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The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms
"Grey is the color of truth."
So observed Mac Bundy in defending America's intervention in Vietnam. Kai Bird brilliantly captures this ambiguity in his revelatory look at Bundy and his brother William, two of the most influential policymakers of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. It is a portrait of fiercely patriotic, brilliant and brazenly self-confident men who directed a steady escalation of a war they did not believe could be won. Bird draws 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.
So observed Mac Bundy in defending America's intervention in Vietnam. Kai Bird brilliantly captures this ambiguity in his revelatory look at Bundy and his brother William, two of the most influential policymakers of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. It is a portrait of fiercely patriotic, brilliant and brazenly self-confident men who directed a steady escalation of a war they did not believe could be won. Bird draws 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.
496 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
About the author
Kai Bird
12 books696 followersKai Bird is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, best known for his biographies of political figures. He has also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, the Duff Cooper Prize, a Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a Contributing Editor of The Nation magazine.
Bird was born in 1951. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and he spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Beirut, Dhahran, Cairo and Bombay. He finished high school in 1969 at Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, South India. He received his BA from Carleton College in 1973 and a M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1975. Bird now lives in Miami Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan Goldmark, and their son, Joshua.
Bird was born in 1951. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and he spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Beirut, Dhahran, Cairo and Bombay. He finished high school in 1969 at Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, South India. He received his BA from Carleton College in 1973 and a M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1975. Bird now lives in Miami Beach, Florida with his wife, Susan Goldmark, and their son, Joshua.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 22, 2016
RE-READ
Without hesitation I've put this book on my short list of recommendations for anyone who wants to learn more about the Vietnam War. Not at the top simply because it assumes some prior knowledge about many of the players involved and the historical events described and it deals with other times and topicsd, but it should be included, (I think), with books by Halberstam, Sheehan, etc.
Why? The Bundy brothers were at the center of most if not all the policy and military decisions concerning Vietnam made during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations - McGeorge as Special Assistant to the President on National Security Affairs to both JFK and LBJ - William working under McNamara, (Defense) and then Dean Rusk, (State). This book/author does an excellent job of putting these decisions in the context of the Bundy brothers' background, upbringing, education, intellect, loyalty and sense of duty, i.e. all the things a biography should do.
Will the reader agree with all the decisions the Bundys made? ...Of course not. In fact one may disagree with every decision each or both of them did make but this book gives the reader an appreciation or at least an understanding as to how and why they came about. (As an aside, most of the questions/doubts concerning Vietnam policy made in hindsight, were raised contemporaneously by one or both of the Bundys - just another piece to this enigmatic puzzle.)
Regarding the book's perspective/objectivity, I have no complaints and found the author admirably evenhanded - Although there are some anecdotes concerning peripheral individuals, (i.e. Henry Kissinger), which do not show them in the most positive light and may even raise a smirk from the reader.
Finally although this review has centered on the Bundys and Vietnam this book chronicles much more, both before and after the Vietnam War - Henry Stimson, military service, the CIA, McCarthyism and the Cold War, Harvard and Yale, Cuba, the Ford Foundation - but in the interest of brevity I hope I've made my point.
Without hesitation I've put this book on my short list of recommendations for anyone who wants to learn more about the Vietnam War. Not at the top simply because it assumes some prior knowledge about many of the players involved and the historical events described and it deals with other times and topicsd, but it should be included, (I think), with books by Halberstam, Sheehan, etc.
Why? The Bundy brothers were at the center of most if not all the policy and military decisions concerning Vietnam made during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations - McGeorge as Special Assistant to the President on National Security Affairs to both JFK and LBJ - William working under McNamara, (Defense) and then Dean Rusk, (State). This book/author does an excellent job of putting these decisions in the context of the Bundy brothers' background, upbringing, education, intellect, loyalty and sense of duty, i.e. all the things a biography should do.
Will the reader agree with all the decisions the Bundys made? ...Of course not. In fact one may disagree with every decision each or both of them did make but this book gives the reader an appreciation or at least an understanding as to how and why they came about. (As an aside, most of the questions/doubts concerning Vietnam policy made in hindsight, were raised contemporaneously by one or both of the Bundys - just another piece to this enigmatic puzzle.)
