About the Book
"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) Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning 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 transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster 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. A page-turning narrative, Dereliction Of Duty focuses 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.
McMaster's only book, 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.
Review :
"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"Four star generals do not normally consult the writings of junior field grade officers for advice about career decisions. But it was widely reported that when Air Force Chief of Staff General Ronald Fogelman decided to resign in 1997, he did so at least in part on the basis of a careful reading of H.R. McMaster's "Dereliction of Duty...."McMaster has written a scathing indictment of America's civilian and military leadership during the early phases of the Vietnam war, and he speaks...with unique moral authority....McMaster earned his moral authority under fire....By virtue of his actions [in the Gulf War], McMaster became a hero.... "[McMaster] speaks with unusual authority as a symbol of the confident young veterans of the Gulf. His call to his leaders to hold themselves to high standards of professional integrity is, therefore, an important one. No wonder, then, that General Fogelman, himself an acute student of history, would pay close attention to work that on nearly every page excoriates his predecessors for their unwillingness to speak and act as their positions required.... "Recently, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry Shelton, invited Major McMaster to lecture to the most senior generals in the American military about his book." -- Eliot Cohen, Professor of StrategicStudies of The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, "National Interest Magazine, Spring '98"A stunning book: eloquent and highly effective. The word noble would not be going too far." -- Paul Fussell, author of "The Great War & Modern Memory"What gives "Dereliction of Duty its special value is...McMaster's comprehensive, balanced and relentless exploration of the specific role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...a devastating indictment of Johnson and his principal civilian and military advisers." -- Ronald Spector, "New York Times Book Review"Well-written and full of enlightening new details, "Dereliction of Duty adds significantly to the historical record of a great national failure." -- Arnold R. Isaacs, "Washington Post Book World"Carefully researched and vividly narrated, H.R. McMaster's book adds a new and disturbing dimension to an understanding of the decisions that propelled us into the Vietnam war. It should be read by anyone interested in the origins of one of the great tragedies in American history."-- Stanley Karnow, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of "Vietnam: A History "A book to boggle your mind with new revelations of ineptness, duplicity, and arrogance amongst the senior-most officials of theUnited States....McMaster pastes all the puzzle pieces together to reveal a plot Shakespearean in its proportions ...McMaster's scholarship and presentation is exemplary in "Dereliction of Duty...The author's arguments are coherent and convincing and important to the historical record."-- Peter Arnett, "The Washington Monthly"An outstanding example of historical research, interpretation, scholarship, and fair-minded analysis."-- Donald Kagan, Bass Professor of History, Classics, and Western Civilization, Yale University, and author of "On the Origins of War"Superbly researched, play-by-play, riveting inside story of the genesis of the American War in Vietnam. Assorted firepower explodes on every page."-- Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore. United States Army, (Retired), " New York Times bestselling coauthor of "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young"Here's everything you didn't read in Robert S. McNamara's book. Vietnam did not simply happen; it was not an accidental Cold War collision that killed 58,000 Americans and a million Vietnamese. Men of power and responsibility caused that disastrous war and left their fingerprints all over it'and here are their names and what they did and said and decided in secret. McMaster has mined newly declassified records and, in these pages, sheds fresh light and understanding on how the best and the brightest, shielded by a bodyguard of lies and the words top secret,maneuvered and manipulated our country down the road to war and bitter defeat."-- Joseph L. Galloway, senior writer, "U.S. News & World Report, and "New York Times bestselling coauthor of "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young"An impressive study thorough in its research and summary in its judgments. [McMaster] doesn't shy from bold interpretation, or the damning insight, and his analysis, a model of clarity and economy, puts civil-military relations during the Vietnam war in an eerie, indeed Byzantine light."-- Robert Anderson, "The Philadelphia Inquirer"A tough, straightforward and hard hitting account of early decisions that set the course for the U.S. war in Vietnam. H.R. McMaster's book is vital in understanding those times and those critical decisions." -- General Frederick Franks, United States Army, (Retired), "New York Times bestselling coauthor of "Into The Storm"Most explosive.[a] devastating reassessment of the historical records..Major McMaster.deserves praise for his original research and riveting account. After "Dereliction of Duty, the Vietnam War will never look quite the same. It is indeed a seminal work." -- Mackubin Thomas Owens, "Washington Times"A fabulous piece of scholarship. This book will open a whole new chapter in our study of Vietnam."-- Tom Clancy"Thoroughly researched, clearly written and forcefully argued." -- Brian VanDeMark, "Los Angeles Times Book Review, author of "Into the Quagmire"H.R. McMaster's new "Dereliction of Duty stands out as a particularly well-documented, searing indictment of the civilian and military leadership. This is the clearest and most cogent argument as to the basic causes of the disaster."-- Edward M. Coffman, author of "The War To End All Wars and "The Old Army"Brilliant...a penetrating analysis." -- "San Francisco Chronicle"Invaluable...a most readable, yet meticulously documented history." - Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr., United States Army (Retired), author of "On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War, and editor of " Vietnam magazine"McMaster's book has drawn high praise from experts..His dogged research unearthed thousands of pages of material denied other historians and writers." -- Ed Offley, "Seattle Post Intelligencer"A chilling indictment.. There have been many books on the Vietnam War, but none that examines so closely and intensively how Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, and Maxwell Taylorsystematically conspired to prevent the Joint Chiefs of Staff from performing their duty." -- Michael Barone, author of "Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan."Red hot, brilliantly shows how the American people were conned." -- Colonel David H. Hackworth, United States Army, (Retired), Newsweek, and New York Times bestselling coauthor of "About Face"H.R. McMaster's incisive and brilliantly researched analy
