The Deadly Bet LBJ, Vietnam, and the 1968 Election

by Lafeber, Walter

• ISBN13: 9780742543928
• ISBN10: 0742543927
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-17
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In The Deadly Bet, distinguished historian Walter LaFeber explores the turbulent election of 1968 and its significance in the larger context of American history. Looking through the eyes of the year's most important players including Robert F. Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, George Wallace, Nguyen Van Thieu, and Lyndon Johnson LaFeber shows the importance of domestic upheaval on the election.

Author Biography

Walter LaFeber is Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at Cornell University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction War and Democracy: The Life-or-Death Bet	1	(18)
The Tet Offensive	19	(14)
General William Westmoreland
The College Student Crusade	33	(16)
Senator Eugene McCarthy
``People Grow Tired of Confusion''	49	(16)
Lyndon Johnson
The Dream	65	(16)
Martin Luther King
The ``National Soul''	81	(18)
Robert Kennedy
The Candidate from Squaresville?	99	(16)
Richard Nixon
The Isolation of the Politics of Joy	115	(20)
Hubert Horatio Humphrey
The Populism of the Vietnam War Era	135	(16)
George Wallace
A Merry-Go-Round in a Chamber of Horrors	151	(16)
Nguyen Van Thieu
Conclusion	167	(14)
Notes	181	(18)
Bibliography	199	(8)
Index	207	(10)
About the Author	217