Robert S. McNamara was widely considered to be one of the most brilliant men of his generation. While he could be cold and arrogant, he was an invaluable friend to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and had a deeply moving relationship with Jackie Kennedy. McNamara was the leading advocate for American escalation in Vietnam, even after he concluded that the war was unwinnable. In McNamara at War, Philip and William Taubman trace McNamara’s career from a young faculty member at Harvard Business School and his Second World War service to his leadership of the Ford Motor Company and the World Bank. McNamara at War is a portrait of a man at war with himself—riven by melancholy, guilt, zealous loyalty and a profound inability to admit his flawed thinking about Vietnam.

"A] thoughtful new biography…. All of this reads like an allegory for the American Century writ large — technical wizardry leading to moral bankruptcy…. Without absolving McNamara, the Taubmans suggest that his willingness to admit error was worthy of admiration, if only for its rarity. Reading this book as the Trump administration elevates jingoism to a virtue, it is hard to disagree." -- James Santel - The New York Times Book Review
"A fresh look at former defence secretary Robert S. McNamara, whose advocacy of escalating the war in Vietnam made him one of the most controversial political figures of the 20th century. The authors rely on new sources, including letters and diaries, to create a nuanced portrait." -- The Washington Post
"Fascinating.... The Taubmans tell a riveting tale.... The book is a case study of how high-ranking officials who don’t act on the information they have live with the illusory notion that their being on the inside is somehow better for the nation in the long run. In 2025, this book should be required reading for everyone working in silence in Washington." -- Julian Zelizer - Foreign Policy
"[A] fair-minded account of the former US secretary of defence… The Taubmans expose the inner turmoil of their subject as he gradually succumbs to doubt over the war" -- Angus Reilly - Financial Times

William Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. His book, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of McNamara at War: A New History and Gorbachev: His Life and Times. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Philip Taubman, a former New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, is affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. He is the author of In the Nation’s Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz