The Building: A Biography of the Pentagon - Tapa dura

This is an excellent history book without going too deep, yet deep enough to bring some understanding to how it s run . The US Military has been managed in different ways and not always from a military standpoint. The battle between budgets and needs and how decisions are boiled down is an exciting peek into a world few ever see. The forced building of a five-sided, five-story structure in a swamp can be a nightmare for most engineers. True to US Gung ho fashion despite all adversity, it was done. The name evolved by itself and has already become a legend. To say The Pentagon is almost to swear oath to a more secret and powerful entity because each time it is said it leaves an atmosphere behind. Definitely factual and you can see the author had access to special privileged insight, which is all the more intriguing as he paints a battle of nerves that power brokers are good at. One of the most powerful and important buildings on earth was attacked during 9/11 it survived but still harbours mystery, even the date of the attack has a special meaning. For those who enjoy an unusual read and learn something, then this is one of those special volumes. --London morning Paper, April 2009

Enormously rich in detail, stunning in its vivid descriptions and bold character portraits, expert in the scope and breadth of its knowledge, rich in its depth of detail, the Building is nonfiction that is written with a novelist's brilliance and a scholar's keenly balanced sense of historical perspective. The book is a crowning achievement for David Alexander who has succeeded in elevating journalism to the lofty heights of narrative history as few authors before him have been able to do. While there have been glimpses inside the Defense Department and the Pentagon before, no one until now has published a comprehensive and detailed report on the often arcane inner workings of the mammoth defense establishment of the United States and its embodiment in the sprawling government building that houses it. As one of the most important works of investigative journalism to have come out of Washington in years, this fascinating book should be on the must-read list of everyone concerned with America's growing list of military commitments around the world. This is beyond a doubt the best-written book on a major nonfiction theme to appear in a long time. From the first page to the last there is the unmistakable voice that sets the true writer off from the ranks of media clones and corporate pretenders with at best superficial narrative powers. David Alexander's The Building has the guts and grit and sweat and muscle of the powerful personalities that built the Pentagon from the ground up using practically nothing but dirt and water, and the determination to do the impossible in record time. Like the builders of the Pentagon themselves, David Alexander has seemingly done the impossible: he has brought to life the incredible story of the Pentagon and the role it has played from Pearl Harbor to the War in Iraq. This is truly a nonfiction book that reads like the best of fast-paced adventure fiction. The Building: A Biography of the Pentagon is a remarkable achievement. It proves that once David Alexander gets a story in his sights and cocks the hammer, scoring a bullseye is inevitable. --Defence Review, April 2009