James G. Blight - The Fog of War: Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

Perhaps no political leader of such magnitude ever subjected himself publicly to the introspection and analysis that Robert McNamara has. In The Fog of War, we see a man struggling with momentous decisions and consequences, a remarkable tour of past and future horizons of great significance for how the United States conducts its foreign policy. James Blight and janet Lang stimulated the creation of this unique treasure, and now they have brought us a version with revealing context and depth, wrought with clarity, intelligence, and urgency. In all ways, it is an important and rewarding book.John Tirman, executive director of the MIT Center for International Studies.

Jim Blight and janet Lang invented critical oral history in the 1980s as an application of psychology to history, and as a way out of the trap of retrospective determinismthe false belief that things had to turn out the way they did. In Robert McNamara, Jim and janet found one of the all-too-few high officials not yet entrenched behind the fortifications of memoir and the fossilization of memory, remarkably willing at long last to try on other peoples shoes. The extraordinary result, in addition to winning an Oscar for Errol Morriss film, is here in this book, a greatest hits collection that shows how critical oral history has rewritten what we thought we knew about the closest the world ever came to suicide (the Cuban Missile Crisis), and about the war in Vietnam (echoes resound today in Baghdad).Thomas S. Blanton, director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, which won the U.S. journalisms 2000 George Polk Award

Essential reading for anyone interested in drawing lessons from the Vietnam War.Robert K. Brigham, Shirley Ecker Boskey Professor of History and International Relations, Vassar College, and the author of Guerrilla Diplomacy: The NLFs Foreign Relations and the Vietnam War

In his Academy Award-winning film, Errol Morris transformed the popular vision of Robert McNamara from a creator and cold accountant of death and destruction into an agonized, thoughtful, sympathetic public servant. For their part, James Blight and janet Lang have documented the challenges Robert McNamara faced throughout his seven years as Americas Secretary of Defense. They have provided fascinating, often chilling selections from correspondence with and between Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro, Johnson and other players during the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War. This previously classified material, together with thoughtful commentary from scholars and observers, and the helpful views of Blight and Lang, provide a valuable background to the lessons McNamara draws from The Fog of War. Just as Morriss documentary is must seeing for all thoughtful Americans, the Blight/Lang book is must reading.Chester L. Cooper, former CIA, State Department and White House specialist on Vietnam, and the author of The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam

It is difficult to imagine a book more terribly relevant than The Fog of War. James Blight and janet Lang weave together a compelling narrative, important historical documents from the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam war, and gripping exchanges of old adversaries met in dialogue in order to offer readers Robert McNamaras darkly prophetic lessons. In so doing, they brilliantly engage the turbulent, complex, endlessly fascinating life of this remarkable public figure. The book is certainly one of the surest guides through the fog, and we would be wise to pay attention.Edward T. Linenthal, author of The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory:

This excellent book is more than a companion volume to the Oscar-winning documentary. The historical case-studies, declassified documents, and vivid photographs shed important new light on Robert McNamara and his efforts to learn from the triumphs and tragedies of his public life.Scott D. Sagan, professor of political science, Stanford University, and the author of The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents and Nuclear Weapons

Jim Blight and janet Langs book is a novel achievement. The documentation, and their enormously helpful commentary, complement the film in an incredibly valuable way. This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the perilous world we live in.Paul L. Wachtel, CUNY Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and former director of the Colin Powell Center, City College of the City University of New York

Lessons from the Life of
Robert S. McNamara

James G. Blight and
janet M. Lang

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.

Published in the United States of America
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Copyright 2005 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blight, James G.

The fog of war : lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara / James G. Blight and Janet M. Lang.
p. cm.

Companion book to the documentary film The fog of war.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-7425-4220-3 (cloth : alk. paper)ISBN 0-7425-4221-1 (pbk. : alk.

ISBN 978-0-7425-4221-1

paper) 1. McNamara, Robert S., 1916- 2. McNamara, Robert S., 1916Political and social views. 3. McNamara, Robert S., 1916Interviews. 4. Cabinet officersUnited StatesBiography. 5. United States. Dept. of DefenseBiography. 6. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975. 7. United StatesHistory, Military20th century. 8. United StatesMilitary policy. I. Lang, Janet M., 1948- II. Title.

E840.8.M46B58 2005
327.7300904dc22

2004029787

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.