Regarding the book's perspective/objectivity, I have no complaints and found the author admirably evenhanded - Although there are some anecdotes concerning peripheral individuals, (i.e. Henry Kissinger), which do not show them in the most positive light and may even raise a smirk from the reader.
Finally although this review has centered on the Bundys and Vietnam this book chronicles much more, both before and after the Vietnam War - Henry Stimson, military service, the CIA, McCarthyism and the Cold War, Harvard and Yale, Cuba, the Ford Foundation - but in the interest of brevity I hope I've made my point.
July 16, 2024
Since I enjoyed reading Bird’s other Biographys of John McCloy The Chairman & Oppenheimer Prometheus, this was an easy decision. I was a kid during the 60’s and enjoy reading history that took place during my lifetime. 😂It’s also a nice change from reading Thomas Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 also took place in the 60s
As other readers’ reviews have mentioned, if you want to read about the causes of the Vietnam War, this is the book .
As other readers’ reviews have mentioned, if you want to read about the causes of the Vietnam War, this is the book .
February 9, 2015
This was an amazing book that really hooked me into what was going on during the '50s-60s. McGeorge and William Bundy had the family access and the smarts to go far in the world. Both served admiarably during WWII, and with government thereafter. Both were extremly erudite and desired for their abilities.
McGeorge was National Security Advisor for President Kennedy. He did a satisfactory job, but from Bird's work it appears that he wasn't always showing his cards. William, his older brother, was a deputy to Kennedy, and then an Assistant Secretary of State for Kennedy, again, like McGeorge, not always forthright about his views.
To sum it all up, these two were able to make some great change in America on small things, but if they had been able to finesse the Vietnam war we might regard them as truly the best and brightest.
McGeorge was National Security Advisor for President Kennedy. He did a satisfactory job, but from Bird's work it appears that he wasn't always showing his cards. William, his older brother, was a deputy to Kennedy, and then an Assistant Secretary of State for Kennedy, again, like McGeorge, not always forthright about his views.
To sum it all up, these two were able to make some great change in America on small things, but if they had been able to finesse the Vietnam war we might regard them as truly the best and brightest.
February 20, 2014
What a fabulous biography! The brothers' elite education and Brahmin origins only supplemented their high IQs. Thus the term, " the best and the brightest." I well remembered Mac George's role in the Vietnam war, but I had forgotten about his shake-up of NYC politics when, after reading Gunnar Myrdal, he threw the Ford Foundation's considerable resources into trying to enccourage black activism. This earned him the animus of the NYC teachers' union and undoubtedly contributed to the creation of the term "limousine liberal." He has been redeemed somewhat from the cloud under which he has so long labored.
May 31, 2009
This is an excellent book for many reasons least of which it is well written. The Bundy Brothers were brilliant and exceptionally well educated but for all their knowledge and training they were absolutely tone deaf to any culture other than that of New England and by extension America. As a result they were totally unable to understand the interests of Southeast Asians. All of which lead to the debacle of Viet Nam.
July 30, 2011
Very well written. Great look at the Bundy brothers "behind-the-scenes" influences on foreign affairs in JFK and LBJ's administration. I believe it shines much light on the height of the cold war.
January 11, 2013
Thorough and excellent. Won't be surpassed.
September 27, 2026
A well-written, insightful, and evenhanded work on the Bundy brothers and their public careers.
Both of the Bundys were, of course, intelligent and succeeded in the fields of academia, their main field before joining government. Academics usually acquire success by formulating arguments and defending them, and these arguments help them sell books, gain followings, and, sometimes, acquire positions of power. Usually this is all fairly harmless. Unfortunately, when the Bundys did this sort of thing, it ended up destroying their careers and reputations, along with the lives of millions of other people thousands of miles away from these institutions of academia.
