NIGHTLY READING THREAD: Welcome to Edition #32 of #GMGReads. Every night through this weird time, I'm tweeting out a list of my five favorite books around a general theme—and a link to an indie bookstore where you can order them online....
Tonight's Part II of my favorite books about the Vietnam War, this time focused on the politics and Washington side of the war. Last night was focused on stories of the war itself:
One caveat to my list before I begin: I haven't read @MaxBoot's ROAD NOT TAKEN and I'm just about to start @brian_vandemark's ROAD TO DISASTER, both of which come highly recommended, so you should check those out, even if I'm not able to "officially" recommend them.
1) Anyone who ever says the phrase "The Best and the Brightest" without irony hasn't read the book by David Halberstam, because the actual lesson is quite the opposite—the best and brightest fumbled their way into a tremendous world of trouble: powells.com/book/-97804499…
2) Neil Sheehan's classic A BRIGHT SHINING LIE, about John Paul Vann's life's work in Vietnam, is equal parts inspiring and heartbreaking, and a great microcosm of the promise wasted in the war: powells.com/book/-97806797…
3) David Rudenstine wrote a good readable history of the Pentagon Papers case, THE DAY THE PRESSES STOPPED, that's worth contemplating today as the free press is under threat: powells.com/book/-97805202…
4) Robert Timberg's tour du force THE NIGHTINGALE'S SONG traces the long shadow of Vietnam through the lives of Naval Academy grads John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter: powells.com/book/-97806848…
5) Before he was Trump's national security advisor, HR McMaster wrote a fascinating and damning book DERELICTION OF DUTY about the generals who failed to stand up to LBJ. Read into that what you want. powells.com/book/-97800601…
Those are tonight's #GMGReads. What are your favorites on war and the politics of war? There's a lot more to say about the latter in future lists, like @brooks_rosa's thoughtful HOW EVERYTHING BECAME WAR AND THE MILITARY BECAME EVERYTHING. Stay tuned! bookshop.org/books/how-ever…
