Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Daniel Ellsberg was a government insider who leaked the classified Pentagon Papers to The New York Times in 1972. Ellsberg grew up in Detroit, Michigan, during World War II and the start of the Cold War. Even though the fighting was thousands of miles away, the war left a lasting impression on him. When the Cold War began, he was “riveted” by the “global rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union” (8). He admired President Harry Truman’s commitment to battling communism and supporting democracy around the world. As a result, Ellsberg became a self-described “cold warrior.”

When he was a young man, many of Ellsberg’s classmates remarked on his studiousness and “intensity.” Ellsberg was “obsessed with absorbing information and new ideas” (7); however, he was also full of surprises and was unafraid to branch out and try new things like soccer and school plays. After graduating from Harvard University, the decidedly unathletic Ellsberg surprised his professors and classmates by enlisting in the Marines. With his characteristic tenacity and determination, Ellsberg “willed his way” through Marine training and became a lieutenant (10). Then, he returned to Harvard and completed a PhD in economics.