Synopses & Reviews
"When Im gone, I want to be forgotten," said Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana. While he lived a life that was truly unforgettable as one of Americas most important and most admired public servants of the twentieth century, Mansfield refused to write his memoirs and shunned the entreaties of would-be biographers. Nonetheless, he sat down with Don Oberdorfer for thirty-two interviews in the last three years of his long life, and helped to open closed government documents that cast light on what he did and said. Until now, his amazing story has never been told in full.
Here is the story of his hard-scrabble childhood in Montana, his service in the lowest ranks of every branch of the U.S. military in and after World War I, and the improbable love affair with his future wife, Maureen, that lifted this eighth-grade dropout from the Butte, Montana, copper mines to academia and political prominence. In his thirty-four years in Congress--including his record-breaking tenure as Senate Majority Leader from 1961 to 1977--Mansfield was deeply involved in the great events of his time with Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. After retiring from Congress, he served as a most unusual ambassador to Japan from 1977 to 1989 for Presidents Carter and Reagan, who agreed on little else except their esteem for Mansfield.
From his first visit to China as a U.S. Marine private in 1922, Mansfield was fascinated with Asia. Originally a strong supporter of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, he later mounted valiant, solitary, and often confidential effortsdescribed in full here for the first timeto persuade Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon that the war in Indochina was a grave mistake that would bring only deaths and disaster to the United States. He had greater success in assisting Nixon to open U.S. relations with the Peoples Republic of China, although Nixon ordered Henry Kissinger to "screw Mansfield" on a China issue when angered by the Majority Leaders refusal to interfere with a Senate investigation of administration wrong-doing. Due to the unbounded trust and moral authority accorded him by his fellow lawmakers attributes that have nearly disappeared from todays political scene Mansfield was able to establish by unanimous vote of both parties the Senate Watergate Committee that led to Nixons resignation.
In addition to far-reaching interviews with Mansfield, documentation from his voluminous archives and dozens of interviews with those who knew him well, Oberdorfers authoritative account is based on extensive use of important new materials. He gained access to documents declassified for this book and secret tape recordings made by Presidents Johnson and Nixon in the White House. The result will change the way in which Mansfields role and contemporary history itself is understood. Superbly weaving rich detail into a moving narrative, Oberdorfer provides a fascinating account of the private and public life of one of the last of the Senate giants, and of the inner workings of Washington in the second half of the twentieth century. It is not only a magisterial work; it is a masterpiece.
Review
"In the roster of those who have served as Senate Majority Leader and U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Mike Mansfield stands taller than anyone. His is an inspiring and moving story....Mr. Oberdorfers painstaking research and elegant prose make a convincing case that Mike Mansfield truly was one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century." Ambassador Howard H. Baker Jr., former Senate Majority Leader
Review
"Mike Mansfield was a Senate gianta quiet rock of integrity and perseverance who led the Senate through some of the most important achievements in our nation's history. Don Oberdorfer's magisterial biography matches the stature of the man." Sen. Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader
Review
"Mike Mansfields performance under pressuresteady, informed, and judiciousis set out in this extraordinarily well-researched portrait of a man at the center of so many tumultuous events. You learn lessons for life from Don Oberdorfer's deep and probing biography." George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State
Review
"What an extraordinary statesman, what an extraordinary biographer, what a spell-binding story. A tour de force destined to become one of the small number of classic American biographies." Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Research Professor and founder of Asia Center, Harvard University, and author of Japan As Number One and Living with China.
Review
"Mike Mansfield, one of the great Americans of the twentieth century, had an epic life, from the copper mines of Butte to the center of power in Washington for four crucial decades. Don Oberdorfer has done justice to his subject, with a biography as solid and understated and praiseworthy as Mansfield himself." David Broder, Washington Post
Review
"An eye-opening account which illuminates not only Mike Mansfields character
but also his little known behind-the-scenes advice to presidents on the
Vietnam War, the U.S. opening to China, and many other episodes in modern
American history." Fred Greenstein, Director, Program in Leadership Studies, Princeton University, and author of The Hidden-Hand Presidency and The Presidential
Difference
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 517-575) and index.
Synopsis
A spellbinding biography of one of the most powerful and dignified men ever to come to DC—Senator Mike Mansfield.
Mike Mansfield's career as the longest serving majority leader is finally given its due in this extraordinary biography. In many respects, Mansfield's dignity and decorum represent the high-water mark of the US Senate: he was respected as a leader who helped build consensus on tough issues and was renowned for his ability to work across the aisle and build strong coalitions. Amazingly, he would have breakfast every morning with a member of the opposing party.
Mansfield was instrumental in pushing through some of the most influential legislation of the twentieth century. He was at the helm when the Senate passed landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the creation of Medicare, and the nuclear test ban treaty. Mansfield played a crucial role in shaping America's foreign policy, corresponding with JFK about his opposition to the growing presence of the US in Southeast Asia. As ambassador to Japan, his conversations with Cambodia and China paved the way for Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972.
About the Author
Don Oberdorfer is the author of The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History and was a National Book Award finalist for this book,
Table of Contents
Goodbye to private Mike -- The early years -- To the mines and the love of his life -- Into the political world -- Mission to China -- The Truman years -- Introduction to Indochina -- Into the leadership for Kennedy -- Johnson I: years of escalation -- Johnson II: years of frustration -- With Nixon on the road to China -- Vietnam, China, Watergate, and beyond -- Ambassador to Japan -- The final years