The Best and the Brightest: Difference between revisions

The Best and the Brightest
	First edition
Author	David Halberstam
Language	English
Subject	Vietnam War
Published	1972 (Random House)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	697
ISBN	978-0679640998

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The Best and the Brightest (1972) is a book by journalist David Halberstam of the origins of the Vietnam War published by Random House. The focus of the book is on the foreign policy crafted by academics and intellectuals who were in President John F. Kennedy's administration, and the consequences of those policies in Vietnam. The title referred to Kennedy's "whiz kids"—leaders of industry and academia brought into the administration—whom Halberstam characterized as insisting on "brilliant policies that defied common sense" in Vietnam, often against the advice of career U.S. Department of State employees.

Summary

Halberstam's book offers details on how decisions were made in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations that led to the war, focusing on the period from 1960 to 1965 but also covering earlier and later years up until publication.

Factors examined:

The Democratic Party was haunted by claims that it had "lost" China to the Communists, and it did not want to be accused of also losing Vietnam. Thus, the decision to intervene in Vietnam militarily was based on political expediency, the need to win a second term, and not on rationality.
The McCarthy era had rid the government of experts on Vietnam and surrounding countries.
Early studies called for close to one million U.S. troops to defeat the Viet Cong, but it would have been impossible to convince Congress or the U.S. public to deploy so many soldiers.
Declaration of war and excessive use of force, including bombing too close to China or too many U.S. troops, might have triggered the invasion of Chinese ground forces or greater Soviet involvement, which might repair the growing Sino-Soviet rift.
The American military and generals were not prepared for protracted guerrilla warfare.
Some war games implied that a gradual escalation by the United States could be matched by North Vietnam: every year, 200,000 North Vietnamese reached draft age and could be sent down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to replace losses against the U.S.: the U.S. would be "fighting the birthrate".
Use of bombing or ground forces would signal the U.S. commitment to defending South Vietnam and subsequently cause U.S. shame if they withdrew.
President Johnson believed that too much attention given to the war effort would jeopardize his Great Society domestic programs.
The effects of strategic bombing: Most people believed that North Vietnam prized its industrial base so highly it would not risk its destruction by U.S. air power and would negotiate peace after experiencing limited bombing. Others saw that, even during World War II, strategic bombing united the civilian population against the aggressor and did little to hinder industrial output.
After placing a few thousand Americans in harm's way, it became politically easier to send hundreds of thousands with the promise that, given sufficient numbers, they could protect themselves and that to abandon Vietnam would mean the earlier investment in money and blood would be lost.

The book shows that the gradual escalation allowed the Johnson Administration to avoid early negative publicity and criticism from Congress and to avoid a direct war against the Chinese, but it also reduced the likelihood of either victory or withdrawal.

Origin of the title

The title may have come from a line by Percy Bysshe Shelley in his work "To Jane: The Invitation" (1822):

Best and brightest, come away!

Shelley's line may have originated from English bishop and hymn writer Reginald Heber in his 1811 work, "Hymns. Epiphany":

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.

A still earlier, and more pertinent, use of the phrase is in the letter of Junius published February 7, 1769, in the Public Advertiser. There Junius uses it mockingly and ironically in reference to King George III's ministers, whose capacities he had disparaged in his first letter the previous month. In response to Sir William Draper's letter defending one of Junius' targets and attacking their anonymous critics, Junius wrote:

To have supported your assertion, you should have proved that the present ministry are unquestionably the best and brightest characters of the kingdom; and that, if the affections of the colonies have been alienated, if Corsica has been shamefully abandoned, if commerce languishes, if public credit is threatened with a new debt, and your own Manilla ransom most dishonourably given up, it has all been owing to the malice of political writers, who will not suffer the best and brightest characters (meaning still the present ministry) to take a single right step, for the honour or interest of the nation.

In the introduction to the 1992 edition, Halberstam stated that he had used the title earlier in an article for Harper's Magazine, and that Mary McCarthy criticized him in a book review for incorrectly referencing the line in the Shelley poem. Halberstam claimed he had no knowledge of the earlier use of the term in the Heber hymn. Halberstam also observed regarding the "best and the brightest" phrase, that "...hymn or no, it went into the language, although it is often misused, failing to carry the tone or irony that the original intended." In the book's introduction and a 2001 interview, Halberstam claims that the title came from a line in an article he had written about the Kennedy Administration.

