American History

A big part of the book, especially toward the beginning, is a description of how those truly knowledgeable on SE Asia were driven out of the State Department by the McCarthy anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s. What Kennedy inherited were the yes men--like Dean Rusk--who survived because their lack of deep knowledge about the region kept them from making "controversial" assessments of the situation--for instance, that the French occupation was doomed, that Ho Chi Minh was first and foremost a nationalist, that American military intervention would be disastrous, etc.

One tidbit I remember from my reading--long ago--was that there wasn't a single "expert" on SE Asia in the State Department who spoke Vietnamese. In fact, through the 50s anything to do with Indochina was handled by the French desk at State.

It's a fantastic book, and along with "The Powers That Be" essential reading for anyone interested in the history of that era.