The Double Life of Robert S. McNamara: A Conversation with Philip and William Taubman

Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for a conversation with Philip Taubman, Lecturer at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and William Taubman, Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. They will discuss their new co-authored book McNamara at War, a revelatory portrait of Robert S. McNamara, informed by newly discovered diaries, letters, and interviews with those closest to him.  

Philip and William Taubman had access to materials previously unavailable to McNamara biographers, including Jacqueline Kennedy’s warm letters to McNamara during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and beyond; family correspondence dating back to McNamara’s service in World War II; and a secret diary maintained by McNamara’s top Vietnam policy aide. What emerges is the comprehensive story of the infamous former leader of the Pentagon: riven by melancholy, guilt, zealous loyalty, and a profound inability to admit his flawed thinking about Vietnam before it was too late. McNamara at War is a portrait of a man at war with himself—with a grave influence on the history of the United States and the world. 

The seminar will be moderated by Belfer Center faculty Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of History and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. 

 
Attendance is in-person and for HUID holders only. Space is limited so please only RSVP if you plan to attend. 

 
Submitting your registration does not confirm your attendance. If you are confirmed to attend this event, you will receive an email from a member of the Belfer Center Operations Team with arrival details ahead of the event.