America's Longest War

Overview

Comprehensive yet concise, America’s Longest War provides a complete and balanced history of the Vietnam War. It is not mainly a military history, but seeks to integrate military, diplomatic, and political factors in order to clarify America’s involvement and ultimate failure in Vietnam. While it focuses on the American side of the equation, it provides sufficient consideration of the Vietnamese side to make the events comprehensible.

Table of contents

1: A Dead-End Alley: The United States, France, and the First Indochina War,1950-1954
CHAPTER 2: Our Offspring: Nation Building in South Vietnam, 1954-1961
CHAPTER 3: Limited Partnership: Kennedy and Diem, 1961-1963
CHAPTER 4: Enough, but Not Too Much: Johnson's Decisions for War, 1963-1965
CHAPTER 5: On the Tiger's Back: The United States at War, 1965-1967
CHAPTER 6: A Very Near Thing: The Tet Offensive and After, 1968
CHAPTER 7: A War for Peace: Nixon, Kissinger, and Vietnam, 1969-1973
CHAPTER 8: A "Postwar War" and the Legacy of Vietnam
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Index
Maps