{"product_id":"modern-politics-the-best-and-the-brightest-kennedy-johnson-administrations-david-halberstam","title":"Modern Politics, THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST: KENNEDY-JOHNSON ADMINISTRATIONS, David Halberstam","description":"\u003cdiv\u003ePublished: 2001, 720 pages\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eDialectic Journal\/ Lesson Plans:  303 pages, 143.244 words, visuals\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eForeword \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eSenator John McCain \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAt the time of the Tet offensive, the propaganda machine of the North Vietnamese government obstructed my access to the reporting of a free press. I did not learn of Tet from Walter Cronkite or the New York Times. Hanoi Hannah brought me the news, as she always did, sandwiching it between atonal patriotic hymns intended to crush our resolve—rousing renditions of “Springtime in the Liberated Zone” and “I Asked My Mother How Many Air Pirates She Shot Down Today.” \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Of course, the Vietnamese hyped the story to a fare-thee-well, using all the usual hyperbole that makes propaganda so colorful. For many days, American prisoners of war were informed that Khe San was within moments of falling, and then, suddenly, Hannah ceased updating us on the people’s heroic success. The Vietnamese never informed us that the Marines defending Khe San proved more heroic than the people’s liberation forces. That we learned, to our great relief, from POWs captured after Tet. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Any accurate information about the war was brought to us by newly arrived POWs. Whatever else you might think of them, North Vietnamese leaders certainly lacked an idealistic regard for the truth. Anything that did not directly benefit their war effort was dispensable—including truth and justice. They kept us well informed on the growing antiwar movement back home, regularly broadcasting news about peace marches and statements made by notable opponents to the war. News about their military setbacks or the means Hanoi employed in prosecuting the war was rather harder to come by.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr. Brovsky's Office","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51543546527960,"sku":"6.0","price":44.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/8862\/2040\/files\/0010733256-L.jpg?v=1775681262","url":"https:\/\/mr-brovsky.myshopify.com\/products\/modern-politics-the-best-and-the-brightest-kennedy-johnson-administrations-david-halberstam","provider":"Mr. Brovsky's Office","version":"1.0","type":"link"}