Dereliction of Duty : Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to Vietnam - H. R. McMaster

Dereliction of Duty

Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to Vietnam

By: H. R. McMaster

Paperback | 8 May 1998

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Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning new analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on recently released transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. It also pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants.

Dereliction Of Duty covers the story in strong narrative fashion, focusing on a fascinating cast of characters: President Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, McGeorge Bundy and other top aides who deliberately deceived the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Congress and the American public.

Sure to generate controversy, Dereliction Of Duty is an explosive and authoritative new look at the controversy concerning the United States involvement in Vietnam.

About the Author

H. R. McMaster, a recent award-winning teacher at West Point and an inspiring leader in the Gulf War, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1984 and has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in American History from the University of North Carolina. He is now attending the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS.
Industry Reviews
"The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C." - H. R. McMaster (from the Conclusion)

"Lately [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General] Shelton has been closely reading a book called Dereliction of Duty. Its thesis: that the Joint Chiefs of Staff lost the Vietnam War by failing to stand up to civilian leadership." - Newsweek

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