In Retrospect - Abridged

Summary

In the years since he resigned his office, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara refused any public comment on the unpopular Vietnam War. As the chief architect of the strategy that propelled the U.S. into the war, though, McNamara has much to say. In this chronicle, McNamara explores and explains why the American "government and its leaders behaved as they did” and offers what may be learned from that experience. He provides insight into the anti-communist political climate of the era, mistaken assumptions of foreign policy, and misjudgments on the part of the military that combined to create the Vietnam debacle. McNamara's memoir is an indispensable document on the Vietnam War and the definitive insider's account of American policymaking that reveals the trials of leadership and how a generation's "best and brightest" led our nation into tragedy.