I Made Mistakes
I Made Mistakes
Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary
Drawing on recently declassified personal papers and interview material, Aurélie Basha i Novosejt provides a new analysis of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's decisions during the Vietnam War, revealing little-known misgivings he held toward the direction, strategy, and politics of the conflict.
The feel-good place to buy books
- Free US shipping over $15
- Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
- Millions of affordable books
- Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!
I Made Mistakes by Aurlie Novosejt
Speaking to an advisor in 1966 about America's escalation of forces in Vietnam, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara confessed: 'We've made mistakes in Vietnam . I've made mistakes. But the mistakes I made are not the ones they say I made'. In 'I Made Mistakes', Aur lie Basha i Novosejt provides a fresh and controversial examination of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's decisions during the Vietnam War. Although McNamara is remembered as the architect of the Vietnam War, Novosejt draws on new sources - including the diaries of his advisor and confidant John T. McNaughton - to reveal a man who resisted the war more than most. As Secretary of Defense, he did not want the costs of the war associated with a new international commitment in Vietnam, but he sacrificed these misgivings to instead become the public face of the war out of a sense of loyalty to the President.
'Basha's careful account of McNamara's Vietnam policies is a terrible indictment not just of the policies but of McNamara's moral failure in prizing loyalty over livesHow he defined his job dictated his failures. Recommended reading for all future defense secretaries.' Kori Schake, Deputy Director-General, The International Institute for Strategic Studies
'I didn't think there could be much more to say about Robert McNamara and the escalation of America's war in Vietnam, but Aurélie Basha i Novosejt has proven otherwise. In this boldly original book, she forces us to revisit basic assumptions about an important but enigmatic figure. By showing that economic concerns were paramount, by considering counterinsurgency from a different angle, and by emphasizing previously neglected institutional changes within the Pentagon, Basha is able to shed new light on the subject. But even more, by revealing that McNamara opposed the war at its very beginning, even as he was planning its expansion, Basha is able to reveal the ultimate price of loyalty.' Andrew Preston, University of Cambridge
'… [a] fine book …' Dan Hart, H-War
'I didn't think there could be much more to say about Robert McNamara and the escalation of America's war in Vietnam, but Aurélie Basha i Novosejt has proven otherwise. In this boldly original book, she forces us to revisit basic assumptions about an important but enigmatic figure. By showing that economic concerns were paramount, by considering counterinsurgency from a different angle, and by emphasizing previously neglected institutional changes within the Pentagon, Basha is able to shed new light on the subject. But even more, by revealing that McNamara opposed the war at its very beginning, even as he was planning its expansion, Basha is able to reveal the ultimate price of loyalty.' Andrew Preston, University of Cambridge
'… [a] fine book …' Dan Hart, H-War
Aurélie Basha i Novosejt is a Lecturer in American History at the University of Kent, Canterbury.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781108415538 |
| ISBN 10 | 1108415539 |
| Title | I Made Mistakes |
| Author | Aurélie Basha I Novosejt |
| Series | Cambridge Studies In Us Foreign Relations |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2019-04-25 |
| Number of pages | 338 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |