David Milne is a lecturer in American politics at the University of East Anglia. This is his first book.
"In his comprehensive examination of Walt Rostow's role in Vietnam
decision making, David Milne adds a valuable and nuanced
perspective on the questions of how and why Vietnam became an
American war and what went wrong there. ""America's Rasputin"" is a
well researched and critical yet sensitive treatment of an
exceptional man who wielded significant influence in the Lyndon
Johnson Administration during a critical phase of the Vietnam War."
--H.R. McMaster, author of "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to
Vietnam""America's Rasputin is a splendid book, beautifully
written, persuasively argued, and deeply researched. Milne's
cautionary tale of ideas and idealism taken to their extremes is as
historically important as it is currently relevant. Our
understanding of the Vietnam War--and of American foreign policy in
general--is greatly enhanced by this book." --Andrew Preston,
author of "The War Council""David Milne has given us an absorbing
history of the rise to power of Walt Rostow and his disastrous
impact on US foreign policy. The first civilian to advise Kennedy
to deploy combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to urge
bombing the North, Rostow was a true ideologue who believed an
American version of democracy could be exported to other
countries--if necessary by force. An American Rasputin--as Averrell
Harriman described him--who refused to admit the limits of American
power, Rostow helped bring about the worst military defeat in
American history. The parallels with the present time--when America
faces an even worse disaster in Iraq--are clear. A book that
vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign policy,
"America's Rasputin" could not be more timely." --John Gray, author
of "Black Mass
""Insightful . . .Milne skillfully demonstrates that Rostow had
very little understanding of Southeast Asian political or cultural
history, and was analytically deficient in perceiving the conflict
as a nationalist civil war first . . . Milne's prose is very
readable, and absent of jargon. He takes what could be a
complicated subject, and presents it clearly. The work is well
documented . . . "America's Rasputin" belongs on the shelf of all
university libraries, as well as any scholar or instructor of the
period, especially those who teach the Vietnam War." --Richard
Verrone, H-Net Reviews
"Well written, meticulously researched, and robustly argued . . .
"America's Rasputin" is a signal achievement. Henceforth, it will
serve as the starting point for all wishing to do additional study
on this man and the Vietnam War, particularly in relation to the
air war against North Vietnam." --John M. Carland, " The Journal of
Military History"
“In his comprehensive examination of Walt Rostow’s role in Vietnam
decision making, David Milne adds a valuable and nuanced
perspective on the questions of how and why Vietnam became an
American war and what went wrong there. ""America’s Rasputin""
is a well researched and critical yet sensitive treatment of an
exceptional man who wielded significant influence in the Lyndon
Johnson Administration during a critical phase of the Vietnam
War.” —H.R. McMaster, author of "Dereliction of Duty:
Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led
to Vietnam"“America’s Rasputin is a splendid book, beautifully
written, persuasively argued, and deeply researched. Milne’s
cautionary tale of ideas and idealism taken to their extremes is as
historically important as it is currently relevant. Our
understanding of the Vietnam War—and of American foreign policy in
general—is greatly enhanced by this book.
"In his comprehensive examination of Walt Rostow's role in Vietnam
decision making, David Milne adds a valuable and nuanced
perspective on the questions of how and why Vietnam became an
American war and what went wrong there. ""America's Rasputin"" is a
well researched and critical yet sensitive treatment of an
exceptional man who wielded significant influence in the Lyndon
Johnson Administration during a critical phase of the Vietnam War."
--H.R. McMaster, author of "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to
Vietnam""America's Rasputin is a splendid book, beautifully
written, persuasively argued, and deeply researched. Milne's
cautionary tale of ideas and idealism taken to their extremes is as
historically important as it is currently relevant. Our
understanding of the Vietnam War--and of American foreign policy in
general--is greatly enhanced by this book." --Andrew Preston,
author of "The War Council""David Milne has given us an absorbing
history of the rise to power of Walt Rostow and his disastrous
impact on US foreign policy. The first civilian to advise Kennedy
to deploy combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to urge
bombing the North, Rostow was a true ideologue who believed an
American version of democracy could be exported to other
countries--if necessary by force. An American Rasputin--as Averrell
Harriman described him--who refused to admit the limits of American
power, Rostow helped bring about the worst military defeat in
American history. The parallels with the present time--when America
faces an even worse disaster in Iraq--are clear. A book that
vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign
policy,"America's Rasputin" could not be more timely." --John Gray,
author of "Black Mass"
"America's Rasputin is a splendid book, beautifully written,
persuasively argued, and deeply researched. Milne's cautionary tale
of ideas and idealism taken to their extremes is as historically
important as it is currently relevant. Our understanding of the
Vietnam War--and of American foreign policy in general--is greatly
enhanced by this book." --Andrew Preston, author of "The War
Council"
"David Milne has given us an absorbing history of the rise to power
of Walt Rostow and his disastrous impact on US foreign policy. The
first civilian to advise Kennedy to deploy combat troops to South
Vietnam and the first to urge bombing the North, Rostow was a true
ideologue who believed an American version of democracy could be
exported to other countries--if necessary by force. An American
Rasputin--as Averrell Harriman described him--who refused to admit
the limits of American power, Rostow helped bring about the worst
military defeat in American history. The parallels with the present
time--when America faces an even worse disaster in Iraq--are clear.
A book that vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign
policy, "America's Rasputin" could not be more timely." --John
Gray, author of "Black Mass"
"David Milne has given us an absorbing history of the rise to power
of Walt Rostow and his disastrous impact on US foreign policy. The
first civilian to advise Kennedy to deploy combat troops to South
Vietnam and the first to urge bombing the North, Rostow was a true
ideologue who believed an American version of democracy could be
exported to other countries--if necessary by force. An American
Rasputin--as Averrell Harriman described him--who refused to admit
the limits of American power, Rostow helped bring about the worst
military defeat in American history. The parallels with the present
time--when America faces an even worse disaster in Iraq--are clear.
A book that vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign
policy, "America's Rasputin" could not be more timely." --John
Gray, author of "Black Mass"
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