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Summary: One of the best books ever written on the Vietnam War.
Review: I enjoyed reading this book because it was the first book about the war in Vietnam that explored the involvement and the role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The book also shows how the differences of opinion and disagreements between the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and President Lyndon Johnson led to the escalation of the war and why the United States had lost. This a really good book.
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Summary: Outstanding angle on Vietnam War
Review: I have had the book reviewed by Captain John Denham, USN-Ret., former CO of USS Ozbourn (DD-846) (and former professor at California Maritime) for the Journal of Political and Military Sociology of which I am book review editor. His review is devastating (of the war "leadership," not the book), colored to some degree I suspect by his having lost several men to enemy fire off Vietnam. I also have read the book and support nearly everything Denham said. /Robert C. Whitten Book Review Editor, JPMS
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Summary: Important, informative, but too long
Review: I picked up this book because I heard that it influenced D. Rumsfeld significantly, and to gain more knowledge on the Vietnam War itself. This book gives a very detailed account on the inner workings of the J.B. Johnson's White house, and how the decisions on the war were made. The book argues that these were made with other (domestic, etc.) considerations in mind, and hence undermined the war effort. There is also a stress on the deceit of the president as well as the compliance (active/passive) of his staff. The problem with this book is that is it very drawn out, and gets rather repetitive. The epilogue summarizes a good deal of the book in 15 pages. I also would have liked more time spent on setting a historical context and outcome, something which might be redundant to Vietnam experts. Overall an important book which should have been edited better
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Summary: Excellent Rebuttal to McNamara's In Retrospect
Review: I read McNamara's In Retrospect as soon as it was published several years ago. As someone who was born in the 60's & was 11 at the time of the Saigon airlift, I knew very little about the war except what I'd seen on the TV show Mash (actually portrayed Korean War) & the movie Platoon. Despite having relatives who faught in Vietnam, no one every spoke of the war in front of me as a child. McNamara's book gives the impression that he, JFK, & LBJ all meant well, but things got away from them, the slippery slope argument. McMasters provides ample proof of McNamara's complete lack of ethics, & his continuing lying and machinations. No one in his book escapes blame. The Joint Chiefs of Staff continually were selfish & would not fulfill their Constitutional obligations. McNamara's insistence on using "superior" analytical techniques was laughable, as well as his belief that his experience from the Cuban Missile Crisis translated into him knowing better than the military how to proceed in Vietnam. I can't say that I actually enjoyed the book; the content made me angry. But it cleared up misconceptions from McNamara's book & is especially important to people of my generation, who don't know much about what happened in Vietnam. Also, I kept thinking throughout the book that JFK appointing McNamara as Secretary of Defense was a loss for the country, but what a gain for Ford Corporation. I wonder how long it would have taken him to ruin the company with his superior analytical strategies & lack of ethics.
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Summary: Excellent Rebuttal to McNamara's In Retrospect
Review: I read McNamara's In Retrospect as soon as it was published several years ago. As someone who was born in the 60's & was 11 at the time of the Saigon airlift, I knew very little about the war except what I'd seen on the TV show Mash (actually portrayed Korean War) & the movie Platoon. Despite having relatives who faught in Vietnam, no one every spoke of the war in front of me as a child. McNamara's book gives the impression that he, JFK, & LBJ all meant well, but things got away from them, the slippery slope argument. McMasters provides ample proof of McNamara's complete lack of ethics, & his continuing lying and machinations. No one in his book escapes blame. The Joint Chiefs of Staff continually were selfish & would not fulfill their Constitutional obligations. McNamara's insistence on using "superior" analytical techniques was laughable, as well as his belief that his experience from the Cuban Missile Crisis translated into him knowing better than the military how to proceed in Vietnam. I can't say that I actually enjoyed the book; the content made me angry. But it cleared up misconceptions from McNamara's book & is especially important to people of my generation, who don't know much about what happened in Vietnam. Also, I kept thinking throughout the book that JFK appointing McNamara as Secretary of Defense was a loss for the country, but what a gain for Ford Corporation. I wonder how long it would have taken him to ruin the company with his superior analytical strategies & lack of ethics.
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Summary: The most amazing book I have ever read
Review: I read this book at a University level history course, and honestly after reading many history books, some of which were dense and biased, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised with McMaster's book. His amazing discoveries and extensive research were presented in an eloquent style, differing much from my previously read books. The book tiggered an interest in the history and cosequences of the War in Vietnam as well as matured my naive views of the government. This book should be required reading for all University students, politicians, and military officers as it could prevent a future situation such as the Vietnam War due to its educational value.
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Summary: Worse than pulling teeth.
Review: I read this for a class in Vietnam. If it was possible to give this book less than one star, I would. It essentially takes the conspiricy theory approach, blaming everyone in any position of power for the War. McMaster draws out 25 pages of Vietnam in my US History book into 300+. Required reading of this book is like pulling teeth: You know you have to, but you'd really rather let it stay there. It's only outstanding feature is the sheer amount of information in the book. Unless you enjoy reading that interprets the slightest variation of punctuation in a memo, DON'T READ THIS BOOK!!
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Summary: Hubris, diisinformation, conceit and deceit.....
Review: I should have reviewed this book a long time ago. Lt. Col. McMaster (he made Lt. Col. in '99) has written a stunning indictment of the Executive leadership as well as our Joint Chiefs. Somebody should have resigned if they were so infuriated by the conduct of the Vietnam situation (the book is set largely in a Post JFK vaccum) before our leadership turned it into the Vietnam War and sent half a million Americans there.I would recommend that this book be combined with Neil Sheehan's A BRIGHT SHINING LIE and David Hackworth's ABOUT FACE. Semper Fi....
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Summary: Good but dense
Review: I used this book in a course on the Vietnam War I taught at a University. The book is a no-holds-barred look at how the JCS and DOD messed up the Vietnam war. The author says that the war was not lost on the battlefield, or on the campuses or streets, or in the press but right in Washington. He backs his claim with solid evidence. A courageous book written by a career army officer. As a retired office and Vietnam vet I admire the author's honesty. Only drawback--it is dense and only goes to 1965 or so--a lot of the war occurred after that.
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Summary: Edmund Burke Lives
Review: If you only read one book about the Vietnam War, this is the one to read. Burke said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. This book shows in well written, excellently researched detail how good soldiers allowed an arrogant civilian elite to bully them into acquiescing to bad decisions. This is the only book on bureaucratic history that will raise your blood pressure. There was no conspiracy, just bureaucracy, careerism and the sort of hubris that is the Ivy League's chief product these days.
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