Reception

The book was highly acclaimed upon release.^[1] Victor Saul Navasky, writing in The New York Times, said it was Halberstam's "most important and impressive book", citing its "compelling and persuasively presented thesis."^[2] Liaquat Ahamed called it a "great novel," praising Halberstam's "storyteller's talent for capturing people" and ability to write a "compelling narrative."^[1] Steve Mariotti called it his "favorite book."^[3]

In 2011, Time named it as one of the 100 best English non-fiction books written since 1923.^[4]

Legacy

The New York Times's Marc Tracy reported that Donald Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon was reading the book in February 2017.^[5] Tracy drew a parallel between Robert McNamara's and Bannon's lack of experience in national security.^[5]

Online availability

Full text available of the condensed Newsweek 1973 edition the Internet Archive. ISBN 9780882250892.
Full text available of the Fawcett Publications 1973 edition at the Internet Archive. ISBN 9780394461632.
Full text available of the Penguin Books 1983 edition at the Internet Archive. ISBN 9780140069839.

References

^ ^a ^b "Book Of A Lifetime: The Best and the Brightest, By David Halberstam". The Independent. UK. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
^ Navasky, Victor (November 12, 1972). "How we got into the messiest war in our history". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
^ Mariotti, Steve (2013-05-20). "The Best and the Brightest – My Favorite Book". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
^ Fastenberg, Dan. "All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
^ ^a ^b Tracy, Marc (2017-02-04). "Steve Bannon's Book Club". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

External links

Halberstam interviewed by Ben Bradlee on the influence of The Best and the Brightest, February 13, 2005, C-SPAN

[:0-1] "Book Of A Lifetime: The Best and the Brightest, By David Halberstam". The Independent. UK. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

[2] Navasky, Victor (November 12, 1972). "How we got into the messiest war in our history". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

[3] Mariotti, Steve (2013-05-20). "The Best and the Brightest – My Favorite Book". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

[4] Fastenberg, Dan. "All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

[:1-5] Tracy, Marc (2017-02-04). "Steve Bannon's Book Club". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

[1]

