The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the Tragedy in Vietnam

Edward Lansdale, the man said to be the fictional model for Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, pioneered a “hearts and mind” strategy of counterinsurgency. In his new book, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, Max Boot chronicles the methods Lansdale promoted in the Philippines and then in Vietnam, arguing that his visionary policy was crushed by an American military bureaucracy more focused on napalm bombs than winning the trust of the people. Boot draws on dozens of interviews and new documents to shed light on this engaging figure.

Max Boot is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of numerous books in addition to The Road Not Taken, including Savage Wars of Peace and the New York Times bestseller Invisible Armies. 

Participants: 

Max Boot 
Author, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam 
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations 

Moderator: 

Peter Bergen, @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America 
Director, International Security Program, New America