How Presidents Test Reality: Decisions on Vietnam, 1954 and 1965

by John P. Burke, Fred I. Greenstein, Larry Berman (Collaborator)

Authors Burke and Greenstein compare the Vietnam decisions of two presidents whose leadership styles and advisory systems diverged as sharply as any in the modern presidency. Using declassified records and interviews with participants to assess in depth the adequacy of each president's use of advice and information, this important book advances our historical understanding of the American involvement in Vietnam and illuminates the preconditions of effective presidential leadership in the contemporary world. "Burke and Greenstein have written what amounts to an owner's manual for operating the National Security Council....This is a book Reagan's people could have used and George Bush ought to read." Bob Schieffer, The Washington Monthly"

Genres: Politics, History

339 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 1989