Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Steve Sheinkin is an American writer known for his engaging historical accounts for young readers. For several years, Sheinkin worked for an educational publisher; he edited, fact-checked, and finally wrote textbooks. While working on “those big books that break your back when you carry them, and put you to sleep when you read them” (Sheinkin, Steve. “Confessions of a Textbookwriter.” Steve Sheinkin), Sheinkin collected hundreds of amazing stories that he couldn’t include in the “boring” textbooks. In 2008, he left the company and began writing books that told these exciting, true stories. He hoped to make up for all the boring textbooks he put into the world and show young readers that history could be interesting.

Sheinkin began with a series of three books called Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You, which covered the American Revolution, the Civil War, and westward expansion in the US. Many of Sheinkin’s books, such as Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon (2012), The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights (2014), and Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War have been celebrated by critics and received prestigious literary awards. Sheinkin has been a National Book Award finalist three times, and he has won other major literary awards, including the Newbery Honor and the Margaret A.