Where the Domino Fell : America and Vietnam, 1945-1995

by Olson, James S.; Roberts, Randy W.

• ISBN13: 9781405182225
• ISBN10: 1405182229
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-04
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Where the Domino Fell recounts the history of American involvement in Vietnam from the end of World War II, clarifying the political aims, military strategy, and social and economic factors that contributed to the participants' actions. Provides an accessible, concise narrative history of the Vietnam conflict A new final chapter examines Vietnam through the lens of Oliver Stone's films and opens up a discussion of the War in popular culture A chronology, a glossary, and a bibliography all serve as helpful reference points for students

Author Biography

James S. Olson is Distinguished Professor of History at Sam Houston State University. He is the recipient of the university's Excellence in Teaching Award and Excellence in Research Award. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than thirty books, including The Ethnic Dimension in American History, Third Edition (Blackwell, 1999); Catholic Immigrants in America (1993); Winning is the Only Thing: Sports in America Since 1945 (1989); and John Wayne American (1996), which won the Ray and Pat Brown National Book Award from the Popular Culture Association. His book A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory (2001) won the Diolece Parmelee Award from the Texas Historical Foundation. Finally, his most recent book--Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History (2002)--was nominated by The Johns Hopkins University Press for the Pulitzer Prize in History, won the History of Science Category Award from the Association of American Publishers, and was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as one of the best non-fiction books in America for 2002.

Randy W. Roberts is Professor of History at Purdue University and specializes in recent U.S. history, U.S. sports history, and the history of popular culture. He is the author of Charles A. Lindbergh: The Power and Peril of Celebrity 1927-1941 (with David Welky, Blackwell, 2003), Hollywood's America: United States History Through Its Films, Third Edition (with Steven Mintz, Blackwell, 2001), A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory (with James S. Olson, 2001), My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (with James S. Olson, 1998), and John Wayne American (with James S. Olson, 1996). Among his many sport history publications are (with David Welky) One For The Thumb: The New Steelers Reader (2006), The Rock, the Curse, and the Hub: A Random History of Boston Sports (2005), Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler (2003), The Steelers Reader (with David Welky, 2001), Winning Is the Only Thing: Sports in America since 1945 (with James Olson, 1989), and Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes (1983).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Prologue: LBJ and Vietnam	p. ix
Eternal War: The Vietnamese Heritage	p. 1
The First Indochina War, 1945-1954	p. 19
The Making of a Quagmire, 1954-1960	p. 46
The New Frontier in Vietnam, 1961-1963	p. 71
Planning a Tragedy, 1963-1965	p. 101
Into the Abyss, 1965-1966	p. 123
The Mirage of Progress, 1966-1967	p. 145
Tet and the Year of the Monkey, 1968	p. 172
The Beginning of the End, 1969-1970	p. 198
The Fall of South Vietnam, 1970-1975	p. 223
Distorted Images, Missed Opportunities, 1975-1995	p. 247
Oliver Stone's Vietnam	p. 268
Bibliography	p. 292
A Vietnam War Chronology	p. 302
Glossary and Guide to Acronyms	p. 310
Index	p. 312
Maps
Indochina, 1995	p. xii
Vietnam, 1945 to 1975	p. 70
Major battles of the Tet offensive, January 1968	p. 177
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