David Halberstam is dead
Apr. 23rd, 2007 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaAnd so the gifted writer and journalist passes away.
I believe he's most famous for writing "The Best and the Brightest", in which he criticized JFK's handling of the Vietnam War. He had a bit of rambling style with his digressions in the book, but overall it was a brilliantly written narrative. Now, quite a few historians disagree on some of the details, but his writing ability was unquestioned.
I believe the point of that book is still applicable today. When a group of men believe that they and only they can lead a nation, that leads to the danger of groupthink. Groupthink at the top level of one's government can only lead to failure. The main difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that we had "the best and the brightest" leading the nation in Vietnam as compared to the "village idiots" leading us in Iraq.
I believe he's most famous for writing "The Best and the Brightest", in which he criticized JFK's handling of the Vietnam War. He had a bit of rambling style with his digressions in the book, but overall it was a brilliantly written narrative. Now, quite a few historians disagree on some of the details, but his writing ability was unquestioned.
I believe the point of that book is still applicable today. When a group of men believe that they and only they can lead a nation, that leads to the danger of groupthink. Groupthink at the top level of one's government can only lead to failure. The main difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that we had "the best and the brightest" leading the nation in Vietnam as compared to the "village idiots" leading us in Iraq.