Bird’s take is critical but he does a good job explaining the decisions the Bundys made and why. He also notes that just about every single one of the concerns and doubts about the decisions that led us deeper and deeper into Vietnam were expressed by the Bundy brothers at one point or another, and yet they persisted. Even from the start, they were aware of the pitfalls, but their loyalty to the president won out. “Both Bundy brothers had been exposed repeatedly to the arguments against a deeper involvement; they understood the arguments, but in large measure because their president could not abide a defeat in Vietnam, they had talked themselves into thinking that there was still time to ‘waffle through.’ ”
The narrative is rich and readable. Bird certainly succeeds at crafting vivid portraits of people, but his explanation of American policies (like Berlin or Cuba) could have been more rounded and stronger, though this does improve once Bird gets to Vietnam. Also, his portrait of McGeorge Bundy is more engaging than that of William. Bird also portrays the Bundys as key players when it comes to the Vietnam War’s decisions, but the book seems to obscure, somewhat, the fact that they didn’t make the real decisions that mattered; the President did. Bird also seems to portray Johnson as insecure and ignorant when it came to foreign-policy issues, to the point that the Bundys had to basically tutor him. However, in other accounts I’ve read (and in the White House tapes we have), Johnson comes off as more confident, even bullying, and McGeorge Bundy as eager to placate him.
Bird’s coverage of the Cuban missile crisis is also interesting, as he explains the role that Kennedy’s own decisions played in actually making that crisis happen in the first place. Bird also notes that the US military was working on detailed plans for a blockade and full-scale invasion of the island, and discussing them with Kennedy, well before the Soviet missiles in Cuba were discovered. To some, this may seem like routine contingency planning, but Bird notes the military made a great effort to pre-position supplies and troops needed for such an operation. The discovery of nuclear-capable Soviet missiles on Cuba, of course preempted an invasion, although, of course, such preparations would continue as the White House prepared,studied, and considered its options for this new crisis. This chapter, however, also includes the story of McNamara confronting Admiral George Anderson about the procedures of the Cuban blockade, but Bird does not mention the controversy around the date of this meeting, or Anderson’s later recollection that the meeting was polite and McNamara's questions legitimate. Bird’s endnotes briefly mention this, though.
A dense but balanced and well-researched work.
Both of the Bundys were, of course, intelligent and succeeded in the fields of academia, their main field before joining government. Academics usually acquire success by formulating arguments and defending them, and these arguments help them sell books, gain followings, and, sometimes, acquire positions of power. Usually this is all fairly harmless. Unfortunately, when the Bundys did this sort of thing, it ended up destroying their careers and reputations, along with the lives of millions of other people thousands of miles away from these institutions of academia.
Bird’s take is critical but he does a good job explaining the decisions the Bundys made and why. He also notes that just about every single one of the concerns and doubts about the decisions that led us deeper and deeper into Vietnam were expressed by the Bundy brothers at one point or another, and yet they persisted. Even from the start, they were aware of the pitfalls, but their loyalty to the president won out. “Both Bundy brothers had been exposed repeatedly to the arguments against a deeper involvement; they understood the arguments, but in large measure because their president could not abide a defeat in Vietnam, they had talked themselves into thinking that there was still time to ‘waffle through.’ ”
The narrative is rich and readable. Bird certainly succeeds at crafting vivid portraits of people, but his explanation of American policies (like Berlin or Cuba) could have been more rounded and stronger, though this does improve once Bird gets to Vietnam. Also, his portrait of McGeorge Bundy is more engaging than that of William. Bird also portrays the Bundys as key players when it comes to the Vietnam War’s decisions, but the book seems to obscure, somewhat, the fact that they didn’t make the real decisions that mattered; the President did. Bird also seems to portray Johnson as insecure and ignorant when it came to foreign-policy issues, to the point that the Bundys had to basically tutor him. However, in other accounts I’ve read (and in the White House tapes we have), Johnson comes off as more confident, even bullying, and McGeorge Bundy as eager to placate him.
