From Publishers Weekly
Willenson calls it "the lasting impressions of some interesting people who lived the event." A collection of interviews conducted by Newsweek in 1985 and 1986, this is not so much about how the war was fought as how it got started, how it was mishandled in Washington and Saigon, and how it has influenced foreign policy in the years since. Interviewees include senators William Fullbright and Eugene McCarthy, defense secretary Clark Clifford, national security adviser Walt Rostow, pacification chief Robert Komer and prime minister Nguyen Cao Ky, as well as CIA operatives, grunts, prisoners of war, journalists, draft-evaders (both American and Vietnamese), antiwar activists and various others. The spectrum of opinion is wide, and the speakers seem to hold nothing back. Bobby Muller (crippled ex-Marine and veterans'-rights activist): "I hate the Marine Corps. It is a stupid branch of the service. It should be eliminated." Joan Baez: "I would not retract anything I did in the sixties." Robert Komer: "There is one thing on which I am very clear, and that is that the loss of strategic real estate that was Indochina had only a very modest impact on our global geostrategic position." William Fulbright: "The country didn't learn a damn thing from it."
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
At one point in this rich collection of analyses by key players in the Vietnam War debacle, former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford remarks that "Those with hindsight have 20/20 vision." It's an adage that keeps coming to mind as former hawks still wish our military had been given the tools to win the war on the battlefield, while former doves still insist that we should have withdrawn our troops early on. Among those giving testimony are J. William Fulbright, Alexander Haig, Nguyen Cao Ky, Eugene McCarthy, Walt Rostow, Joan Baez, and former Marine Bobby Muller, who came home a paraplegic. Each chapter covers a major topic in the saga, e.g., "American Views of the Vietnamese." A fascinating, well-organized compendium of diverse opinions and often emotional judgments. Very highly recommended. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
