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McNamara at War: A New History

McNamara at War: A New History


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Awards Winning
2026 | New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize
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About the Book

Robert S. McNamara was widely considered to be one of the most brilliant men of his generation. He was an invaluable ally of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson as U.S. secretary of defense, and he had a deeply moving relationship with Jackie Kennedy. But to the country, McNamara was the leading advocate for American escalation in Vietnam. He strongly advised Johnson to deploy hundreds of thousands of American ground troops, just weeks before concluding that the war was unwinnable, and for the next two and a half years, McNamara failed to urge Johnson to cut his losses and withdraw.

McNamara at War examines McNamara's life of intense personal contradictions, following his childhood, his career as a young faculty member at Harvard Business School, and his World War II service, to his leadership of the Ford Motor Company and the World Bank. Philip and William Taubman had access to materials previously unavailable to McNamara biographers, including Jacqueline Kennedy's warm letters to McNamara during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and beyond; family correspondence dating back to McNamara's service in World War II; and a secret diary maintained by McNamara's top Vietnam policy aide. What emerges is the comprehensive story of the infamous former leader of the Pentagon: riven by melancholy, guilt, zealous loyalty, and a profound inability to admit his flawed thinking about Vietnam before it was too late. McNamara at War is a portrait of a man at war with himself-with a grave influence on the history of the United States and the world.



About the Author :
William Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. His book, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of McNamara at War: A New History and Gorbachev: His Life and Times. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Philip Taubman, a former New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, is affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. He is the author of In the Nation’s Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz

Review :
"A] thoughtful new biography…. All of this reads like an allegory for the American Century writ large — technical wizardry leading to moral bankruptcy…. Without absolving McNamara, the Taubmans suggest that his willingness to admit error was worthy of admiration, if only for its rarity. Reading this book as the Trump administration elevates jingoism to a virtue, it is hard to disagree." "A fresh look at former defence secretary Robert S. McNamara, whose advocacy of escalating the war in Vietnam made him one of the most controversial political figures of the 20th century. The authors rely on new sources, including letters and diaries, to create a nuanced portrait." "Fascinating.... The Taubmans tell a riveting tale.... The book is a case study of how high-ranking officials who don’t act on the information they have live with the illusory notion that their being on the inside is somehow better for the nation in the long run. In 2025, this book should be required reading for everyone working in silence in Washington." "[A] fair-minded account of the former US secretary of defence… The Taubmans expose the inner turmoil of their subject as he gradually succumbs to doubt over the war"


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781324007166
  • Publisher: WW Norton & Co
  • Publisher Imprint: WW Norton & Co
  • Height: 244 mm
  • No of Pages: 512
  • Returnable: Y
  • Spine Width: 38 mm
  • Weight: 924 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1324007168
  • Publisher Date: 23 Sep 2025
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: Y
  • Returnable: Y
  • Sub Title: A New History
  • Width: 163 mm


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