The road not taken Edward Lansdale and the American tragedy in Vietnam

A biography of Edward Lansdale, the CIA operative. Boot chronicles his rise and fall as a proponent of a visionary "hearts and minds" diplomacy in Vietnam who was ultimately overruled by the American military bureaucracy, which favored bombs and troop build-ups over winning the people'...

Full description

Main Author: Boot, Max, 1968- (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2018]
Edition: First edition.
Subjects:
Table of Contents:
  • Prologue: The day of the dead: Saigon, November 1-2, 1963
  • Introduction: The misunderstood man
  • Ad man (1908-1945). In terrific flux ; Enfant terrible ; An institution run by its inmates
  • Colonel Landslide (1945-1954). The time of his life ; In love and war ; The knights templar ; "A most difficult and delicate problem" ; "All-out force or all-out friendship" ; The power broker ; "A real vindication"
  • National builder (1954-1956). La guerre sans fronts ; A fortress falls ; "I am Ngo Dinh Diem" ; The chopstick torture ; Pacification ; The viper's nest ; "Stop calling me papa!"
  • Washington warrior (1957-1963). Heartbreak hotel ; Guerrilla guru ; A new war begins ; The ambassador who never was ; "The X factor" ; "Worms of the world unite" ; "Washington at its nuttiest"
  • Bastard child (1964-1968). "A hell of a mess" ; "Concept for victory" ; Escalation ; The impossible missions force ; Waging peace in a time of war ; To stay or to go? ; Waiting for the second coming ; The long goodbye
  • The beaten man (1968-1987). The war at home ; A defeat in disguise ; The abandoned ally ; The family jewels ; The end of the road
  • Afterword: Lansdalism in the twenty-first century.