Gerry Connolly's Reviews > The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam

Max Boot’s biography of US counterinsurgency expert Edward Landsdale The Road Not Taken is a cautionary tale of American hubris. Landsdale is credited with beating the communist-inspired Huk rebellion in the Philippines in the 1950’s by inspiring civic engagement, reforming the military and identifying a leader who inspired (president Ramon Magsaysay). He tried similar approaches in Vietnam but could not overcome the endemic corruption and distant leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem and a resistant bureaucracy in Saigon and Washington. Boot soft pedals Landsdale’s rogue style that alienated powerful folks at State, Dod and the CIA. If his ingratiating ways in the field had been deployed with US government officials he might have had more success in Vietnam. Boot also spends inordinate attention to Landsdale’s unhappy marriage and longtime relationship with his Philippine paramour.