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West from Home: The Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 (Little House #11)
by Roger Lea Macbride Laura Ingalls WilderLaura Ingalls Wilder described her 1915 voyage to San Francisco to visit her daughter, Rose Lane. Laura's husband, Almanzo, was unable to leave their Missouri farm and these are her faithful letters home, vividly describing every detail of her journey.
West Germany and the Portuguese Dictatorship, 1968–1974
by Rui LopesWest Germany and the Portuguese Dictatorship 1968-1974 examines West Germany's ambiguous policy towards the Portuguese dictatorship of Marcelo Caetano. Lopes sheds new light on the social, economic, military, and diplomatic dimensions of the awkward relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Caetano regime.
West of Eden: An American Place
by Jean SteinJean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book Edie: American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol "superstar" Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton. Now, in West of Eden, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood. Stein vividly captures a mythic cast of characters: their ambitions and triumphs as well as their desolation and grief. These stories illuminate the bold aspirations of five larger-than-life individuals and their families. West of Eden is a work of history both grand in scale and intimate in detail. At the center of each family is a dreamer who finds fortune and strife in Southern California: Edward Doheny, the Wisconsin-born oil tycoon whose corruption destroyed the reputation of a U.S. president and led to his own son's violent death; Jack Warner, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who together with his brothers founded one of the world's most iconic film studios; Jane Garland, the troubled daughter of an aspiring actress who could never escape her mother's schemes; Jennifer Jones, an actress from Oklahoma who won the Academy Award at twenty-five but struggled with despair amid her fame and glamour. Finally, Stein chronicles the ascent of her own father, Jules Stein, an eye doctor born in Indiana who transformed Hollywood with the creation of an unrivaled agency and studio. In each chapter, Stein paints a portrait of an outsider who pins his or her hopes on the nascent power and promise of Los Angeles. Each individual's unyielding intensity pushes loved ones, especially children, toward a perilous threshold. West of Eden depicts the city that has projected its own image of America onto the world, in all its idealism and paradox. As she did in Edie, Jean Stein weaves together the personal recollections of an array of individuals to create an astonishing tapestry of a place like no other.
West of Eden
by Jean SteinAn epic, mesmerizing oral history of Hollywood and Los Angeles from the author of the contemporary classic Edie. Jean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book Edie: American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol "superstar" Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton. Now, in West of Eden, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood. Stein vividly captures a mythic cast of characters: their ambitions and triumphs as well as their desolation and grief. These stories illuminate the bold aspirations of five larger-than-life individuals and their families. West of Eden is a work of history both grand in scale and intimate in detail. At the center of each family is a dreamer who finds fortune and strife in Southern California: Edward Doheny, the Wisconsin-born oil tycoon whose corruption destroyed the reputation of a U.S. president and led to his own son's violent death; Jack Warner, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who together with his brothers founded one of the world's most iconic film studios; Jane Garland, the troubled daughter of an aspiring actress who could never escape her mother's schemes; Jennifer Jones, an actress from Oklahoma who won the Academy Award at twenty-five but struggled with despair amid her fame and glamour. Finally, Stein chronicles the ascent of her own father, Jules Stein, an eye doctor born in Indiana who transformed Hollywood with the creation of an unrivaled agency and studio. In each chapter, Stein paints a portrait of an outsider who pins his or her hopes on the nascent power and promise of Los Angeles. Each individual's unyielding intensity pushes loved ones, especially children, toward a perilous threshold. West of Eden depicts the city that has projected its own image of America onto the world, in all its idealism and paradox. As she did in Edie, Jean Stein weaves together the personal recollections of an array of individuals to create an astonishing tapestry of a place like no other.
West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan-American Story
by Tamim AnsaryThe day after the World Trade Center was destroyed, Tamim Ansary sent an anguished e-mail to twenty friends, discussing the attack from his perspective as an Afghan American. The message reached millions. Born to an Afghan father and American mother, Ansary grew up in the intimate world of Afghan family life and emigrated to San Francisco thinking he'd left Afghan culture behind forever. At the height of the Iranian Revolution, however, he took a harrowing journey through the Islamic world, and in the years that followed, he struggled to unite his divided self and to find a place in his imagination where his Afghan and American identities might meet.
West of Sunset
by Stewart O'NanA "rich, sometimes heartbreaking" (Dennis Lehane) novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald's last years in HollywoodIn 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a troubled, uncertain man whose literary success was long over. In poor health, with his wife consigned to a mental asylum and his finances in ruins, he struggled to make a new start as a screenwriter in Hollywood. By December 1940, he would be dead of a heart attack.Those last three years of Fitzgerald's life, often obscured by the legend of his earlier Jazz Age glamour, are the focus of Stewart O'Nan's gorgeously and gracefully written novel. With flashbacks to key moments from Fitzgerald's past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and daughter, Scottie.Fitzgerald's orbit of literary fame and the Golden Age of Hollywood is brought vividly to life through the novel's romantic cast of characters, from Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway to Humphrey Bogart. A sympathetic and deeply personal portrait of a flawed man who never gave up in the end, even as his every wish and hope seemed thwarted, West of Sunset confirms O'Nan as "possibly our best working novelist" (Salon).
West of Sunset
by Stewart O'NanA "rich, sometimes heartbreaking" (Dennis Lehane) novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald's last years in HollywoodIn 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a troubled, uncertain man whose literary success was long over. In poor health, with his wife consigned to a mental asylum and his finances in ruins, he struggled to make a new start as a screenwriter in Hollywood. By December 1940, he would be dead of a heart attack.Those last three years of Fitzgerald's life, often obscured by the legend of his earlier Jazz Age glamour, are the focus of Stewart O'Nan's gorgeously and gracefully written novel. With flashbacks to key moments from Fitzgerald's past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and daughter, Scottie.Fitzgerald's orbit of literary fame and the Golden Age of Hollywood is brought vividly to life through the novel's romantic cast of characters, from Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway to Humphrey Bogart. A sympathetic and deeply personal portrait of a flawed man who never gave up in the end, even as his every wish and hope seemed thwarted, West of Sunset confirms O'Nan as "possibly our best working novelist" (Salon).
West of Sunset
by Stewart O'NanA "rich, sometimes heartbreaking" (Dennis Lehane) novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald's last years in Hollywood In 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a troubled, uncertain man whose literary success was long over. In poor health, with his wife consigned to a mental asylum and his finances in ruins, he struggled to make a new start as a screenwriter in Hollywood. By December 1940, he would be dead of a heart attack. Those last three years of Fitzgerald's life, often obscured by the legend of his earlier Jazz Age glamour, are the focus of Stewart O'Nan's gorgeously and gracefully written novel. With flashbacks to key moments from Fitzgerald's past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and daughter, Scottie. Fitzgerald's orbit of literary fame and the Golden Age of Hollywood is brought vividly to life through the novel's romantic cast of characters, from Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway to Humphrey Bogart. A sympathetic and deeply personal portrait of a flawed man who never gave up in the end, even as his every wish and hope seemed thwarted, West of Sunset confirms O'Nan as "possibly our best working novelist" (Salon).
West of Then
by Tara Bray SmithAt the center of West of Then is Karen Morgan -- island flower, fifth-generation haole (white) Hawaiian, Mayflower descendant -- now living on the streets of downtown Honolulu. Despite her recklessness, Karen inspires fierce loyalty and love in her three daughters. When she goes missing in the spring of 2002, Tara, the eldest, sets out to find and hopefully save her mother. Her journey is about what you give up when you try to renounce your past, whether personal, familial, or historical, and what you gain when you confront it. By turns tough and touching, Smith's modern detective story unravels the rich history of the fiftieth state and the realities of contemporary Hawaii -- its sizable homeless population, its drug subculture -- as well as its generous, diverse humanity and astonishing beauty. In this land of so many ghosts, the author's search for her mother becomes a reckoning with herself, her family, and with the meaning of home.
West Pac
by Scott SchmidtWhen a carrier goes to sea, those who work on the dangerous flight deck are at an average age of twenty years old. To add to the danger, those who work with aircraft ordnance, the bombs and missiles of these planes, are at even more risk of injury on the pitching deck. This is a true story of one young man, an aviation ordnanceman, who went to sea on his second cruise in 1978 at age twenty. What he discovered in the hot Pacific and Indian Oceans would change his life forever and set him on a path to discovery. Follow the author on his personal and poignant journey as he explores the universal truths of those who must succeed under arduous conditions.
West Point Warriors: Profiles of Duty, Honor, and Country In Battle
by Tom CarhartWhen America must be defended, the men of West Point are there. From the War of 1812 to the twenty-first-century fight against terrorism at home and abroad, in the heat of battle and in the face of certain death, they give ever-renewed meaning to the West Point motto, "Duty, Honor, Country." They range from the celebrated, like Robert E. Lee and Douglas MacArthur, to the unsung, including Patrick H. O'Rorke, who stunned the Confederates at Little Round Top with a ferocious and gallant charge that stopped their advance; Russell P. Reeder, Jr., who led his regiment ashore at Normandy and valiantly fought German forces before losing a leg; and Joseph G. Clemons, Jr., who commanded an infantry company that held off the enemy on Pork Chop Hill in Korea. They -- and many more -- were all West Point warriors, men who led America's soldiers through this nation's wars and who protect us to this day with selfless sacrifice and unbounded bravery. Book jacket.
West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic (Turner Classic Movies)
by Richard BarriosA captivating, richly illustrated full account of the making of the ground-breaking movie classic West Side Story (1961).A major hit on Broadway, on film West Side Story became immortal-a movie different from anything that had come before, but this cinematic victory came at a price. In this engrossing volume, film historian Richard Barrios recounts how the drama and rivalries seen onscreen played out to equal intensity behind-the-scenes, while still achieving extraordinary artistic feats.The making and impact of West Side Story has so far been recounted only in vestiges. In the pages of this book, the backstage tale comes to life along with insight on what has made the film a favorite across six decades: its brilliant use of dance as staged by erstwhile co-director Jerome Robbins; a meaningful story, as set to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's soundtrack; the performances of a youthful ensemble cast featuring Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, and more; a film with Shakespearean roots (Romeo and Juliet) that is simultaneously timeless and current. West Side Story was a triumph that appeared to be very much of its time; over the years it has shown itself to be eternal.
West Virginia's Traditional Country Music (Images of America)
by Ivan M. Tribe Jacob L. BapstWest Virginia has been known for a century as a rich repository of traditional country music and musicians. Beginning in the mid-1920s, phonograph recordings and radios brought this music to a wider audience. With the passing of time and the influence of commercialization, this music developed into what became first known as "hillbilly" and then into the more refined "country" because of its long appeal to those of rural background. Although modernization has caused the traditional element to recede considerably, much still remains. Many folk still cling to the older sounds exemplified by the "raw" traditionalists and the neo-traditional bluegrass style that emerged in the 1940s. From the earliest recording artists, such as the Tweedy Brothers and David Miller, who was blind, to contemporary stars like Kathy Mattea and Brad Paisley, West Virginians and others have held their musicians in high esteem.
