ROGER HILSMAN - JFK'S VIETNAM 'ACTION OFFICER' AND NOBODY'S YES-MAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200110016-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: June 11, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Rel a 6466 9x -FbAe Y
June 11, 19o7
"r e''s tough, energetic, and profane. . The advance reviewer in Publish-
Ali good qualities." err' Weekly writes: "As a study of
That's how the CIA described . the dynamics of policy-making - the
Roger Hilsirman to President Ken- process of conflict and
consensus- when the President was consid- building - in the Presidency, as a
Bring appointing him State Depart- specific history of behind-the-scenes
~ mefit Intelligence Chief. Hilsman got furor and decisions on most major
.. the job.' Later, he'became Assistant foreign policy issues in the Kennedy
Secretary of State for Far Eastern- administration, and as a personal
f k ...:.1 Kennedy This
is one of the best and most important
books by a member of the Kennedy
circle ... [Roger Hilsman] expresses
the gist of complex problems in clear,
highly readable style ... full. of new
material .... A ' brilliant, trenchant
book, right from the sources c..which
both historians~nd general : readers
will find absorb 1OF. "
a
In the latter post, Hilsman was
"the guy on the other end of the tele-
phone" from Kennedy about Viet- .
zamn - "the action ouicer."
A few months after the assaLssina-
tion his conscience forced-him to re-
sign. To MovE A NATION tells why.
"Those who have seen the first
proofs," said a recent news story in
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "find it
the most detailed, factual indictment
of the Johnson Administration war
policy yet to be written by someone
with inside knowledge."
A. P. columnist R. H. Shackford
writes: "Mr. Kennedy admired men
of courage. He was attracted to men
who had the courage, to speak their
Approved For Release 2004/10/13: CIA-RDP88-01350R0b0
.Q7/11t_e~ a-
minds - and Roger Hilsman was one
of them . ?.." You will understand
why when you read the "action of-
ficer's" courageous account of where
the action was ... where it is ... and
where it ought to be. Roger Hilsman
hasn't changed.
$6.95 at all booksellers