Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureacracy [Paperback]

Perry M. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1574883402 | ISBN-13: 978-1574883404 | Edition: 3rd

Eminently readable, Assignment: Pentagon is the essential guide for the newly assigned military person, fresh civilian, and interested outsider to the Pentagon's informal set of arrangements, networks, and functions that operate in the service and joint service world. From the type of wristwatch one needs to how to succeed in the Joint Staff, the book delivers a wealth of practical advice and helpful hints about surviving the pressures and problems of working in "the Building."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wealth of practical information." -- Marine Corps Gazette

"All military services should add it to their recommended reading lists." -- Proceedings

"Unlocks the language and customs of The Building." -- Washingtonian

About the Author

Maj. Gen. Perry M. Smith worked in the Pentagon for many years and logged extensive operational and leadership experience. He flew more than 180 combat missions during the Vietnam War, including 50 over North Vietnam, and later commanded a wing of F-15s in Germany. He has frequently appeared as a military analyst on CBS, CNN, and National Public Radio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 3rd edition (November 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574883402
• ISBN-13: 978-1574883404
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,571,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars up to date guide to thriving within a large organization, February 26, 2002

By 

Perry M. Smith (Augusta,, Ga. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureacracy (Paperback)

I am the author of this book. When the new administration took office, it was time to update this book about how the Pentagon works, how to work with the Pentagon and how to work within the Pentagon. There is an enormous amount of misinformation about the Pentagon and what I have tried to do is stick to the realities and to destroy some of the myths. I have received many comments about this book. The most surprising ones have come from people who work in corporations who have told me that this book has given them lots of ideas about how improve their performance in their present jobs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Interesting Insights, April 20, 2007

By 

David W. Southworth (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureacracy (Paperback)

This book was first published in the 1980s, and has been apparently revised as recently as March 2007. The edition I read comes from 2002. The book is interesting. It fulfills its billing as a straight guide to what is important inside the big five-sided building along the Potomac River.

Maj Gen Smith's most interesting piece of insight comes about half way through in his discussion of the media and the Pentagon leadership. In discussing the role of the daily "Early Bird" news roundup, Gen Smith asserts that senior Pentagon leaders read the volume diligently, seeing the press not as an antagonist, but rather as a source of new and interesting takes on what they may or may not already know.

Unfortunately, Gen Smith has a bad habit of occasionally interjecting his personal opinion into his otherwise objective analysis. Also, even though the book says it was revised for 2002, it appears that many sections of the book have not been updated since its original publication 15 years earlier.

All in all, this is a solid, brief overview, of some of what goes through Pentagon employees heads on a daily basis. It is worth the read for that reason if for no other.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars up to date guide to thriving within a large organization, February 26, 2002

By 

Perry M. Smith (Augusta,, Ga. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureacracy (Paperback)

I am the author of this book. When the new administration took office, it was time to update this book about how the Pentagon works, how to work with the Pentagon and how to work within the Pentagon. There is an enormous amount of misinformation about the Pentagon and what I have tried to do is stick to the realities and to destroy some of the myths. I have received many comments about this book. The most surprising ones have come from people who work in corporations who have told me that this book has given them lots of ideas about how improve their performance in their present jobs.