West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House
by Gautam RaghavanThe Obama White House staff invites us behind-the-scenes of history for a deeply personal and moving look at the presidency and how the president's staff can change the nation"West Wingers is exceptional . . . We have so much to learn from these stories." -Joe BidenWhen we elect a president, we elect with them an entire team that will join them in the West Wing to help run the country. Each of these staffers has a story to tell, and in West Wingers, Barack Obama's White House staff reveals how these extraordinary citizens shape the presidency and the nation.In these moving and revealing personal stories, eighteen Obama staffers bring us deep inside the presidency, offering intimate accounts of how they made it to the White House, what they witnessed, and what they accomplished there. We hear from a married gay staffer pushing the president towards marriage equality; a senior aide working to implement the Affordable Care Act while battling Stage IV cancer; a hijab-wearing Muslim adviser accompanying the President to a mosque. In each one we see the human face of government, staffers devoting themselves to the issues that have defined their lives. From the triumphs of Obamacare and marriage equality to the tragedy of the Charleston shooting, this book tells the history of the Obama presidency through the men and women who worked tirelessly to support his vision for America. More than just a history though, West Wingers is an inspiring call to arms for public service, a testament to the possibility of real social change, and a powerful demonstration of what true diversity, inclusivity, and progress can look like in America.These deeply moving stories offer more than a fascinating view into the window of history: they show us how hope becomes real, sustainable change."–Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to President Obama
West Winging It: An Un-presidential Memoir
by Pat CunnaneThe West Wing meets The Office in this fresh and funny exclusive look into President Barack Obama’s years in the White House, directly from his senior writer and former Deputy Director of Messaging.West Winging It: An Unpresidential Memoir is the personal story of Pat Cunnane and his journey from outsider to insider, from his dreary job at a warehouse to his dream job at the White House. Pat pulls the drapes back on the most famous and exclusive building in the United States, telling the story of the real West Wing with compelling and quirky portraits of the people who populate the place, from the President to the press corps. Pat takes you into the Oval Office, providing a witty insider’s glimpse of that it’s really like—from the minutiae to the momentous—to work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Along the way, Pat draws an intimate portrait of the side of President Obama that few were privy to—the funnyman, the nerd, the athlete, the caring parent. He describes both the small details—the time he watched in horror as the President reached over the sneeze guard at Chipotle—and the larger, historic moments, such as watching the President handle the news of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. In some ways, working at the White House is a lot like every office, and in some ways, it’s like no office ever. Pat recounts the time he accidentally slammed a door on Joe Biden, plotted to have the Pope bless him by faking a sneeze, and almost killed America’s First Dog. Pat’s story is one of proximity to history, revealing an office where both the historically momentous and the hilariously mundane occurred every day. He brings the White House to life with hysterical, heartwarming, and sharply observed depictions of the President and Vice President. It’s a fun portrait of a remarkable time and an extraordinary President, featuring a bunch of brilliant, quirky staffers bursting in and out of frame. He recounts the behind-the-scene highs and lows of the West Wing, from the elation of 2012 to the despair of 2016. Filled with sharp observations and exclusive photos, West Winging It is at its core a fish-out-of-water story—only these fish are trying to run the United States of America.
West Winging It
by Pat CunnaneA fish-out-of-water story. Only these fish are trying to run the United States of America.West Winging It is the hilarious and charming personal story of Pat Cunnane's journey from outsider to insider - from a mundane job at a warehouse to his dream job at the White House. Pat pulls the drapes back on the most famous, exclusive building in the United States, telling the story of the real West Wing with compelling, eccentric portraits of the people who populate the place, from the president to the press corps. Pat takes you into the Oval Office, providing a witty insider's glimpse of the minutiae and the momentous of what it's really like to work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.Along the way Pat draws an intimate portrait of the side of President Obama that few were privy to - the funnyman, the nerd, the athlete. He describes both the small details - the time he watched in horror as the president reached over the sneeze guard at Chipotle - and the larger, historic moments, such as traveling to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's funeral or watching the president handle the news of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. In some ways, working at the White House is a lot like every office, and in some ways, it's like no office ever. Pat recounts the time he accidentally slammed a door on Joe Biden, plotted to have the Pope bless him by faking a sneeze, and almost killed America's First Dog.Filled with sharp observations and exclusive photos, West Winging It is for anyone who has ever wanted to see behind the scenes at the White House.
