The Color of Truth - by Kai Bird (Paperback)

About the Book

The acclaimed portrait of McGeorge and William Bundy, two brothers who served as architects of American policy during the Cold War and Vietnam--"a darkly dramatic story, told with sensitivity and political passion, of pride, power, privilege, hubris, and idealism" (Ronald Steel, "The Washington Post"). of photos.

Book Synopsis

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of American Prometheus--this biography of the Bundy Brothers inspired the Academy Award-winning film Oppenheimer.

In this definitive biography of McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, two of "the best and the brightest" who advised presidents about peace and war during the most dangerous years of the Cold War, Kai Bird pens a portrait of the fiercely patriotic, brilliant, and brazenly self-confident men who directed a steady escalation of a war they did not believe could be won.

Drawing on seven years of research, nearly one hundred interviews, and scores of still-classified top secret documents in a masterful reevaluation of America's actions throughout the Cold War and Vietnam, The Color of Truth tells the tale of the anti-communist liberals who, despite their grave doubts about sending Americans to fight in Southeast Asia, became key architects of America's war in Vietnam.

Like the bestselling The Wise Men, this dual biography is both an inside account of the making of US foreign policy in an era of nuclear weapons and a stunning group portrait of the heirs of the Wise Men--including Robert McNamara, George Ball, and Robert Kennedy--and the presidents they served.

Review Quotes

Foreign Affairs The [Vietnam) chapters are first-rate....Bird powerfully shows how the brothers struggled to craft a "vital center" but built one that could not hold.

Bruce Nussbaum Business Week Compelling....Along with Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest and The Wise Men by Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, Kai Bird's The Color of Truth forms a trilogy that shows that America, in times of difficulty, finds "wise" men to lead it. But they often lack the courage of their convictions to do so properly.

Charles Maechling, Jr. The Boston Globe A fascinating account of how...two archetypes of "the best and the brightest" helped to shape the policies that led to the debacle of Vietnam.

Charles Wright Biography Magazine Bird's dual biography offers a vivid, dramatic chronicle Of the genesis, the conduct, and the aftermath of the long, undeclared war in Southeast Asia.

James G. Blight The Washington Post Balanced, highly original....Bird depicts [the Bundy brothers] with nuance and sympathy.

Jeff Jones Boston Review Weaving a rich history of government documents-some recently declassified, some still classified -- with interviews and a fresh look at available sources, Bird delivers the definitive assessment of two Cold Warriors.

Mark Danner The New York Times Book Review Bird's sources are well marshaled, and they make for good, sometimes fascinating reading.

Richard Poster Milwaukee Journal Sentinel An exhaustively researched, elegantly written, scrupulously fair-minded and intellectually tough-minded biography...A masterful achievement.

Ronald Steel The Washington Post A darkly dramatic story, told with sensitivity and political passion, of pride, power, privilege, hubris and idealism -- not only of the Bundys but of the nation they served.

Townsend Hoopes Los Angeles Times Keenly perceptive, thoroughly researched, fair and balanced...Bird's detailed account of [the Bundys'] major roles in the Vietnam imbroglio adds significantly to the historical record.

About the Author

Kai Bird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and journalist. With Martin J. Sherwin, he won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2006 for American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Oppenheimer. Bird is Executive Director and Distinguished Lecturer at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. He has won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Duff Cooper Prize for History and is the recipient of numerous fellowships. His work includes critical writings on the Vietnam War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the CIA. He is an elected member of the prestigious Society of American Historians.