Synopses & Reviews
This book shows how Henry Robinson Luce used his famous magazines to advance his interventionist agenda in Cold War China, Korea, Japan, and above all, Vietnam. This is the first balanced work on Luce and his influence, using hitherto undiscovered or inaccessible sources. Luce saw the American Century as the heir to the fading British Empire; he failed to see the hubris and cultural blindness that would lead to disaster in Vietnam - a disaster for which his magazines paved the way.
Review
"For sheer density of material...and for insights into the relationship between journalism and high policy, this book is very informative. I recommend it to anyone interested in U.S.-Asian relations during the early Cold war years." New York Sun, John Derbyshire"Herzstein is a historian who writes like a brilliant journalist, and a scholar whose occasional partiality never detracts from his innate fairness. His very readable new work on Luce...is a valuable, colorful contribution to modern history." The New Leader, Valentin Chu
Synopsis
This book shows how Henry Robinson Luce used his famous magazines to advance his interventionist agenda in Cold War China, Korea, Japan, and above all, Vietnam. This is the first balanced work on Luce and his influence, using hitherto undiscovered or inaccessible sources. Luce saw the American Century as the heir to the fading British Empire; he failed to see the hubris and cultural blindness that would lead to disaster in Vietnam - a disaster for which his magazines paved the way.
About the Author
'Robert E. Herzstein is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of History at the University of South Carolina where he teaches. He is the author of numerous books including Henry R. Luce: A Political Portrait of the Man Who Created the American Century, Waldheim: The Missing Years, Roosevelt &Hitler: Prelude to War, Adolf Hitler and the German Trauma, and The Nazis (Time-Life Books). Professor Herzstein is also the author of numerous scholarly articles and the recipient of various awards and grants.'