Overview

Was the Vietnam War unavoidable? Historians have long assumed that ideological views and the momentum of events made American intervention inevitable. By examining the role of McGeorge Bundy and the National Security Council, Andrew Preston demonstrates that policymakers escalated the conflict in Vietnam in the face of internal opposition, external pressures, and a continually failing strategy. Bundy created the position of National Security Adviser as we know it today, with momentous consequences that continue to shape American foreign policy. Both today's presidential supremacy in foreign policy and the contemporary national security bureaucracy find their origins in Bundy's powers as the first National Security Adviser and in the ways in which he and his staff brought about American intervention in Vietnam. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson were not enthusiastic about waging a difficult war in pursuit of murky aims, but the NSC's bureaucratic dexterity and persuasive influence in the Oval Office skewed the debate in favour of the conflict. In challenging the prevailing view of Bundy as a loyal but quietly doubting warrior, Preston also revises our understanding of what it meant - and means - to be a hawk or a dove. ""The War Council"" is an illuminating and compelling story with two inseparable themes: the acquisition and consolidation of power; and how that power is exercised.

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9780674021983

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Reviews

Buffs of the 1960s and 1970s will relish Andrew Preston's outstanding The War Council, a superbly researched reinterpretation of the origins of the Vietnam War that confirms its author's reputation as the rising star of American History.--Dominic Sandbrook Daily Telegraph (12/09/2006) Preston has captured his subject well. His research is impeccable.--David A. Welch Literary Review of Canada (05/01/2007) This book is well written, neatly incorporates many primary sources, and provides cogent summaries of the positions taken by Bundy and some of his key assistants. The author also provides an excellent synopsis both of Bundy's intellectual development and of the transformation of the NSC during this period.--John Garofano Political Science Quarterly (06/01/2007) With admirable clarity, Preston sketches Bundy's intellectual heritage...Preston's book is a definitive account of the train wreck into which Bundy and his allies drove the United States in Vietnam.--Marilyn Young International History Review (03/01/2007) It is in exploring how Bundy convinced two presidents of the rightness of his argument that The War Council provides fresh insight. Most histories of the Vietnam war focus either on the combat itself or on the political leadership involved. Mr. Preston looks not at the flashes of gunfire but at the more shadowy world of bureaucratic infighting...[ The War Council ] shows all too clearly what happens when the White House circle of decision-makers has too small a radius. Clearly, leaders have the right to rely on a loyal few; excessive debate and deadlock are not desirable. But as America is once again learning, people in power need to make sure that the decisive circle includes those who actually know a region. people in power need to make sure that the decisive circle includes those who actually know a region.

This book is well written, neatly incorporates many primary sources, and provides cogent summaries of the positions taken by Bundy and some of his key assistants. The author also provides an excellent synopsis both of Bundy's intellectual development and of the transformation of the NSC during this period.--John Garofano Political Science Quarterly (06/01/2007)

It is in exploring how Bundy convinced two presidents of the rightness of his argument that The War Council provides fresh insight. Most histories of the Vietnam war focus either on the combat itself or on the political leadership involved. Mr. Preston looks not at the flashes of gunfire but at the more shadowy world of bureaucratic infighting...[ The War Council ] shows all too clearly what happens when the White House circle of decision-makers has too small a radius. Clearly, leaders have the right to rely on a loyal few; excessive debate and deadlock are not desirable. But as America is once again learning, people in power need to make sure that the decisive circle includes those who actually know a region.

Author Information

Andrew Preston is Assistant Professor of History, University of Victoria.

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