The Best and the Brightest (1972) is an account by journalist David Halberstam on the origins of the Vietnam War. 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... David Halberstam (born April 10, 1934), American journalist and author, was born in New York City. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies—notably the United States military in support of...

Individuals Mentioned

The Americans

Presidents

• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• John F. Kennedy
• Lyndon's Johnson

// Headline text HI Headline text HI == Headline text ==HI Headline text Dwight David Homo Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the... JFK redirects here. ...

Cabinet

• Dean Rusk - Secretary of State
• Robert McNamara - Secretary of Defense

David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909 – December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. ... Robert McNamara in 1964 Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916), is an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ...

Advisors

• John Kenneth Galbraith
• George Ball - Undersecretary of State
• Nicholas Katzenbach - Undersecretary of State
• McGeorge Bundy - Special Assistant for National Security Affairs
• Walt Whitman Rostow - deputy to McGeorge Bundy
• Maxwell Taylor - military advisor to JFK

John Kenneth Galbraith Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, OC , Ph. ... George Wildman Ball (1909 - 1994) was born in Des Moines, Iowa. ... Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach (born January 17, 1922) was a American lawyer and United States Attorney General. ... TIME Magazine Jun. ... Walt Whitman Rostow (also known as Walt Rostow or W.W. Rostow) (October 7, 1916 - February 13, 2003) was an American economist and political thinker prominent for his staunch opposition to Communism and belief in the efficacy of capitalism and free enterprise. ... General Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was an American soldier and diplomat of the mid-20th century. ...

Military

• General Maxwell Taylor - Consultant to the President and Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

General Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was an American soldier and diplomat of the mid-20th century. ...

The Vietnamese

• Ho Chi Minh

Hồ Chí Minh Hồ Chí Minh (meaning Ho, Enlightened Will) (Chữ nôm: 胡志明)   listen[?] (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1954) and President (1954 - 1969) of North Vietnam. ...

The Soviets

• Nikita Khruschev

Nikita Khrushchev in 1962 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) (nih-KEE-tah khroo-SHCHYOFF) (April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ...

The Best and the Brightest is also the name of a 1998 Star Trek novel. Star Trek, along with Star Wars, currently holds the record for the most novels based upon a single fictional universe. ...