The Resource Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker
Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker
Resource Information
The item Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Nevins Memorial Library (Methuen).This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Nevins Memorial Library (Methuen).
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- "Ten years into researching a book about the possibility that the United States had used biological weapons in the Korean War, Nicholson Baker was frustrated and disheartened. In the course of his research, he had become deeply disillusioned with the process of FOIA requests. He has been forced to wait years in some cases, while other requests have been answered only with documents rendered inscrutable, or even illegible, by copious redactions. Rather than wait forever, with his head full of secrets about government atrocities committed by his own country, Baker sets out to keep a personal journal of his obstructed research instead. He begins documenting his correspondence with the government administrators who are charged with responding to, and thus stymying, his requests. The result is one of the most original and daring works of nonfiction in recent memory, a singular and mesmerizing narrative into the history of some of the darkest and most shameful secrets of the CIA and US government--all willfully concealed to some degree despite the existence of the so-called Freedom of Information Act. In his preternaturally lucid and unassuming style, Baker unearths stories of CIA programs involving weaponized insects and the deliberate spread of Lyme disease; dangerous military experiments carried out on unsuspecting American citizens; and devastating chemical munitions designed to inflict terrible harm on innocent civilians in far-flung countries. At the same time, he shares beautiful anecdotes from his daily life in Maine feeding his dogs and watching the morning light gather on the horizon. The result is an astonishing and utterly disarming story about waiting, bureaucracy, the horrors of war, and, above all, the deadly secrets the United States government keeps from its citizens"--
- Language
- eng
- Label
- Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act
- Title
- Baseless
- Title remainder
- my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act
- Statement of responsibility
- Nicholson Baker
- Title variation
- My search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act
- Subject
-
- Biological weapons -- United States -- History
- Cold War
- Government information -- United States
- HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures
- Official secrets -- United States
- POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage
- United States.
- Intelligence service -- United States -- History
- Biological warfare -- Research -- United States
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- "Ten years into researching a book about the possibility that the United States had used biological weapons in the Korean War, Nicholson Baker was frustrated and disheartened. In the course of his research, he had become deeply disillusioned with the process of FOIA requests. He has been forced to wait years in some cases, while other requests have been answered only with documents rendered inscrutable, or even illegible, by copious redactions. Rather than wait forever, with his head full of secrets about government atrocities committed by his own country, Baker sets out to keep a personal journal of his obstructed research instead. He begins documenting his correspondence with the government administrators who are charged with responding to, and thus stymying, his requests. The result is one of the most original and daring works of nonfiction in recent memory, a singular and mesmerizing narrative into the history of some of the darkest and most shameful secrets of the CIA and US government--all willfully concealed to some degree despite the existence of the so-called Freedom of Information Act. In his preternaturally lucid and unassuming style, Baker unearths stories of CIA programs involving weaponized insects and the deliberate spread of Lyme disease; dangerous military experiments carried out on unsuspecting American citizens; and devastating chemical munitions designed to inflict terrible harm on innocent civilians in far-flung countries. At the same time, he shares beautiful anecdotes from his daily life in Maine feeding his dogs and watching the morning light gather on the horizon. The result is an astonishing and utterly disarming story about waiting, bureaucracy, the horrors of war, and, above all, the deadly secrets the United States government keeps from its citizens"--
- Assigning source
- Provided by publisher
- Cataloging source
- DLC
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Baker, Nicholson
- Dewey number
- 358/.3880973
- Illustrations
-
- illustrations
- maps
- Index
- index present
- LC call number
- UG447.8
- LC item number
- .B28 2020
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Biological weapons
- Biological warfare
- Intelligence service
- United States.
- Official secrets
- Government information
- Cold War
- POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage
- HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures
- Label
- Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Control code
- on1134461139
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Extent
- xiv, 450 pages
- Isbn
- 9780735215757
- Lccn
- 2019043384
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- illustration, map
- System control number
- (OCoLC)1134461139
- Label
- Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Carrier category
- volume
- Carrier category code
-
- nc
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Control code
- on1134461139
- Dimensions
- 25 cm
- Extent
- xiv, 450 pages
- Isbn
- 9780735215757
- Lccn
- 2019043384
- Media category
- unmediated
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- n
- Other physical details
- illustration, map
- System control number
- (OCoLC)1134461139
Subject
- Biological weapons -- United States -- History
- Cold War
- Government information -- United States
- HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures
- Official secrets -- United States
- POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage
- United States.
- Intelligence service -- United States -- History
- Biological warfare -- Research -- United States
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<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.nevinslibrary.org/portal/Baseless--my-search-for-secrets-in-the-ruins-of/ta6MFBZilVc/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.nevinslibrary.org/portal/Baseless--my-search-for-secrets-in-the-ruins-of/ta6MFBZilVc/">Baseless : my search for secrets in the ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, Nicholson Baker</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.nevinslibrary.org/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="https://link.nevinslibrary.org/">Nevins Memorial Library (Methuen)</a></span></span></span></span></div>
