonlysecrecycankeepussafe,butitstruecostshavegoneunacknowledgedfortoolong.Usingthelatesttechniquesindatascience,historianMatthewConnellyanalyzesavasttroveofstatesecretstounearthnotonlywhatthegovernmentreallydidnotwantustoknowbutalsowhytheydidn’twantustoknowit.Cullingthisresearchandcarefullyexaminingaseriesofpivotalmomentsinrecenthistory,fromPearlHarbortodronewarfare,Connellyshedslightonthedriversofstatesecrecy--especiallyincompetenceandcriminality--andhowrampantoverclassificationmakesitimpossibletoprotecttrulyvitalinformation.Whatresultsisanastonishingstudyofpower:ofthegreeditenables,ofthenegligenceitprotects,andofwhatweloseascitizenswhenourleaderscannotbeheldtoaccount.Acrucialexaminationoftheself-defeatingnatureofsecrecyandthedirestateofournation’sarchives,TheDeclassificationEngineisapowerfulreminderoftheimportanceofpreservingthepastsothatwemaysecureourfuture.
