The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
by Barbara W. Tuchman

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
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Book Summary Information

Author: Barbara W. Tuchman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1985-02-12
ISBN: 0345308239
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Book Reviews of The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

Book Review: A Timely Commentary
Summary: 4 Stars

Though written in 1984, this book takes apart governmental decision-making and reveals that since Biblical times right on through the Viet Nam War, government leaders frequently operated against the best interests of their nations. The "folly" is that these leaders knew they were on the wrongtrack but did little to correct their errors while they continued to defend them. Though the book deals extensively with the Viet Nam War (as well as the American Revolution and the Seige of Troy), the current fiasco in Iraq is very much on the mind of the reader. Almost every misstep by the British at the time of the American Revolution was replicated in some form during Viet Nam and it is clearly being repeated again in Iraq.

Summary of The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

Twice a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, author Barbara Tuchman now tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interersts, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance Popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain's George III, and the United States' persistent folly in Vietnam. THE MARCH OF FOLLY brings the people, places, and events of history magnificently alive for today's reader.

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