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Book

Because our fathers lied : a memoir of truth and family, from Vietnam to today

Call Number

  • 920 M4789 (CEN, OSH)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2022.

Physical Description

xiii, 269 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Summary

Craig McNamara came of age during the political tumult and upheaval of the late '60s. While he would grow up to take part in antiwar demonstrations, his father, Robert McNamara, served as John F. Kennedy's secretary of defense and was the architect of the Vietnam War. This searching and revealing memoir offers an intimate portrait of one father and son at pivotal periods in American history. Because Our Fathers Lied is more than a family story--it is a story about America. Before Robert McNamara joined Kennedy's cabinet, he was an executive who helped turn around the Ford Motor Company. Known for his tremendous competence and professionalism, McNamara came to symbolize "the best and the brightest." Craig, his youngest child and only son, struggled in his father's shadow. When he ultimately failed his draft board physical, Craig decided to travel by motorcycle across Central and South America, learning more about the art of agriculture and the pleasures of making what he defines as an honest living. By the book's conclusion, Craig McNamara is farming walnuts in Northern California and coming to terms with his father's legacy. Because our fathers lied tells the story of the war from the perspective of a single, unforgettable American family.

Contents

  • Prologue
  • Window into blindness, the abyss
  • Our sons are dying
  • The angel of the house
  • Absence, defense
  • The chipper gene
  • Firefall
  • Army
  • Going down the road, feeling bad
  • Santiago
  • Island, fall
  • Return
  • Soil
  • Getting home
  • Back pages
  • Telluride
  • His final days
  • The chairs
  • Vietnam
  • The cathedral block
  • Epilogue.

Subjects