The Nightingale's Song

This sprawling but often engrossing book takes a close look at the intersecting careers of five politically powerful Americans haunted by the legacy of the Vietnam War. Robert McFarlane and John Poindexter served as national security advisers, with Oliver North as their aide; John McCain, having survived five years in a Vietnamese POW camp, was elected to the U.S. Senate; James Webb, acclaimed novelist (Fields of Fire), became secretary of the navy. All five rose to prominence during the Reagan administration; all five were graduates of the Naval Academy; all five were significantly affected by the war in Vietnam. Timberg presents a rounded portrait of each: McFarlane's moral rigidity in the face of Washington's situation ethics; Poindexter's colorless persona and reaction to the dynamics of Iran-Contra; North's dazzling charisma (``Holly Golightly in Marine green''); McCain's stoic courage throughout his captivity; Webb's combat heroics, his struggle to become a writer, his controversial stint in the Pentagon. Timberg is scathing in his remarks about President Reagan's competency but dilates eloquently on the significance of Reagan's public admiration of Vietnam veterans. An Annapolis graduate who served in Vietnam, Timberg is deputy bureau chief of the Baltimore Sun. Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection. (July)