Reviews for Promise and Power: The Life and Times of Robert McNamara

The average rating for Promise and Power: The Life and Times of Robert McNamara based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-03-21 00:00:00 Derrick Southward This is a fascinating story of a brilliant failure who succeeded at some things. To write the former defense secretary off as a colossal failure would be inaccurate and is not what this biography does. Instead, it does a fair and honest job of looking at a life that is an intriguing combination of sunshine and shadow. This essentially is the story of a man who sought to govern by the numbers and failed to be honest with himself or the American people. I�m far too young to remember firsthand most of the events referenced in the book, but I have always been fascinated by what I see as a kind of cynical subterfuge on the part of the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations regarding Vietnam. Most of all, my heart breaks for those men who fought that conflict when this nation�s very leaders, especially McNamara, doubted the conflict could be won, and said nothing. I ought to have come away from this biography with a deeper appreciation for McNamara�s successes, and there were many. But instead, I came away sickened by the lies and failures of someone who could have done more to save young American lives and did not. They called McNamara the human computer. He could take a position and rattle off innumerable statistics in support of his position. So domineering was he that those who differed with him were often vanquished from the scene and rendered relatively ineffective. It is the story of a man who failed miserably at fatherhood after he moved his family to Washington from Ann Arbor to take on the job of Kennedy�s defense secretary. During his years at Ford, McNamara was able to unify his family; they appeared to be a solid unit. But things fell apart after his job changed. Indeed, the relationships were so abysmal that at one point, one of his daughters insisted he was her uncle when someone questioned her last name. How dreadful a parent do you have to be before one of your offspring will so resoundingly distance him or herself from you. I confess that, because of its length, I considered not reading this at all or perhaps giving up on it early. But it is written so well that, once you start, you�ll want to see how it turns out. The truth is that some eight million Americans were in some way or other touched by a war that was arguably prolonged by decisions McNamara and others made. There seems to be a mixed bag of verdicts regarding his role as president of the World Bank. While McNamara died in 2009, this book ends in the early 90s. To watch a C-SPAN interview with the author, go to:

Review # 2 was written on 2007-12-18 00:00:00 Hiroki Tsujikami Great book. Well written. McNamara is an amazing character highly driven by his intellect and steered by history, the events of his life and the country seem inevitable. An almost tragic hero.