The Pentagon: A History (87 page)

PHOTO © TIFFANY AYERS

S
TEVE
V
OGEL
is a veteran military reporter for
The Washington Post
who covered the U.S. war in Iraq as an embedded journalist with an Army airborne brigade. His coverage of the U.S. war in Afghanistan was part of a package of
Washington Post
stories selected as a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. Vogel covered the September 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and subsequently reported in depth on the victims of the attack and the building’s reconstruction.

Based overseas from 1989 through 1994 and reporting for the
Post
and
Army Times,
he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War, as well as military operations in Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans. His reporting has won journalism awards and resulted in many memorable stories, including
Washington Post Magazine
cover stories on military test pilots, police 911 operators, and emergency workers in a Washington, D.C., hospital. A 1982 graduate of the College of William and Mary, he received a master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in 1998. Vogel lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two young children.

Praise for
The Pentagon

“This concrete behemoth—the largest office building in the world—is also the product of considerable human ingenuity and resourcefulness, as Steve Vogel amply demonstrates in his interesting account…. This is not, of course, the first account of the [9/11] attack, but with its Clan-cyesque action and firsthand detail…it is surely the most vivid.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“The saga of the construction of the Pentagon, skillfully recounted by Steve Vogel…is as enthralling as it is improbable…. It was one of the greatest engineering feats of the twentieth century—driven by the intelligence and willpower of larger-than-life figures prepared to cut corners and demand the impossible. Mr. Vogel has brought to our notice a thrilling achievement.”

—
The Economist

“Engrossing and revealing…Vogel’s account shines…. [He] provides a first-rate account of the transformation of a dilapidated Arlington neighborhood into what Norman Mailer called ‘the true and high church of the military industrial complex.’”

—
San Francisco Chronicle

“[Vogel] puts on display his superlative skills as a journalist with capturing human detail. Above all, he reminds us that history is made by living people, and he has a biographer’s fascination with the details of dozens of personalities who made the Pentagon what it is today.”

—
The New York Sun

“Vogel vividly depicts the horror of those inside the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and then skillfully describes the rebirth of the Pentagon through the Phoenix Project. His intimate knowledge of the construction process and his years of research energize these pages…. There is simply no better book on the massive construction—and then restoration—of the building itself.”

—
The Christian Science Monitor

“Steve Vogel’s marvelous work recounts the construction of one of the world’s most iconic buildings—the Pentagon. But more compelling by far, he relates the human stories underlying this huge construction effort…. All this would of itself be enough to warrant a book but Vogel plunges on to an appropriate second story: the terrorist assault of 9/11 and the Pentagon’s subsequent resurrection. This section of the book, due perhaps to the proximity of the event, is all the more compelling.”

—
New York Post

“Every building of any size and complexity has a story; few of them are this compelling.”

—
The Hartford Courant

“A thrilling biography of a building.”

—
GQ
(essential reading selection)

“Among books dealing with seemingly impossible engineering feats, this easily ranks with David McCullough’s
The Great Bridge
and
The Path Between the Seas,
as well as Ross King’s
Brunelleschi’s Dome
.”

—
Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

“A brilliant and illuminating study of this singular (and, in many ways, sacred) American space.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Steve Vogel has provided two excellent books in one: an interesting account of the frenetic effort to build the world’s largest office building in order to support the U.S. entry into World War II, and an equally fascinating study of how the building survived and was reborn in the renovation effort so rudely interrupted on Sept. 11, 2001….Vogel has done a great service to a historic structure and its people.”

—
The Virginian-Pilot

“A fascinating story, told in lively style.”

—
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Vogel’s writing coupled with the dynamic, conflict-strewn history of the Pentagon provides for a fascinating and comfortable read while giving new insight into an old Washington landmark.”

—
Roll Call

“Vogel’s book starts off like a runaway freight train, with the rush to construct the Pentagon amid the turmoil of World War II….
The Pentagon
can easily be recommended to anyone—the history buff, the political layman or anyone with an ear for an interesting account.”

—
Winston-Salem Journal

“An amazing story, expertly researched and beautifully told. Part history, part adventure yarn,
The Pentagon
is above all else the biography of an American icon.”

—R
ICK
A
TKINSON
, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning
An Army at Dawn

“Superb! Not only the best biography of a building ever written, but a fascinating look at the human architecture behind the Pentagon—the saints and scoundrels of our national defense. With his decades of experience covering the military and a web of insider connections, Steve Vogel has produced a book that’s not only timely and a treat to read, but a stellar example of how to write history in the twenty-first century.”

—R
ALPH
P
ETERS
, author of
Never Quit The Fight

“This book, like the Pentagon itself, is a stunning and monumental achievement.”

—A
NDREW
C
ARROLL
, editor of
The New York Times
bestsellers
War Letters
and
Behind the Lines

“Students, writers and historians will use
The Pentagon
as a reference book for years to come. Vogel has created an admirable, timely and immensely readable book. It is a must read for anyone who has ever worked in the building.”

—
Pentagram

2008 Random House Trade Paperback Edition

Copyright © 2007 by Steve Vogel

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House Trade Paperbacks, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

R
ANDOM
H
OUSE
T
RADE
P
APERBACKS
and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2007.

Credits for photos and illustrations are located beginning on Frontmatter:
CAST OF CHARACTERS
.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vogel, Steve.

Pentagon : the untold story behind the creation of the symbol of American might / Steve Vogel.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

eISBN: 978-1-58836-701-3

1. Pentagon (Va.)—History. 2. Public buildings—United States—Design and construction—History—20th century. 3. Buildings—Repair and reconstruction—History. 4. United States—Dept. of Defense—Procurement—History. I. Title.

UA26.A745V64 2007

355.60973—dc22 2006050873

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