The March of Folly

This historical study asks why governments persist in policies contrary to their own interest. Tuchman sets out four cases: the Trojans bringing the wooden horse inside their walls; the Renaissance popes whose conduct helped provoke the Protestant break; the British ministry that drove the American colonies into revolt; and the United States in Vietnam. In each she follows the warnings that were available and the motives - pride, faction, fixed idea - that overrode them. The book is a comparative essay in political misjudgment, not a complete history of any one of the four wars.

Bound in pattern blocked black cloth. Mottled pale brown endleaves. Gold slipcase decorated with image of Trojan war on one side.