HENRY CABOT LODGE

by William J. Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 1967

One always questions the motive whenever an ""authorized"" biography of a living politician is published. This is true even in the case of a politician who stalwartly maintains he is no longer available for elective office, as is the case with Lodge, who refused to respond to an urgent draft for Presidential nomination in 1964. Now that he is leaving the post of Ambassador to South Vietnam for the second time (a decision not dealt with in this volume), rumors are bound to fly again: especially with such an admiring full-length portrait freshly in print. ""He had strong feelings about the United States of America,"" was John Kennedy's famous explanation of why his old antagonist took that dirty, dangerous job in Saigon, and it is a good description of Lodge's motivation throughout a long, active career in the Senate, Army, U.N., and Republican Party, as well as in several influential advisory capacities to three Presidents. A practical aristocrat, tough and simple as his old friend General Patton, Henry Cabot Lodge is as responsible as anyone for our current policy in Southeast Asia; therefore it is somewhat disingenuous of Mr. Miller to say that the ""Great Debate"" on that topic is ""beyond the scope"" of his book. His version of events in Vietnam is indistinguishable from that of his subject. But Lodge the man does come across here, which fulfills one of the primary intentions of biography.

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: James H. Heineman, Inc.

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION