By Sean Murphy
Neil Sheehan, who obtained the Pentagon Papers for The New York Times and won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for his book "A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam," has died at the age of 84. His death was caused by complications of Parkinson's disease, the Associated Press reported.
The New Yorker published an excerpt from Sheehan's prize-winning book, and the Times has made availabile its original review. Read more about the race to publish the Pentagon Papers here. Read 1972 Public Service Prize-winning excerpts from the Pentagon Papers on Pulitzer.org here.
Sheehan was a key figure in Peter Herman's documentary "Dateline-Saigon." Sheehan said he and other journalists arrived "filled with all the myths of the Cold War" and "American dominance."
“'We are all particularly proud of Neil Sheehan for the tenacity, knowledge and professional ability that contributed so pivotally to the whole project,' said A.M. Rosenthal, then the managing editor of the Times, after the Pulitzer was announced," according to the AP obituary, in reference to his role in reporting on the Pentagon Papers.
Sheehan is survived by his wife, 1983 General Nonfiction winner Susan Sheehan.
Related
- 1985 General Nonfiction winner Studs Terkel interviewed Sheehan about "A Bright Shining Lie" in 1988. Listen here at the Studs Terkel Radio Archive.
- The completion of "A Bright Shining Lie" was complicated by myriad factors, including a 1974 car accident and missed deadlines, forcing Sheehan to subside on several fellowships after he left The New York Times in 1976. Susan Sheehan chronicled this process in a 1978 essay for The New Yorker (restricted to subscribers) and a 1990 reminiscence for The New York Times.
- William Prochnau of The Washington Post profiled Sheehan in conjunction with the release of "A Bright Shining Lie" in 1988.