The Pentagon's Brain

By Annie Jacobsen,

Book cover of The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency

Book description

No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history of the organization, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents and declassified memos to paint a…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Pentagon's Brain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

DARPA has been the gold standard for research and early-stage development since its inception in 1958. DARPA's accomplishments have included the development of the internet, stealth technology, global position system (GPS), night vision, and unmanned drones, to name a few.

The book lays out an extraordinary record of accomplishment—DARPA has developed a “secret sauce” that few have been able to emulate. I first picked up the book when I was leading the Department of Homeland Security’s equivalent organization, the Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency (HSARPA). 

Want books like The Pentagon's Brain?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Pentagon's Brain.

Browse books like The Pentagon's Brain

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in military policy, national security, and presidential biography?

Military Policy 35 books