This is a distinctive book with numerous weaknesses, some errors, and one great strength. The weakness is that the book shows controversial arguments rather than a policy analysis. Moynihan has a particular view he wants to advance, and he is not interested in considering alternate explanations or exploring evidence that is contradictory with his view. Moynihan marks the start of modern secrecy with the Espionage Act. Most of the distinctive features of twentieth-century secrecy are rooted in the program to build the atomic bomb, including vast secret budgets and cover stories.

I particularly enjoyed the book in that it told the truth of past events. I did not like that the book was written from only Moynihan's point of view and did not discuss other opinions. I enjoyed the book because it is nonfiction and reveals the truth of secrecy in America. Most importantly I found it interesting that this book was written b

Daniel Patrick Moynihan draws two conclusions from his study of the way America keeps its secrets. If the federal government had revealed all it knew about Soviet espionage activities in the United States during and after World War II, there might have been no McCarthy era. If the U.S. intelligence community had needed its own analysis of the Soviet economy in the aftermath of World War II, there might have been no Cold War. These are the conclusions Moynihan makes.

Moynihan proves that the American people and government have been the worst sufferers of this secrecy culture. For example: the xenophobic hysteria which led to the 1917 espionage act and the Dulles-Hoover cold war gyrations.

y Senator Moynihan rather than by an ordinary person who would make many assumptions in order to write a book about secrecy. This US senator from New York analyzes the roots of America's obsession with government secrecy and pleads for it's dismantling. This book is not primarily an insider's account of the Government in action. It is, more ambitiously, a historical assessment of the "culture of secrecy," particularly in the area of foreign policy.

In India, a culture developed of hidings matters of the state from the citizens as well as from other parts of the government. Madhav Godbole, former home secretary had recalled how the intelligence bureau bypassed the home minister and his ministry in 1991-92 while holding secret negotiations with the ULFA. As a result, the home ministry's views were not considered while finalizing a hasty agreement with the terrorist group. That so-called agreement passed into history more as publicity stunt was evident by later events. Moynihan mourns that the end of the cold war did not bring about an appreciable change in the US government's attitude toward secr

Some common words found in the essay are:
Madhav Godbole, Soviet Union, Espionage Act, Senator Moynihan, Daniel Moynihan, Cold War, Act Congressional, Harry Truman, Venona Moynihan, Theodore Alwin, cold war, soviet union, world war ii, american experience, book secrecy, war ii, espionage act, moynihan believes, excessive secrecy, government secrecy, world war,
Approximate Word count = 1222
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)