This book details the complexities of the Vietnam conflict at the time of Kennedy's inauguration, and examine the far-reaching impact of the Bay of Pigs debacle on Kennedy's foreign policy. It elucidates the roles of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, and Ambassadors Frederick Nolting and Henry Cabot Lodge, and explains Kennedy's attempts to forge coherent policy based on the conflicting proposals of his advisors.

Includes index.