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The Kennedy Withdrawal
- Camelot and the American Commitment to Vietnam
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
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Publisher's summary
In October 1963, the White House publicly proposed the removal of US troops from Vietnam, earning President Kennedy an enduring reputation as a skeptic on the war. In fact, Kennedy was ambivalent about withdrawal and was largely detached from its planning. Marc J. Selverstone reveals that the withdrawal statement gave Kennedy political cover, allowing him to sustain support for US military assistance. Its details were the handiwork of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, whose ownership of the plan distanced it from the president.
Selverstone's use of the presidential tapes, alongside declassified documents, memoirs, and oral histories, lifts the veil on this legend of Camelot. Withdrawal planning was never just about Vietnam as it evolved over the course of fifteen months. For McNamara, it injected greater discipline into the US assistance program. For the military, it was largely an unwelcome exercise. For JFK, it allowed him to preserve the US commitment while ostensibly limiting it.
The Kennedy Withdrawal offers an inside look at presidential decision-making in this liminal period of the Vietnam War and makes clear that portrayals of Kennedy as a dove are overdrawn. His proposed withdrawal was in fact a cagey strategy for keeping the United States involved in the fight—a strategy the country adopted decades later in Afghanistan.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 335
Dereliction of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations, and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Rough narration
- By AC Griffin on 12-04-19
By: H. R. McMaster
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Before the First Shots Are Fired
- How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield
- By: Tony Koltz, Tony Zinni
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the world's police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, retired four-star general Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war-or not-more clear-eyed and ultimately successful.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for leaders
- By Ted on 06-17-22
By: Tony Koltz, and others
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How Wars End
- Why We Always Fight the Last Battle
- By: Gideon Rose
- Narrated by: Gideon Rose
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 117
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
In 1991, the United States Army trounced the Iraqi army in battle only to stumble blindly into postwar turmoil. Then in 2003 the United States did it again. How could this happen? How could the strongest power in modern history fight two wars against the same opponent in just over a decade, win lightning victories both times, and yet still be woefully unprepared for the aftermath? Because Americans always forget the political aspects of war.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book
- By Luis on 11-04-10
By: Gideon Rose
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Gambling with Armageddon
- Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to the Cuban Missile Crisis
- By: Martin J. Sherwin
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
In this groundbreaking look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, Martin Sherwin not only gives us a riveting sometimes hour-by-hour explanation of the crisis itself, but also explores the origins, scope, and consequences of the evolving place of nuclear weapons in the post-World War II world. Mining new sources and materials, and going far beyond the scope of earlier works on this critical face-off between the United States and the Soviet Union — triggered when Khrushchev began installing missiles in Cuba at Castro's behest....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Important History
- By J. B. Evans on 06-12-21
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Losing an Enemy
- Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy
- By: Trita Parsi
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story5 out of 5 stars 45
This timely book focuses on President Obama's deeply considered strategy toward Iran's nuclear program and reveals how the historic agreement of 2015 broke the persistent stalemate in negotiations that had blocked earlier efforts. Drawing from more than 75 in-depth interviews with key decision-makers, including Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry, this is the first authoritative account of President Obama's signature foreign policy achievement.
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5 out of 5 stars
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required reading
- By Seth K on 07-18-19
By: Trita Parsi
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Master of the Game
- Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy
- By: Martin Indyk
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 25 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
More than 20 years have elapsed since the United States last brokered a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. In that time, three presidents have tried and failed. Martin Indyk - a former United States ambassador to Israel and special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2013 - has experienced these political frustrations and disappointments firsthand.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Sad in its lack of creativity
- By Uri Pilichowski on 11-16-21
By: Martin Indyk
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JFK's War with the National Security Establishment: Why Kennedy Was Assassinated
- By: Douglas Horne
- Narrated by: Larry Wayne
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story5 out of 5 stars 70
Ever since researchers and commentators began questioning the conclusions of the Warren Report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the response has been: Why would the US national-security establishment - that is, the military and the CIA - kill Kennedy? As Douglas P. Horne details in this audiobook, JFK's War with the National Security Establishment: Why Kennedy Was Assassinated, the answer is because Kennedy's ideas about foreign policy collided with those of the US national-security establishment during the height of the Cold War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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FINALLY THE TRUTH!
