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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Halberstam say was the military's opinion after the start of Rolling Thunder?

2. When did Khanh overthrow the generals in Vietnam?

3. What did the U.S. embassy offer to Diem and Nhu when the coup began?

4. What strategy does Halberstam say evolved out of the struggle over troop strength?

5. What happened in the Gulf of Tonkin as a part of 34A?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was President Johnson's position regarding Vietnam in the early days of his presidency?

2. What program did Maxwell Taylor call for in the paper he wrote on his way back from Vietnam?

3. What does Halberstam say the effect of the Vietnam war on the American people was?

4. What was the result of the Spring Offensive?

5. What did the Johnson administration tell America as it committed more troops to Vietnam?

6. What happened during the second Gulf of Tonkin incident?

7. What does Halberstam say McNamara found in Vietnam when the Johnson administration took over?

8. Who was interested in overthrowing Diem?

9. What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

10. Describe what Halberstam calls 'the Bundy trip' to Vietnam.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a critical review of "The Best and the Brightest": what does Halberstam do well, and what parts of the book are not well-executed? Considering recent revelations regarding the war, how prescient was Halberstam in his history?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Halberstam as a biographer and historian. What are his preoccupations? What does he not consider? What are his narrative techniques, and what literary techniques does he use to describe the people and actions that comprise "The Best and the Brightest"?

Essay Topic 3

What must McGeorge Bundy or Robert McNamara or President Johnson have thought about the Vietnam war? Write a journal entry as if you were them.

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