West With The Night (Virago Modern Classics #269)
by Beryl MarkhamWEST WITH THE NIGHT appeared on 13 bestseller lists on first publication in 1942. It tells the spellbinding story of Beryl Markham -- aviator, racehorse trainer, fascinating beauty -and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and 30s.Markham was taken to Kenya at the age of four. As an adult she was befriended by Denys Finch-Hatton, the big-game hunter of OUT OF AFRICA fame, who took her flying in his airplane. Thrilled by the experience, Markham went on to become the first woman in Kenya to receive a commercial pilot's license.In 1936 she determined to fly solo across the Atlantic -- without stopping. When Charles Lindbergh did the same, he had the wind behind him. Markham, by contrast, had a strong headwind against her and a plane that only flew up to 163 mph. On 4 September, she took off ... Several days later, she crash-landed in Nova Scotia and became an instant celebrity.
West with the Night
by Beryl MarkhamWest with the Night is the story of Beryl Markham--aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty--and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and '30s. Beryl Markham is also the author of The Splendid Outcast: The African Stories of Beryl Markham. Growing up in East Africa, the author describes her life as a pioneer aviator, a horse breeder, pilot of passengers and supplies in a small plane to remote corners of Africa. "Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer's log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people's stories, are absolutely true . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book. "--Ernest Hemingway
West with the Night
by Beryl MarkhamThe classic memoir of Africa, aviation, and adventure—the inspiration for Paula McLain&’s Circling the Sun and &“a bloody wonderful book&” (Ernest Hemingway). Beryl Markham&’s life story is a true epic. Not only did she set records and break barriers as a pilot, she shattered societal expectations, threw herself into torrid love affairs, survived desperate crash landings—and chronicled everything. A contemporary of Karen Blixen (better known as Isak Dinesen, the author of Out of Africa), Markham left an enduring memoir that soars with astounding candor and shimmering insights. A rebel from a young age, the British-born Markham was raised in Kenya&’s unforgiving farmlands. She trained as a bush pilot at a time when most Africans had never seen a plane. In 1936, she accepted the ultimate challenge: to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west, a feat that fellow female aviator Amelia Earhart had completed in reverse just a few years before. Markham&’s successes and her failures—and her deep, lifelong love of the &“soul of Africa&”—are all told here with wrenching honesty and agile wit. Hailed as &“one of the greatest adventure books of all time&” by Newsweek and &“the sort of book that makes you think human beings can do anything&” by the New York Times, West with the Night remains a powerful testament to one of the iconic lives of the twentieth century.
West with the Night
by Beryl MarkhamThe classic memoir of Africa, aviation, and adventure—the inspiration for Paula McLain&’s Circling the Sun and &“a bloody wonderful book&” (Ernest Hemingway). Beryl Markham&’s life story is a true epic. Not only did she set records and break barriers as a pilot, she shattered societal expectations, threw herself into torrid love affairs, survived desperate crash landings—and chronicled everything. A contemporary of Karen Blixen (better known as Isak Dinesen, the author of Out of Africa), Markham left an enduring memoir that soars with astounding candor and shimmering insights. A rebel from a young age, the British-born Markham was raised in Kenya&’s unforgiving farmlands. She trained as a bush pilot at a time when most Africans had never seen a plane. In 1936, she accepted the ultimate challenge: to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west, a feat that fellow female aviator Amelia Earhart had completed in reverse just a few years before. Markham&’s successes and her failures—and her deep, lifelong love of the &“soul of Africa&”—are all told here with wrenching honesty and agile wit. Hailed as &“one of the greatest adventure books of all time&” by Newsweek and &“the sort of book that makes you think human beings can do anything&” by the New York Times, West with the Night remains a powerful testament to one of the iconic lives of the twentieth century.
Westchester Burning: Portrait of a Marriage
by Amine WefaliAmine Wefali had four beautiful children and houses in Westchester, Nantucket, and Florida--but her marriage had become acrimonious. She had moved into the attic of her exclusive home in Westchester, a suburb of New York, while Phillip, her prosperous husband, remained downstairs. Torn between ambivalent emotions about her marriage and the inability to articulate her own longing for freedom, Wefali channeled her frustration into a whirlwind of domestic activity. Emotionally estranged, financially dependent, she was landlocked. Parting the curtains on the intimate stage of contemporary marriage, Wefali delicately coaxes from beneath the surface of domestic life the poignancy, tragedy, loss, and humor that punctuate a long-term relationship. With lacerating wit and candor--about herself and the upperclass world around her--Wefali finds her way out of the attic and into the selfhood she always wanted. And along her journey, she has recorded a stunning personal odyssey both unique and universal. From the Hardcover edition.