Bird’s coverage of the Cuban missile crisis is also interesting, as he explains the role that Kennedy’s own decisions played in actually making that crisis happen in the first place. Bird also notes that the US military was working on detailed plans for a blockade and full-scale invasion of the island, and discussing them with Kennedy, well before the Soviet missiles in Cuba were discovered. To some, this may seem like routine contingency planning, but Bird notes the military made a great effort to pre-position supplies and troops needed for such an operation. The discovery of nuclear-capable Soviet missiles on Cuba, of course preempted an invasion, although, of course, such preparations would continue as the White House prepared,studied, and considered its options for this new crisis. This chapter, however, also includes the story of McNamara confronting Admiral George Anderson about the procedures of the Cuban blockade, but Bird does not mention the controversy around the date of this meeting, or Anderson’s later recollection that the meeting was polite and McNamara's questions legitimate. Bird’s endnotes briefly mention this, though.
A dense but balanced and well-researched work.
March 17, 2024
Kai Bird is a leftwing philosemetic author, but he is an excellent writer and I enjoyed his book on the
"Bundy Boys". I got the book by mistake. McGeorge Bundy helped Stimson write his memoirs, and i assumed he'd also been Stimson's aide during WW II. Wrong! That was his father, Harvey Bundy.
So, the vast majority of the book is about the Bundy Boys and their influence of US Intelligence and foreign policy after WWII and especially during the Vietnam Era.
There was a strong Frankfurter- Dean Achesnon connection to the Bundy family. The Bundy family were friends of Frankfurter, and intermarried into the Achenson family. Its this connection that resulted in William Bundy giving money to Alger Hiss's defense fund in 1950. Hiss of course was another Frankfurter Protege who ended up in a powerful position in the State Department under FDR.
"Bundy Boys". I got the book by mistake. McGeorge Bundy helped Stimson write his memoirs, and i assumed he'd also been Stimson's aide during WW II. Wrong! That was his father, Harvey Bundy.
So, the vast majority of the book is about the Bundy Boys and their influence of US Intelligence and foreign policy after WWII and especially during the Vietnam Era.
There was a strong Frankfurter- Dean Achesnon connection to the Bundy family. The Bundy family were friends of Frankfurter, and intermarried into the Achenson family. Its this connection that resulted in William Bundy giving money to Alger Hiss's defense fund in 1950. Hiss of course was another Frankfurter Protege who ended up in a powerful position in the State Department under FDR.
February 7, 2025
As one who grew up during the turbulent 1960s, Kai Bird’s biography of the Bundy Brothers, two of JFK and LBJ’s “best and brightest,” captured my interest. “The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms” follows the lives of the two Boston Brahmans’ rise from military codebreakers to the highest echelons of U. S. politics: advisors to two Presidents. The complex questions of Viet Nam: How did we get involved? Did we do enough? Did we do too little? Could things have been done differently? Was this disaster inevitable? All were asked and investigated. While the author’s liberal political leanings were clear, he made a valiant effort at being objective, and does an excellent job of story-telling and analysis. (707 pages) [If I could I would have given it 4 1/2 stars]
September 26, 2025
A great read and obviously tremendous study of Vietnam policy decisions made in the White House, but after arriving there the brothers’ personal lives are left behind at what, imo, is the most critical moment in which I wanted to know their personal lives. Furthermore, Mac and Bill both lived another 30 years after leaving the White House, but the book only devotes less than 50 of its pages to these years despite emphasizing the complexities of their lives post-WH contrasted with the time before. I wanted more about the “The Color of Truth” as it related to the WHOLE of the brothers’ lives, not just their time spent with Vietnam, which to be clear is obviously important to their stories and America’s, but this is a political biography rather than a more personal one. Not necessarily a fault, but not necessarily what I was after.
September 12, 2024
Disappointments encountered. As early as ‘64-‘65 those in power in Washington knew the war to be unwindable militarily. Lyndon Johnson’s ego and failure to confront him killed/injured tens of thousands of people for no logical reason. Westmoreland and the Joint Chiefs were unforgivably foolish.
Read
February 10, 2022chapter on the Ford Foundation but only deals with domestic initiatives during his presidency of the org
December 28, 2025
A somewhat superficial study of bright men who tried, but failed, to make the world a better place.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews