Haunting Legacy; Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama
Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2011. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. xi, [1], 355, [1] pages. Notes. Index to quotations. Index. Inscribed by Marvin Kalb on title page. Inscription reads To Marshall [unclear] Marvin Kalb. Previous owner's information on fep. Printed on acid-free paper. The United States had never lost a war, that is, until 1975, when it was forced to flee Saigon in humiliation. Haunting Legacy is must reading for anyone trying to understand the power of the past to influence war-and-peace decisions of the present, and of the future. The authors spent five years interviewing hundreds of officials from every post war administration and conducting extensive research in presidential libraries and archives, and they've produced insight and information never before published. Equal parts taut history, revealing biography, and cautionary tale, Haunting Legacy is must reading for anyone trying to understand the power of the past to influence war-and-peace decisions of the present, and of the future. In Haunting Legacy, the father-daughter journalist team of Marvin Kalb and Deborah Kalb presents a compelling, accessible, and hugely important history of presidential decisionmaking on one crucial issue: in light of the Vietnam debacle, under what circumstances should the United States go to war? Might America again be sucked into an unwinnable conflict, for example? Does a president always need congressional approval, or can the White House act on its own? The legacy of this first defeat has haunted every president since, especially on the decision of whether to put "boots on the ground" and commit troops to war. The sobering lesson of Vietnam is that the United States is not invincible, it can lose a war, and thus it must be more discriminating about the use of American power. Every president has faced the ghosts of Vietnam in his own way, though each has been wary of being sucked into another unpopular war. Ford (during the Mayaguez crisis) and both Bushes (Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan) deployed massive force, as if to say, "Vietnam, be damned." On the other hand, Carter, Clinton, and Reagan (to the surprise of many) acted with extreme caution, mindful of the Vietnam experience. Obama has also wrestled with the Vietnam legacy, using doses of American firepower in Libya while still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marvin L. Kalb (born June 9, 1930) is a journalist. Kalb was the founding director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy from 1987 to 1999. He is currently a Fellow at George Washington University. Kalb spent 30 years as an award-winning reporter for CBS News and NBC News. Kalb was the last newsman recruited by Edward R. Murrow to join CBS News, becoming part of the later generation of the "Murrow's Boys." His work at CBS landed him on Richard Nixon's "enemies list". At NBC, he served as chief Diplomatic Correspondent and host of Meet the Press. Kalb has authored or coauthored nine nonfiction books and two best-selling novels. His most recent book is about the haunting legacy of Vietnam, co-authored with his daughter. He hosts The Kalb Report, a discussion of media ethics and responsibility sponsored by the Shorenstein Center and George Washington University. He is a news analyst for Fox News. Deborah Kalb is a freelance writer and editor. She spent about two decades working as a journalist in Washington, D.C., for news organizations including Gannett News Service, Congressional Quarterly, U.S. News & World Report, and The Hill, mostly covering Congress and politics. She is the co-author, with her father, Marvin Kalb, of Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings, 2011). She is the editor of the new two-volume reference book, Guide to U.S. Elections, 7th edition (CQ Press/SAGE, 2016), the co-author of The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents (CQ Press, 2009), and the co-editor of State of the Union: Presidential Rhetoric from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush (CQ Press, 2007), and has contributed updates to a variety of CQ Press books on politics and government. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Vietnam War, Antiwar Movement, Asymmetrical Warfare, Dick Cheney, Cold War, Robert Gates, Counterinsurgency, John McCain, Colin Powell, Quayle, Scowcroft, Elections, Political Campaigns, Islamic Fundamentalism, Obama, Terrorism
ISBN: 9780815721314
[Book #73982]
Price: $125.00