The March of Folly From Troy to Vietnam

by TUCHMAN, BARBARA W.

• ISBN13: 9780345308238
• ISBN10: 0345308239
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1985-02-12
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Summary

Twice a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, author Barbara Tuchman now tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interersts, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance Popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain's George III, and the United States' persistent folly in Vietnam. THE MARCH OF FOLLY brings the people, places, and events of history magnificently alive for today's reader.

Author Biography

Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989) achieved prominence as a historian with The Zimmermann Telegram and international fame with The Guns of August—a huge bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Her other works include Bible and Sword, The Proud Tower, Stilwell and the American Experience in China (for which Tuchman was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize), Notes from China, A Distant Mirror, Practicing History, The March of Folly, and The First Salute.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xv
Pursuit of Policy Contrary to Self-Interest	3	(32)
Prototype: The Trojans Take the Wooden Horse Within Their Walls	35	(16)
The Renaissance Popes Provoke the Protestant Secession: 1470-1530	51	(76)
Murder in a Cathedral: Sixtus IV	62	(4)
Host to the Infidel: Innocent VIII	66	(9)
Depravity: Alexander VI	75	(16)
The Warrior: Julius II	91	(13)
The Protestant Break: Leo X	104	(14)
The Sack of Rome: Clement VII	118	(9)
The British Lose America	127	(106)
Who's In, Who's Out: 1763-65	128	(22)
``Asserting a Right You Know You Cannot Exert'': 1765	150	(17)
Folly Under Full Sail: 1766-72	167	(24)
``Remember Rehoboam!'': 1772-75	191	(17)
``...A Disease, a Delirium'': 1775-83	208	(25)
America Betrays Herself in Vietnam	233	(146)
In Embryo: 1945-46	234	(12)
Self-Hypnosis: 1946-54	246	(23)
Creating the Client: 1954-60	269	(14)
``Married to Failure'': 1960-63	283	(28)
Executive War: 1964-68	311	(46)
Exit: 1969-73	357	(22)
Epilogue ``A Lantern on the Stern''	379	(12)
Reference Notes and Works Consulted	391	(38)
Index	429