Most Dangerous - by Steve Sheinkin (Paperback)

About the Book

From award-winning author Steve Sheinkin comes a tense, exciting exploration of what the Times deemed "the greatest story of the century" how Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into "the most dangerous man in America," and risked everything to expose the government's deceit.

Book Synopsis

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War is New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin's award-winning nonfiction account of an ordinary man who wielded the most dangerous weapon: the truth.

"Easily the best study of the Vietnam War available for teen readers."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner
A National Book Award finalist
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon book
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature finalist
Selected for the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People List

In 1964, Daniel Ellsberg was a U.S. government analyst, helping to plan a war in Vietnam. It was the height of the Cold War, and the government would do anything to stop the spread of communism--with or without the consent of the American people.

As the fighting in Vietnam escalated, Ellsberg turned against the war. He had access a top-secret government report known as the Pentagon Papers, and he knew it could blow the lid off of years of government lies. But did he have the right to expose decades of presidential secrets? And what would happen to him if he did it?

A lively book that interrogates the meanings of patriotism, freedom, and integrity, the National Book Award finalist Most Dangerous further establishes Steve Sheinkin--author of Newbery Honor book Bomb as a leader in children's nonfiction.

This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum.

"Gripping."--New York Times Book Review

"A master of fast-paced histories...[this] is Sheinkin's most compelling one yet. "--Washington Post

Also by Steve Sheinkin:

Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution
Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War
Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

Review Quotes

2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner
A 2015 National Book Award finalist
A 2015 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon book
A 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature finalist
Selected for the 2016 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People List

"Gripping." --New York Times Book Review

"Lively, detailed prose rooted in a tremendous amount of research, fully documented. . . Easily the best study of the Vietnam War available for teen readers." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Sheinkin has done again what he does so well: condense mountains of research into a concise, accessible, and riveting account of history. . . [This book] will keep readers racing forward." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Powerful and thought-provoking." --Booklist, starred review

"Fast-paced and fascinating. . . backed up by meticulous research." --VOYA, starred review

"Thoroughly researched, thoughtfully produced, and beautifully written . . . a timely and extraordinary addition to every library." --School & Library Journal, starred review

"Immediate and compelling . . . Here, [Sheinkin] has outdone even himself." --The Horn Book, starred review

"A thrilling ride."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Sheinkin's most compelling one yet." --The Washington Post

"Young people in the United States are growing up in a vastly changed world, one where endless war and all-pervasive surveillance is a matter of course. 'Most Dangerous' will help them understand how it has become so." --The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, was a National Book Award finalist and received the 2014 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, won both the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and the YALSA award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon was a Newbery Honor Book, a National Book Award Finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award and YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War was a National Book Award finalist, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner, and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Award winner. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.