When the "New York Times" finally apologized for its coverage of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in 2004, it was too late. This study demonstrates how the newspaper of record in the US has consistently misreported the facts related to the wars waged by the United States, from Vietnam in the 1960s to Nicaragua in the 1980s and Iraq.

In this meticulously researched study--the first part of a two-volume work--Friel and Falk demonstrate their assertion that the "New York Times" has consistently, over the last 50 years, misreported the facts related to the wars waged by the United States.

“There could hardly be a more critical issue today than whether the world will be governed by the rule of law or the unilateral resort to force. This closely argued and penetrating study reviews half a century of increasing contempt for law and preference for force from a dual perspective: US government policy, and ‘journalistic malfeasance with far-reaching implications for constitutionalism in the United States and the rule of law for our country and the world’—no exaggeration, as the authors demonstrate in meticulous detail. The Record of the Paper should be read and pondered carefully, and taken as a call for action by concerned citizens.”—Noam Chomsky

“Friel and Falk provide a thorough and convincing analysis of how the New York Times advocated for the Iraq invasion, avoided dissenting views, ignored global opinion and established fact, and dismissed the relevance of international law. Perhaps most importantly, this book frames the shameful coverage of Iraq within the culture of the New York Times, with its consistent endorsement of US foreign policy from Vietnam to Nicaragua, Venezuela to Iraq. Read this book and join the fight for an independent media.”—Amy Goodman