- By Helen Williamson on 05-28-16
By: Douglas Horne
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My Journey at the Nuclear Brink
- By: William Perry
- Narrated by: Kevin F Spalding
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
My Journey at the Nuclear Brink is a continuation of William J. Perry's efforts to keep the world safe from a nuclear catastrophe. It tells the story of his coming of age in the nuclear era, his role in trying to shape and contain it, and how his thinking has changed about the threat these weapons pose. In a remarkable career, Perry has dealt firsthand with the changing nuclear threat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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His journey has just begun
- By Amazon Customer on 04-18-17
By: William Perry
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Washington Rules
- America's Path to Permanent War
- By: Andrew Bacevich
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
For the last half century, as administrations have come and gone, the fundamental assumptions about America's military policy have remained unchanged: American security requires the United States (and us alone) to maintain a permanent armed presence around the globe, to prepare our forces for military operations in far-flung regions, and to be ready to intervene anywhere at any time. In the Obama era, just as in the Bush years, these beliefs remain unquestioned gospel.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Permanent war and insolvency...thanks Washington
- By Jonnie on 10-13-10
By: Andrew Bacevich
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Duty
- Memoirs of a Secretary at War
- By: Robert M. Gates
- Narrated by: George Newbern, Robert M. Gates
- Length: 25 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,460
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,166
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,159
From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vivid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House, he thought he'd long left Washington politics behind: After working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happily serving as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Fighting Season
- By Cynthia on 01-28-14
By: Robert M. Gates
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America's War for the Greater Middle East
- A Military History
- By: Andrew J. Bacevich
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Andrew J. Bacevich
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 953
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 849
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 845
From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed in action anywhere else. What caused this shift? Andrew J. Bacevich, one of the country's most respected voices on foreign affairs, offers an incisive critical history of this ongoing military enterprise - now more than 30 years old and with no end in sight.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Key to Understanding the US Need for Perp. War
- By Darwin8u on 05-01-16
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Known and Unknown
- A Memoir
- By: Donald Rumsfeld
- Narrated by: Donald Rumsfeld
- Length: 30 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 602
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 401
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 402
A powerful memoir from the late former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. With the same directness that defined his career in public service, Rumsfeld's memoir is filled with previously undisclosed details and insights about the Bush administration, 9/11, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also features Rumsfeld's unique and often surprising observations on eight decades of history. Both a fascinating narrative and an unprecedented glimpse into history, Known and Unknown captures the legacy of one of the most influential men in public service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Inside view of five decades in politics
- By Brooks on 02-19-11
By: Donald Rumsfeld
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Road to Disaster
- A New History of America’s Descent into Vietnam
- By: Brian VanDeMark
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 23 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story5 out of 5 stars 61
Many books have been written on the tragic decisions regarding Vietnam made by the stars of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Yet despite many words of analysis and reflection, no historian has been able to explain why such decent and previously successful men stumbled so badly. That changes with Road to Disaster. Historian Brian VanDeMark draws upon decades of archival research, his own interviews with many of those involved, and a wealth of previously unheard recordings by Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, who served as Defense Secretaries for Kennedy and Johnson.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vietnam Veteran
- By Jim Rollins on 04-02-19
By: Brian VanDeMark
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Hanoi’s War
- An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam
- By: Lien-Hang T. Nguyen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
While most historians of the Vietnam War focus on the origins of US involvement and the Americanization of the conflict, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued the war and American intervention ended. This riveting narrative takes the listener from the marshy Mekong Delta swamps to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in Paris to high-level meetings in Beijing and Moscow.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Understanding politics in SE Asia.
- By Mark U. on 04-26-15
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Camelot's Court
- Inside the Kennedy White House
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4 out of 5 stars 68
Fifty years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, presidential historian Robert Dallek, whom The New York Times calls "Kennedy's leading biographer", delivers a riveting new portrait of this president and his inner circle of advisors, their rivalries, personality clashes, and political battles. In Camelot's Court, Dallek analyzes the brain trust whose contributions to the successes and failures of Kennedy's administration - including the Bay of Pigs, civil rights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam - were indelible.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Well Researched but Critically Flawed
- By brent lloyd on 02-08-22
By: Robert Dallek
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Surge
- My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War
- By: Peter R. Mansoor, General David Petraeus - foreword
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Surge is an insider's view of the most decisive phase of the Iraq War. Using newly declassified documents, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, author notes, and published sources, Surge explains how President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ambassador Crocker, General Petraeus, and other U.S. and Iraqi political and military leaders shaped the surge from the center of the maelstrom in Baghdad and Washington.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Helpful for the Army War College
- By BBP on 02-24-18
By: Peter R. Mansoor, and others
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Doomed to Succeed
- The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama
- By: Dennis Ross
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 117
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
In Doomed to Succeed, Ross takes us through every administration from Truman to Obama, throwing into dramatic relief each president's attitudes toward Israel and the region, the often tumultuous debates between key advisers, and the events that drove the policies and at times led to a shift in approach.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Even Handed Report
- By Jean on 11-21-15
By: Dennis Ross
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