Gordon Goldstein talked by remote access from New York City about his book Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam (Times Books, November 11, 2008; Holt Paperbacks, reprint edition, September 1, 2009). He talked about lessons learned from Vietnam and the current situation in Afghanistan. He responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.

The program began with a clip from September 30, 2009, of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answering a question about Mr. Goldstein's book being read by members of the administration.