[2]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1972 book by David Halberstam on the Vietnam War}}
 {{About||the 2011 film|The Best and the Brightest (film)}}
 {{italic title}}
+{{Infobox book
-'''''The Best and the Brightest''''' (1972) is an account by journalist [[David Halberstam]] of the origins of the [[Vietnam War]] published by [[Random House]]. The focus of the book is on the erroneous foreign policy crafted by the academics and intellectuals who were in John F. Kennedy's administration, and the disastrous consequences of those policies in Vietnam. The title referred to Kennedy's "whiz kids"—leaders of industry and academia brought into the Kennedy administration—whom Halberstam characterized as arrogantly insisting on "brilliant policies that defied common sense" in Vietnam, often against the advice of career U.S. Department of State employees.
+| name             = The Best and the Brightest
+| image            = TheBestAndTheBrightest.jpg
+| alt              =
+| caption          = First edition
+| author           = [[David Halberstam]]
+| illustrator      =
+| cover_artist     =
+| country          = United States
+| language         = English
+| subject          = [[Vietnam War]]
+| genre            =
+| published        = 1972 ([[Random House]])
+| media_type       = Print ([[hardcover]] and [[paperback]])
+| pages            = 697
+| isbn             = 978-0679640998
+| oclc             =
+| dewey            =
+| congress         =
+| preceded_by      =
+| followed_by      =
+}}
+'''''The Best and the Brightest''''' (1972) is a book by journalist [[David Halberstam]] of the origins of the [[Vietnam War]] published by [[Random House]]. The focus of the book is on the foreign policy crafted by [[technocracy|academics and intellectuals]] who were in President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s administration, and the consequences of those policies in Vietnam. The title referred to Kennedy's "whiz kids"—leaders of industry and academia brought into the administration—whom Halberstam characterized as insisting on "brilliant policies that defied common sense" in Vietnam, often against the advice of career [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] employees.
 ==Summary==
-Halberstam's book offers details on how the decisions were made in the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administrations that led to the war, focusing on a period from 1960 to 1965 but also covering earlier and later years up to the publication year of the book.
+Halberstam's book offers details on how decisions were made in the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administrations that led to the war, focusing on the period from 1960 to 1965 but also covering earlier and later years up until publication.
+Factors examined:
-Many influential factors are examined in the book:
+* The Democratic Party was haunted by claims that it had "lost" China to the Communists, and it did not want to be accused of also losing Vietnam. Thus, the decision to intervene in Vietnam militarily was based on political expediency, the need to win a second term, and not on rationality.
+* The McCarthy era had rid the government of experts on Vietnam and surrounding countries.
+* Early studies called for close to one million U.S. troops to defeat the [[Viet Cong]], but it would have been impossible to convince Congress or the U.S. public to deploy so many soldiers.
+* Declaration of war and excessive use of force, including bombing too close to China or too many U.S. troops, might have triggered the invasion of Chinese ground forces or greater Soviet involvement, which might repair the growing Sino-Soviet rift.
+* The American military and generals were not prepared for protracted guerrilla warfare.
+* Some war games implied that a gradual escalation by the United States could be matched by [[North Vietnam]]: every year, 200,000 North Vietnamese reached draft age and could be sent down the [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]] to replace losses against the U.S.: the U.S. would be "fighting the birthrate".
+* Use of bombing or ground forces would signal the U.S. commitment to defending [[South Vietnam]] and subsequently cause U.S. shame if they withdrew.
+* President Johnson believed that too much attention given to the war effort would jeopardize his [[Great Society]] domestic programs.
+* The effects of [[strategic bombing]]: Most people believed that North Vietnam prized its industrial base so highly it would not risk its destruction by U.S. air power and would negotiate peace after experiencing limited bombing. Others saw that, even during [[World War II]], strategic bombing united the civilian population against the aggressor and did little to hinder industrial output.
+* After placing a few thousand Americans in harm's way, it became politically easier to send hundreds of thousands with the promise that, given sufficient numbers, they could protect themselves and that to abandon Vietnam would mean the earlier investment in money and blood would be lost.
+The book shows that the gradual escalation allowed the [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson Administration]] to avoid early negative publicity and criticism from Congress and to avoid a direct war against the Chinese, but it also reduced the likelihood of either victory or withdrawal.
-*The Democratic party was still haunted by claims that it had 'lost China' to Communists, and it did not want to be said to have lost Vietnam also
-*The McCarthy era had rid the government of experts in Vietnam and surrounding Far-East countries
-*Early studies called for close to a million U.S. troops to completely defeat the Viet Cong, but it would be impossible to convince Congress or the U.S. public to deploy that many soldiers
-*Declarations of war and excessive shows , including bombing too close to China or too many U.S. troops, might have triggered the entry of Chinese ground forces into the war, as well as greater Soviet involvement, which might repair the growing Sino-Soviet rift.
-*The American military and generals were not prepared for protracted guerrilla warfare.
-*Some war games showed that a gradual escalation by the United States could be evenly matched by North Vietnam: Every year, 200,000 North Vietnamese came of draft age and could be sent down the [[Ho Chi Minh Trail]] to replace any losses against the U.S.: the U.S. would be "fighting the birthrate."
-*Any show of force by the U.S. in the form of bombing or ground forces would signal the U.S. interest in defending South Vietnam and therefore cause the U.S. greater shame if they were to withdraw
-*President Johnson's belief that too much attention given to the war effort would jeopardize his [[Great Society]] domestic programs
-*The effects of [[strategic bombing]]: Most people wrongly believed that North Vietnam prized its industrial base so much it would not risk its destruction by U.S. air power and would negotiate peace after experiencing some limited bombing. Others saw that, even in [[World War II]], strategic bombing united the victim population against the aggressor and did little to hinder industrial output.
-*The [[Domino Theory]] rationales are mentioned as simplistic.
-*After placing a few thousand Americans in harm's way, it became politically easier to send hundreds of thousands over with the promise that, with enough numbers, they could protect themselves and that to abandon Vietnam now would mean the earlier investment in money and blood would be thrown away.
+==Origin of the title==
-The book shows that the gradual escalation initially allowed the Johnson Administration to avoid negative publicity and criticism from Congress and to avoid a direct war against the Chinese, but it also lessened the likelihood of either victory or withdrawal.
-==Origins of the title==
 {{Unreferenced section|date=February 2017}}
 The title may have come from a line by [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] in his work "To Jane: The Invitation" (1822):
-:''Best and brightest, come away!''
+<blockquote>Best and brightest, come away!</blockquote>
 Shelley's line may have originated from English bishop and hymn writer [[Reginald Heber]] in his 1811 work, "Hymns. Epiphany":
-:''Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,''
+{{Poem quote|Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
-:''Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.''
+Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.}}
-A still earlier, and more pertinent, use of the phrase is in the letter of [[Junius]] published February 7, 1769, in the ''[[Public Advertiser]]''. There Junius uses it mockingly and ironically in reference to King George III's ministers, whose capacities he had disparaged in his first letter the previous month. In response to Sir William Draper's letter defending one of Junius' targets and attacking their anonymous critics, Junius wrote:
+A still earlier, and more pertinent, use of the phrase is in the letter of [[Junius (writer)|Junius]] published February 7, 1769, in the ''[[Public Advertiser]]''. There Junius uses it mockingly and ironically in reference to King George III's ministers, whose capacities he had disparaged in his first letter the previous month. In response to Sir William Draper's letter defending one of Junius' targets and attacking their anonymous critics, Junius wrote:
+<blockquote>To have supported your assertion, you should have proved that the present ministry are unquestionably '''the best and brightest''' characters of the kingdom; and that, if the affections of the colonies have been alienated, if Corsica has been shamefully abandoned, if commerce languishes, if public credit is threatened with a new debt, and your own Manilla ransom most dishonourably given up, it has all been owing to the malice of political writers, who will not suffer the '''best and brightest''' characters (meaning still the present ministry) to take a single right step, for the honour or interest of the nation.</blockquote>
-<blockquote>
-To have supported your assertion, you should have proved that the present ministry are unquestionably '''the best and brightest''' characters of the kingdom; and that, if the affections of the colonies have been alienated, if Corsica has been shamefully abandoned, if commerce languishes, if public credit is threatened with a new debt, and your own Manilla ransom most dishonourably given up, it has all been owing to the malice of political writers, who will not suffer the '''best and brightest''' characters (meaning still the present ministry) to take a single right step, for the honour or interest of the nation.
-</blockquote>
-In the introduction to the 1992 edition, Halberstam states that he had used the title in an article for ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', and that [[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]] criticized him in a book review for incorrectly referencing the line in the Shelley poem.  Halberstam claims he had no knowledge of that earlier use of the term found in the Heber hymn.  Halberstam also observed regarding the "best and the brightest" phrase, that "...hymn or no, it went into the language, although it is often misused, failing to carry the tone or irony that the original intended." In a 2001 interview, Halberstam claims that the title came from a line in an article he had written about the Kennedy Administration.
+In the introduction to the 1992 edition, Halberstam stated that he had used the title earlier in an article for ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', and that [[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]] criticized him in a book review for incorrectly referencing the line in the Shelley poem.  Halberstam claimed he had no knowledge of the earlier use of the term in the Heber hymn.  Halberstam also observed regarding the "best and the brightest" phrase, that "...hymn or no, it went into the language, although it is often misused, failing to carry the tone or irony that the original intended." In the book's introduction and a 2001 interview, Halberstam claims that the title came from a line in an article he had written about the [[Kennedy Administration]].
 == Reception ==
-The book was highly acclaimed when it was released.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-a-lifetime-the-best-and-the-brightest-by-david-halberstam-1882262.html|title=Book Of A Lifetime: The Best and the Brightest, By David Halberstam|date=2010-01-29|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=2017-02-05|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Victor Saul Navasky]], writing in [[The New York Times]], said it was Halberstam's "most important and impressive book" and praised the "compelling and persuasively presented thesis."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/15/home/halberstam-best.html|title=How we got into the messiest war in our history|last=Navasky|first=Victor|date=November 12, 1972|website=New York Times|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-02-05}}</ref> [[Liaquat Ahamed]] called it a "great novel," praising Halberstam's "storyteller's talent for capturing people" and ability to write a "compelling narrative."<ref name=":0" /> [[Steve Mariotti]] called it his "favorite book."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mariotti/the-best-and-the-brightes_1_b_3309299.html|title=The Best and the Brightest -- My Favorite Book|last=Mariotti|first=Steve|date=2013-05-20|website=The Huffington Post|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-02-05}}</ref>
+The book was highly acclaimed upon release.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-a-lifetime-the-best-and-the-brightest-by-david-halberstam-1882262.html|title=Book Of A Lifetime: The Best and the Brightest, By David Halberstam|date=2010-01-29 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=UK |access-date=2017-02-05|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Victor Saul Navasky]], writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'', said it was Halberstam's "most important and impressive book", citing its "compelling and persuasively presented thesis."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/15/home/halberstam-best.html |title=How we got into the messiest war in our history|last=Navasky|first=Victor|date=November 12, 1972|website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2017-02-05}}</ref> [[Liaquat Ahamed]] called it a "great novel," praising Halberstam's "storyteller's talent for capturing people" and ability to write a "compelling narrative."<ref name=":0" /> [[Steve Mariotti]] called it his "favorite book."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mariotti/the-best-and-the-brightes_1_b_3309299.html|title=The Best and the Brightest – My Favorite Book|last=Mariotti|first=Steve|date=2013-05-20 |website=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=2017-02-05}}</ref>
-In 2011, [[Time (magazine)|Time]] named it as one of the 100 best English non-fiction books written since 1923.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://entertainment.time.com/2011/08/30/all-time-100-best-nonfiction-books/slide/the-best-and-the-brightest-by-david-halberstam/|title=All-TIME 100 Nonfiction Books|last=Fastenberg|first=Dan|newspaper=Time|access-date=2017-02-05|issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
+In 2011, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named it as one of the 100 best English non-fiction books written since 1923.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/08/30/all-time-100-best-nonfiction-books/slide/the-best-and-the-brightest-by-david-halberstam/|title=All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books|last=Fastenberg|first=Dan|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=2017-02-05|issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
 == Legacy ==
-[[The New York Times]]'s Marc Tracy reported that [[Presidency of Donald Trump|Donald Trump]]'s chief strategist [[Steve Bannon]] was reading the book in February 2017. Tracy drew a parallel between McNamara and Bannon's lack of experience in national security.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/opinion/sunday/steve-bannons-book-club.html|title=Steve Bannon’s Book Club|last=Tracy|first=Marc|date=2017-02-04|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}}s [[Marc Tracy]] reported that [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Donald Trump]]'s chief strategist [[Steve Bannon]] was reading the book in February 2017.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/opinion/sunday/steve-bannons-book-club.html|title=Steve Bannon's Book Club|last=Tracy|first=Marc|date=2017-02-04|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Tracy drew a parallel between [[Robert McNamara]]'s and Bannon's lack of experience in national security.<ref name=":1" />
+==Online availability==
+* [https://archive.org/details/newsweekbooks00news/ Full text available] of the condensed ''[[Newsweek]]'' 1973 edition the [[Internet Archive]]. {{ISBN|9780882250892}}.
+* [https://archive.org/details/bestbrightest00halb/ Full text available] of the [[Fawcett Publications]] 1973 edition at the Internet Archive. {{ISBN|9780394461632}}.
+* [https://archive.org/details/bestbrightest00halb_0/ Full text available] of the [[Penguin Books]] 1983 edition at the Internet Archive. {{ISBN|9780140069839}}.
 == References ==
@@ Line 54: / Line 78: @@
 ==Further reading==
-*Berthelsen, O. (1996). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/425145 Review: The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam]. ''Journal of Peace Research'', 33(1): 120. {{subscription required}}
+* Berthelsen, O. (1996). {{jstor|425145}} "Review: ''The Best and the Brightest'' by David Halberstam", ''[[Journal of Peace Research]]'', 33(1): 120.
-*Brindley, T. A. (1974). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2052223 Review: The Best and the Brightest. by David Halberstam]. ''The Journal of Asian Studies''. 33(2): 340-342. {{subscription required}}
+* Brindley, T. A. (1974). {{jstor|2052223}}, "Review: ''The Best and the Brightest''. by David Halberstam", ''[[The Journal of Asian Studies]]''. 33(2): 340–342.
-*Hendrickson, D. C. (1997). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/20048230 Review: The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam]. ''Foreign Affairs'', 76(5): 223. {{subscription required}}
+* Hendrickson, D. C. (1997). {{jstor|20048230}}, "Review: ''The Best and the Brightest'' by David Halberstam", ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', 76(5): 223.
-*Solberg, C. (1973). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2149111 Review: The Best and the Brightest. by David Halberstam]. ''Political Science Quarterly'', 88(2): 276-277. {{subscription required}}
+* Solberg, C. (1973). {{jstor|2149111}} "Review: ''The Best and the Brightest''. by David Halberstam",  ''[[Political Science Quarterly]]'', 88(2): 276–277.
-*Warner, G. (1974). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2616750 Review: The Best and the Brightest. by David Halberstam]. ''International Affairs'', 50(2): 338-340. {{subscription required}}
+* Warner, G. (1974). {{jstor|2616750}}. "Review: ''The Best and the Brightest''. by David Halberstam", {{registration required}}. ''[[International Relations (journal)|International Affairs]]'', 50(2): 338–340.
+==External links==
+* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?184030-1/best-brightest Halberstam interviewed by Ben Bradlee on the influence of ''The Best and the Brightest'', February 13, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]
 {{David Halberstam}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Best and the Brightest, The}}
-[[Category:1972 books]]
+[[Category:1972 non-fiction books]]
+[[Category:Books by David Halberstam]]
 [[Category:Random House books]]
 [[Category:Vietnam War books]]

v t e David Halberstam
Selected works	The Best and the Brightest (1972) The Powers That Be (1979) The Breaks of the Game (1981) The Reckoning (1986) The Fifties (1993) The Children (1998) The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War (2007)
Related	Elżbieta Czyżewska (first wife) Michael J. Halberstam (brother)