In this epic biography of Edward Lansdale (1908-1987), best-selling historian Max Boot demonstrates how Lansdale pioneered a hearts-and mind diplomacy, first in the Philippines, then in Vietnam. It was a visionary policy that, as Boot reveals, was ultimately crushed by America's giant military bureaucracy, steered by elitist generals and blueblood diplomats who favored troop build-ups and napalm bombs over winning the trust of the people.
Through dozens of interviews and access to never before-seen documents (including long-hidden love letters) Boot recasts this cautionary American story, tracing the bold rise and the crashing fall of the roguish "T. E. Lawrence of Asia" from the battle of Dien Bien Phu to the humiliating American evacuation in 1975. Bringing a tragic complexity, this engrossing biography rescues Lansdale from historical ignominy and suggests that Vietnam could have been different had we only listened. With reverberations that continue to play out in Iraq and Afghanistan, The Road Not Taken is a biography of profound historical consequence.
- Hardcover
- 54 photos
- 3 maps
- 768 pages
- Dimensions: 9.6"H x 6.6"W
ISBN: 9780871409416
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