America's Rasputin

Walt Rostow's meteoric rise to power--from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to the West Wing of the White House--seemed to capture the promise of the American dream. Hailing from humble origins, Rostow became an intellectual powerhouse: a professor of economic history at MIT and an influential foreign policy adviser to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Too influential, according to some. While Rostow inspired respect and affection, he also made some powerful enemies. Averell Harriman, one of America's most celebrated diplomats, described Rostow as "America's Rasputin" for the unsavory influence he exerted on presidential decision-making. Rostow was the first to advise Kennedy to send U.S. combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to recommend the bombing of North Vietnam. He framed a policy of military escalation, championed recklessly optimistic reporting, and then advised LBJ against pursuing a compromise peace with North Vietnam. David Milne examines one man's impact on the United States' worst-ever military defeat. It is a portrait of good intentions and fatal misjudgments. A true ideologue, Rostow believed that it is beholden upon the United States to democratize other nations and do "good," no matter what the cost. "America's Rasputin "explores the consequences of this idealistic but unyielding dogma. David Milne is a lecturer in American politics at the University of East Anglia. This is his first book. Walt Rostow's rise to power--from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to the West Wing of the White House--seemed to capture the promise of the American dream. Hailing from humble origins, Rostow became an intellectual powerhouse: a professor of economic history at MIT and an influential foreign policy adviser to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Too influential, according to some. While Rostow inspired respect and affection, he also made some powerful enemies. Averell Harriman, one of America's most celebrated diplomats, described Rostow as "America's Rasputin" for the unsavory influence he exerted on presidential decision-making. Rostow was the first to advise Kennedy to send U.S. combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to recommend the bombing of North Vietnam. He framed a policy of military escalation, championed recklessly optimistic reporting, and then advised LBJ against pursuing a compromise peace with North Vietnam. David Milne examines one man's impact on the United States' worst-ever military defeat. It is a portrait of good intentions and fatal misjudgments. A true ideologue, Rostow believed that it is beholden upon the United States to democratize other nations and do "good," no matter what the cost. "America's Rasputin "explores the consequences of this idealistic but unyielding dogma.

"David Milne has given us an absorbing history of the rise to power of Walt Rostow and his disastrous impact on US foreign policy. The first civilian to advise Kennedy to deploy combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to urge bombing the North, Rostow was a true ideologue who believed an American version of democracy could be exported to other countries--if necessary by force . . . A book that vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign policy, "America's Rasputin" could not be more timely."--John Gray, author of "Black Mass"

""America's Rasputin" is interesting for what it shows about a particular position--one which emerged during the Vietnam War and has come into its own during the Iraq war."--Daniel Sullivan, "The Weekly Standard
""Few liberal intellectuals and government officials championed the Vietnam War more ardently than Walt Rostow, the subject of Milne's informative and pointed biography . . . Milne persuasively argues that Rostow was, in many ways, the first foreign-policy neoconservative, anticipating and formulating many of the illusory arguments that Paul Wolfowitz and others would make during the run-up to the Iraq War about extending the benefits of American hegemony abroad."--Jacob Heilbrunn, "The National Interest"
"[An] exemplary and fresh look at a man once so influential in the shaping of foreign policy."--Murray Polner, "History News Network
""David Milne's absorbing new book puts Walt W. Rostow exactly where he belongs--front and center among the leading architects of the long American war in Vietnam. Over the past decade, scholars have devoted new attention to the intellectual history and political impact of post-1945 theories of Third World modernization. Milne makes a vital contribution to that literature by exploring the career of a most influential figure . . . Milne's analysis is insightful and compelling . . . Milne's book also illuminates the extent to which Cold War liberals blended altruistic, reformist ideals with deployment of lethal force . . . This is an outstanding book. It deepens our understanding of the forces and ideas that led the United States to plunge into a brutal war in Vietnam. On another level, it also suggests disturbing parallels with more recent American visions of wholesale transformation in Iraq, the wider Middle East, and beyond."--Michael E. Latham, Fordham University, "Journal of American Studies
""In his comprehensive examination of Walt Rostow's role in Vietnam decision making, David Milne adds a valuable and nuanced perspective on the questions of how and why Vietnam became an American war and what went wrong there. ""America's Rasputin"" is a well researched and critical yet sensitive treatment of an exceptional man who wielded significant influence in the Lyndon Johnson Administration during a critical phase of the Vietnam War."--H.R. McMaster, author of "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam
""America's "Rasputin" is a splendid book, beautifully written, persuasively argued, and deeply researched. Milne's cautionary tale of ideas and idealism taken to their extremes is as historically important as it is currently relevant. Our understanding of the Vietnam War--and of American foreign policy in general--is greatly enhanced by this book."--Andrew Preston, author of "The War Council
""David Milne has given us an absorbing history of the rise to power of Walt Rostow and his disastrous impact on US foreign policy. The first civilian to advise Kennedy to deploy combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to urge bombing the North, Rostow was a true ideologue who believed an American version of democracy could be exported to other countries--if necessary by force. An American Rasputin--as Averrell Harriman described him--who refused to admit the limits of American power, Rostow helped bring about the worst military defeat in American history. The parallels with the present time--when America faces an even worse disaster in Iraq--are clear. A book that vividly illuminates the dangers of ideology in foreign policy, "America's Rasputin" could not be more timely."--John Gray, author of "Black Mass
""Original, insightful study of the intellectual eminence grise behind tw