Westering Women and the Frontier Experience, 1800-1915
by Sandra L. MyresSince the history of women on the frontier has been studied by relatively few scholars, Professor Myres has had to craft the narrative out of materials found in more than four hundred collections about Western women. Only a few days before his death, Professor Billington commented that "The evidence of Sandra Myres's vast scholarship so well displayed in the voluminous notes, are bound to impress any reader ... they provide one of the most remarkable bibliographies to materials in this new field, both published and unpublished, that I have ever seen." By making extensive use of their own words, Myres has given frontier women a voice they never had before, whether the statements were matter of fact, poignant, eloquent, or all three, as captured in the diary of a woman who wrote: "go put on a clean dress, smooth hair with side combs, brew a cup of tea, set and rest and rock a spell and count blessings." Professor Myres has also recorded the statements and acts of Mexican and French pioneer women along with those of Anglo-American women. And, where possible, she has included the reminiscences of black and Indian women. Professor Myres succeeds in placing the experiences of pioneer women in context; that is to say, she has included them in the main narrative of Western history rather than isolating them. Thus her account is both new and complementary.
Western Front, 1917–1918: Despatches From The Front (Despatches from the Front)
by John Grehan, Martin MaceFrom the moment the German army moved quietly into Luxemburg on 2 August 1914, to the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the fighting on the Western Front in France and Flanders never stopped. There were quiet periods, just as there were the most intense, savage, huge-scale battles.The war on the Western Front can be thought of as being in three phases: first, a war of movement as Germany attacked France and the Allies sought to halt it; second, the lengthy and terribly costly siege warfare as the entrenched lines proved impossible to crack (late 1914 to mid–1918); and finally a return to mobile warfare as the Allies applied lessons and technologies forged in the previous years.As with previous wars, British Commanders-in-Chief of a theatre of war or campaign were obliged to report their activities and achievements to the War Office in the form of a despatch and those written from the Western Front provide a fascinating, detailed and compelling overview of this part of the First World War.This volume concludes with Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's fascinating despatch, originally published in 1919, on the execution of the fighting on the Western Front
Western Voices: 125 Years of Colorado Writing
by Steve Grinstead Ben Fogelberg Tom NoelEver since the region's first inhabitants chiseled petroglyphs and scratched pictographs on canyon walls, westerners have celebrated and recovered their history. Foremost among Colorado institutions to collect, preserve, exhibit, and publish has been the 125-year-old Colorado Historical Society. The Colorado Historical Society is home to a mother lode of the West's literary legends. This commemorative collection of the best of the best in Colorado writing includes noted essayists and writers such as Louis L'Amour, Wallace Stegner, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Thomas J. Noel, and many, many more.
Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam
by Lewis Sorley&“A terrific book, lively and brisk . . . a must read for anyone who tries to understand the Vietnam War.&” —Thomas E. Ricks Is it possible that the riddle of America&’s military failure in Vietnam has a one-word, one-man answer? Until we understand Gen. William Westmoreland, we will never know what went wrong in the Vietnam War. An Eagle Scout at fifteen, First Captain of his West Point class, Westmoreland fought in two wars and became Superintendent at West Point. Then he was chosen to lead the war effort in Vietnam for four crucial years. He proved a disaster. Unable to think creatively about unconventional warfare, Westmoreland chose an unavailing strategy, stuck to it in the face of all opposition, and stood accused of fudging the results when it mattered most. In this definitive portrait, prize-winning military historian Lewis Sorley makes a plausible case that the war could have been won were it not for General Westmoreland. An authoritative study offering tragic lessons crucial for the future of American leadership, Westmoreland is essential reading. &“Eye-opening and sometimes maddening, Sorley&’s Westmoreland is not to be missed.&” —John Prados, author of Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945–1975