The Vietnam War A Concise International History

by Lawrence, Mark Atwood

• ISBN13: 9780199753932
• ISBN10: 0199753938
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-08-27
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PR

Summary

Hailed as a "pithy and compelling account of an intensely relevant topic" ( Kirkus Reviews ), this wide-ranging volume offers a superb account of a key moment in modern U.S. and world history. Drawing upon the latest research in archives in China, Russia, and Vietnam, Mark Lawrence creates an extraordinary, panoramic view of all sides of the war. His narrative begins well before American forces set foot in Vietnam, delving into French colonialism's contribution to the 1945 Vietnamese revolution, and revealing how the Cold War concerns of the 1950s led the United States to back the French. The heart of the book covers the "American war," ranging from the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem and the impact of the Tet Offensive to Nixon's expansion of the war into Cambodia and Laos, and the final peace agreement of 1973. Finally, Lawrence examines the aftermath of the war, from the momentous liberalization--"Doi Moi"--in Vietnam to the enduring legacy of this infamous war in American books, films, and political debate.

Author Biography

Mark Atwood Lawrence is a former correspondent for the Associated Press and Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin. His book Assuming the Burden (2007) won the George Louis Beer Prize and Paul Birdsall Prize of the American Historical Association.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Road to Revolution	p. 7
Colonialism and Cold War	p. 27
An Anguished Peace	p. 47
Escalation	p. 67
War on Many Fronts	p. 91
The Tet Offensive	p. 115
Ending the American War	p. 137
Wars Unending	p. 161
Notes	p. 187
Further Reading	p. 201
Index	p. 205
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