Road to Disaster: A New History of America's Descent Into Vietnam - Vietnam War History Book for Students & History Enthusiasts - Perfect for Research, Academic Studies & Historical Analysis
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SKU:62876625
Product Description
"The most thoughtful and judicious one-volume history of the war and the American political leaders who presided over the difficult and painful decisions that shaped this history. The book will stand for the foreseeable future as the best study of the tragic mistakes that led to so much suffering."—Robert DallekMany books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the young stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite millions of words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent, brilliant, and previously successful men stumbled so badly.That changes with Road to Disaster. Historian Brian VanDeMark draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson. Yet beyond that, Road to Disaster is also the first history of the war to look at the cataclysmic decisions of those in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations through the prism of recent research in cognitive science, psychology, and organizational theory to explain why the "Best and the Brightest" became trapped in situations that suffocated creative thinking and willingness to dissent, why they found change so hard, and why they were so blind to their own errors.An epic history of America’s march to quagmire, Road to Disaster is a landmark in scholarship and a book of immense importance.
Customer Reviews
An outstanding book covering the decision making processes and the labyrinth or circumstances surrounding the policy makers, this book avoids military movements in favor of why certain conditions were attractive or appalling to the governments (on all sides). It really puts the reader into the debating chamber BUT too often the author pauses "the action" of this very well written page-turner to cite a behavioral study or thesis (in which he names the researchers and describes the experiment) as if we wouldn't understand the action without these interruptions. I particularly didn't like that the author had to leave us with a catchphrase or buzzword that described the behavior, and I didn't like how, after he wraps up the lives post-Vietnam of the major players, how he wraps up the story with another round of behavioral implications, their catchphrases and buzzwords. All in all though, a very good book cover to cover. Hard to put down despite the critique
