Reckless

This audiobook, based on newly released archival material, helps to explain, in part, why the war in Vietnam became the morass it was. The documents reveal that Henry Kissinger, the supposed architect of peace, actually caused the war to be extended by thousands of lives and millions of dollars. Narrator Jeff Bottoms sets the perfect tone for this indictment of the lead U.S. negotiator, who always considered himself the smartest man in any room. Bottoms sounds cool and analytical as he provides the knowing voice of hindsight. Listeners can hear the author's disapproval of the political infighting that exacerbated the conflict. This fascinating study shows the ill-conceived steps that led down the path to ignoble American defeat. It's a shame that today's U.S. decision-makers have learned little from this cautionary tale. D.E.M. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

July 23, 2018
Brigham—who teaches U.S. history and international relations at Vassar—offers a persuasive argument that Nixon’s national security adviser (and later secretary of state) Henry Kissinger lied, misled, and deceptively outmaneuvered other policy makers in setting Vietnam War policy from 1969 to 1975, with disastrous results. Drawing on new primary sources from Vietnam and the U.S., Brigham demonstrates that Kissinger and Nixon bungled four years of negotiations with the Vietnamese communists, agreeing to virtually the same peace terms in 1973 that were on the table in 1969. Among other perfidies Brigham cites, Kissinger repeatedly prevented others—including leaders in the State and Defense departments and members of Congress—from making Vietnam War policy. And he lied to Congress and other administration officials about the ongoing peace talks and the military situation in Vietnam. This all-but-total condemnation of Kissinger (and Nixon), while dryly written, confirms what many Kissinger skeptics have believed for decades and may change the minds of some who have believe him to be a foreign policy guru.