Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Vietnam

An intensely focused study, based in part on recently opened documents in the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, of how decisions were made in July 1965 to increase, almost without limit, the American military commitment to the Vietnam War. The author explores many "components of the decision process" and disagrees with those who place primary emphasis on President Johnson's overpowering personality and intellectual flaws.