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THE IMAGINEERS OF WAR: THE UNTOLD STORY OF DARPA, THE PENTAGON AGENCY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD Sharon Weinberger. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. 496 pp. Notes. Sources. Selected biblio. Index. $32.50.
Reviewed by Rear Admiral Marc Pelaez, U.S. Navy (Retired)
With the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the Soviet Union had beaten the United States to space. The nation was shocked and embarrassed that through infighting and turf wars, the United States had squandered the lead it purportedly enjoyed at the end of World War II. Thus begins the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) story. It is the story of how the nation's leaders, in a bold move, created a Silicon Valley-like enterprise in the midst of a bureaucracy. ARPA was an entrepreneurial organization with deep pockets, independent of the establishment. President Dwight D. Eisenhower embraced the proposal of Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy, against the objections of military leadership. The country needed a new approach to guard against technological surprise. ARPA's mission was clear, and its directive purposely...