The Road Not TakenEdward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam
Max Boot - 2018-01-09
Explore the life of legendary CIA operative, Edward Lansdale, in this epic biography by best-selling historian Max Boot. Lansdale pioneered a visionary "hearts and mind" diplomacy policy in the Philippines and Vietnam, ultimately crushed by America’s military bureaucracy. Through interviews and never-before-seen documents, Boot recasts this cautionary American story with tragic complexity, tracing Lansdale’s bold rise and crashing fall from the battle of Dien Bien Phu to the humiliating American evacuation in 1975. 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.