"Philip and William Taubman's McNamara at War is a compelling biography of McNamara's life. The
Taubmans meticulously explore McNamara's life before, during, and after becoming Secretary of Defense,
identifying from early days an exceptionally complicated man whose traits—such as confidence he was the
smartest man in the room and a deep-seated reluctance to change his mind or admit he was wrong—would
play an important part in his downfall. A transfixing tale of tragedy."

               —Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense 2006-2011

“At last, we have the man in full. McNamara at War illuminates the high-octane ambition and ability that
propelled Robert McNamara to the pinnacles of power in both the private and political realms. With
penetrating insight and capacious sensitivity, the authors give us nothing less than McNamara Agonistes: a
vivid portrait of this uncommonly brilliant and uncommonly complex soul tormented by trials of intelligence,
will, morality, and loyalty. A compelling, memorable read. It reveals much about the waging of the Vietnam
War as well as the often-baffling labyrinths of human nature.”

               —David M. Kennedy, author of Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945

 

“An exhaustive account of a fascinating man whose high intelligence was matched by his personal complexity.
It shows that his intellectual arrogance helped make him unwilling to account publicly for the extent of his
mistakes about the Vietnam War – while his personal decency made him privately suffer for the vast costs of
his and his colleagues’ failures there as they prolonged and widened the war.”

—Anthony Lake, United States National Security Advisor, 1993-1997

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“Philip and Willam Taubman have written a remarkable book. I was fortunate to work with Robert
McNamara, not just on a non-profit board, but also on issues regarding nuclear weapons and arms control.
The Taubmans have done a brilliant job of putting McNamara into vitally important context; showing the
complexities of his relationships and the challenges they posed to his aspirations. McNamara was trapped by
his sense of duty and his own ambivalence regarding his choices. But he was honest about this pain. As his
friend, I will remember him with compassion and an appreciation for the loneliness he felt as he grappled with
what he had done, and what he had hoped he could do.”

— Susan Eisenhower, author of How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions

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“[McNamara at War] is an evidence-based meditation on McNamara’s agonizing relationship to himself, his
family, and the nation and on the power of the government to create mass destruction, with seemingly less power, or inclination, to stop it. Confident, thorough, compassionate and yet clear-eyed this masterful work
should be required reading for those who lived through the daily televised body counts and for anyone who
hopes not to ever again.”

—Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle

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“Philip and William Taubman have written a compelling, fluid, and insightful biography of one of the most
important figures in American foreign policy in the second half of the twentieth century, a man known to
history as the architect of the Vietnam War. Readers who have no personal memory of the Vietnam period as
well as those who remember it vividly will find McNamara at War fascinating.”

               —Michael Mandelbaum, author of The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made

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