Politicians and the Generals

by David Halberstam (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $3.25

  In this long-awaited successor to his #1 national bestseller The Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam describes in fascinating human detail how the shadow of the Cold War still hangs over American foreign policy and how domestic politics have determined our role as a world power.More than twenty-five years ago Halberstam told the riveting story of the men who conceived and executed the Vietnam War. Today the Pulitzer Prize- winning author has written another unforgettable chronicle of Washington politics, this time exploring the complex dynamics of foreign policy in post-Cold War America.Halberstam brilliantly evokes the internecine conflicts, the untrammeled egos, and the struggles for dominance among the key figures in the White House, the State Department, and the military. He shows how the decisions of men who served in the Vietnam War -- such as General Colin Powell and presidential advisers Richard Holbrooke and Anthony Lake -- and those who did not have shaped American politics and policy makers (perhaps most notably, President Clinton's placing, for the first time in fifty years, domestic issues over foreign policy).With his uncanny ability to find the real story behind the headlines, Halberstam shows how current events in the Balkans, Somalia, and Haiti reflect American politics and foreign policy. He discusses the repercussions in Washington on policy makers from two different administrations; the wariness of the American military to become caught again in an inconclusive ground war; the frustrations of civilian advisers, most of whom have never served in the military; and the effects these conflicting forces have on the American commander in Kosovo, GeneralWes Clark.Sweeping in its scope and impressive in its depth, War in a Time of Peace provides fascinating portraits of Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Kissinger, James Baker, Dick Cheney, Madeleine Albright, and others, to reveal a stunning view of modern political America.

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.25

  The Best and the Brightest was David Halberstam's classic account of how America became involved in Vietnam. In War in a Time of Peace , he brilliantly evokes the internecine conflicts, the untrammelled egos, and the struggles for dominance among the key figures in the White House, the State department, and the military in the post-Soviet period. He shows how in the last ten years the Vietnam war has shaped American politics and policy makers and especially the decisions of men who served in the war, such as General Colin Powell and presidential advisors Richard Holbrooke and Anthony Lake as well as those who did not. Sweeping in scope and impressive in its depth, War in a Time of Peace provides fascinating portraits of the main players including Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Kissinger and a stunning view of what lies behind the US government over which George W. Bush now presides. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America in the twenty-first century. Halbertsam's most important book, more ambitious and revealing than The Best and the Brightest Just as Vietnam was the test case for our elders, the Balkans and other tragic conflicts became the proving ground for the Bush and Clinton administrations. What Halberstam has written is nothing less than a War and Peace for our generation - Leslie H. Gelb, President, Council on Foreign Relations.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $4.19

  The Best and the Brightest was David Halberstam's classic account of how America became involved in Vietnam. In War in a Time of Peace , he brilliantly evokes the internecine conflicts, the untrammelled egos, and the struggles for dominance among the key figures in the White House, the State department, and the military in the post-Soviet period. He shows how in the last ten years the Vietnam war has shaped American politics and policy makers and especially the decisions of men who served in the war, such as General Colin Powell and presidential advisors Richard Holbrooke and Anthony Lake as well as those who did not. Sweeping in scope and impressive in its depth, War in a Time of Peace provides fascinating portraits of the main players including Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Kissinger and a stunning view of what lies behind the US government over which George W. Bush now presides. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America in the twenty-first century. Halbertsam's most important book, more ambitious and revealing than The Best and the Brightest . Just as Vietnam was the test case for our elders, the Balkans and other tragic conflicts became the proving ground for the Bush and Clinton administrations. What Halberstam has written is nothing less than a War and Peace for our generation - Leslie H. Gelb, President, Council on Foreign Relations