War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton and the Generals - Softcover

Halberstam, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747563012 ISBN 13: 9780747563013

Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2003

Synopsis

Evokes the internecine conflicts, the untrammelled egos, and the struggles for dominance among the key figures in the White House, the State department, and the military in the post-Soviet period. This book shows how the Vietnam war has shaped American politics and policy makers.

About this title

Review:

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of 17 books, including War in a Time of Peace, David Halberstam has a gift for bringing current events alive and putting them into historical perspective in an engaging way. In many respects, War in a Time of Peace serves as a sequel to his classic The Best and the Brightest in its examination of how the lessons of Vietnam have influenced American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, Halberstam discusses the political shift in emphasis from foreign to domestic issues that ushered in the first Clinton administration. Despite the fact that Clinton, along with much of the country, preferred to focus on the home front, the US nonetheless found itself drawn into conflicts in Haiti, Somalia and the Balkans--events that reflected American discomfort with the use of its military forces abroad while at the same time acknowledging that much of the world is dependent upon the US for both guidance and support. The book also highlights the many nonpolitical factors that have influenced these political changes, including a generational shift in national leadership, the modern media's emphasis on entertainment over foreign news, a leap in military technology and American economic prosperity that has rendered foreign policy largely irrelevant to many citizens.

Halberstam is a master at presenting well-rounded portraits and telling anecdotes of the personalities that have created US policy, casting new light on well-known figures such as Clinton, Colin Powell and George W Bush, as well as supporting players such as Anthony Lake, Richard Holbrooke, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, General Wesley Clark, Al Gore and many other influential American leaders of the past decade. Having covered many aspects of American history and foreign policy since the early 1960s, Halberstam is uniquely qualified to report on an era in which the US, and the world, has changed so dramatically. --Shawn Carkonen

Review:

'A finely crafted and enjoyable account of the shared culture and personal chemistry of America's political and military power-brokers' -- Economist

'A riveting and merciless tale' -- Wall Street Journal

'A sprawling tapestry of exquisite bottom-up reporting and powerful vignettes' -- New York Times Book Review

'Halberstam has become one of the great synthesizers of modern American history' -- Washington Post

'In years to come it will be an invaluable source book on the backstage dramas of Bill Clinton's faltering foreign policy' -- Observer

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0747563012
• ISBN 13: 9780747563013
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1