Donald Rumsfeld Memoir Title & Release Date Revealed

By Maryann Yin on Sep 21, 2010 -  GalleyCat

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's memoir, Known and Unknown will be released in January 2011 by Penguin Group (USA)'s Sentinel imprint. To write the book, Rumsfeld (pictured) had to use previously unreleased and recently declassified documents. The non-fiction publication will include anecdotes about everyone from Elvis Presley to his good friend, former Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Rumsfeld starts the book with tales of his childhood. It will chronicle his early beginnings in politics as a congressman from Illinois in the 1960s all the way to his ascension into Gerald Ford and George W. Bush's cabinet. His experiences as Secretary of Defense affords him an intimate look into the Bush administration, 9/11, and the Iraq war which will be shared in the book.

The Associated Press observes: "The title of Rumsfeld's book is as notable as the name of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, which stemmed from how pundits questioned whether she hurt Senator John McCain's presidential bid as his running mate by "going rogue," or defying his campaign's control. Known and Unknown refers to a widely quoted explanation--praised by some as philosophy, criticized by others as double-talk--Rumsfeld offered in 2002 about the lack of evidence that Iraq was supplying terrorists with weapons of mass destruction." (Via Publishers Weekly & Politico)