The Day the Presses Stopped: A History of the Pentagon Papers Case
Despite Americans' constitutional right to a free press, certain government  information--particularly that concerning military affairs--has been placed beyond the  realm of public access. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1971, however (brought about  when the Nixon administration sued the theNew York Times) knocked a  howitzer-sized hole in that theory when the case allowed theNew York Timesand theWashington Postto print excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000- page document regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam. After years of poring over secret  documents and transcripts, David Rudenstine has written the definitive analysis of the  dramatic case in all its various contexts and from the perspectives of all the players.  Clearly negotiating a maze of facts and legalese,The Day the Presses Stoppedexplains the powerful political forces at work behind the case, weighing the arguments of  freedom of information versus national and diplomatic security in a vivid and engaging  manner.