Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Vietnam War Anthology

by Andrew J. Rotter (Editor)

Overview

Of all of the wars in which the U.S. has been engaged, none has been as divisive as the conflict in Vietnam. The repercussions of this unsettling episode in American history still resonate in our society. Although it ended more than 30 years ago, the Vietnam War continues to fascinate and trouble Americans.

The third edition of Light at the End of the Tunnel gives a full overview of the conflict. Starting with Ho Chi Minh's revolt against the French, editor Andrew J. Rotter takes the reader through the succeeding years as scholars, government officials, journalists, and others recount the important events in the conflict and examine issues that developed during this tumultuous time.

This book is essential reading for anyone who has an interest in understanding the Vietnam War. The readings in it will enlighten students about this turning point in the history of the United States and the world. The third edition includes greater coverage of the Vietnamese experience of the war and reflects the growing interest in understanding the war as an international event, not just a bilateral or trilateral conflict.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461638896
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/16/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	516
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Andrew J. Rotter is Charles A. Dana Professor of History at Colgate University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Getting In, 1945–1952
1. Ho Chi Minh: The Untried Gamble
2. The United States, Its Allies and the Bao Dai Experiment
Chapter 2: Fighting Shy, 1953–1961
3. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Wholehearted Support of Ngo Dinh Diem
4. Geneva, 1954: The Precarious Peace
5. The CIA Comes to Vietnam
Chapter 3: Digging In, 1961–1968
6. No "Non-Essential Areas": Kennedy and Vietnam
7. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
8. Lyndon Johnson Chooses War
9. The Tet Offensive, 1968
10. A Dissenter in the Administration
Chapter 4: Getting Out, 1968–1975
11. Nixon, Kissinger, and a Pax Americana
12. Bombing Hanoi, Mining Haiphong, and the Moscow Summit
13. Stabbed in the Back
Chapter 5: Allies and Enemies
14. Ngo Dinh Diem, the Impossible Ally
15. Ngo Dinh Diem, Modernizer
16. The Foreign Policy of North Vietnam
17. The National Liberation Front and the Land
Chapter 6: The Battlefield
18. Getting Hit
19. Feeling Cold
20. Nursing and Disillusionment
21. They Did Not Know Good From Evil
22. My Lai: The Killing Begins
Chapter 7: International Dimensions of the War
23. The Soviet Union and American Escalation
24. China and American Escalation
25. The Vietnamese and Global Revolutions
Chapter 8: Laos and Cambodia
26. The War in Laos
27. Bombing Cambodia: A Critique
28. Bombing Cambodia: A Defense
Chapter 9: Interpreting the War
29. A Clash of Cultures
30. An Opportunity for Power
31. A Defense of Freedom
32. An Act of Imperialism
33. An Assertion of Manhood
Chapter 10: The War in America
34. Working-Class War
35. Seeds of a Movement
36. Women at the Barricades, Then and Now
Chapter 11: The Legacy of War
37. Saigon: The End and the Beginning
38. Homecoming USA
39. Amerasians: A People in Between
Chapter 12: Afterword
40. Letting Go

Editorial Reviews

Compiles 38 writings from Ambrose, Chomsky, and Kissinger as well as less familiar figures that explore the political, military, cultural, and social history and impact of the Indochina wars from the 1940s to perhaps finally "letting go" (as the final entry by a Vietnamese woman who returned to Vietnam in 1986 is titled). Includes some photos and about double items of the first edition (St. Martin's Press, 1991). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

Booknews

As in the earlier editions, Andrew Rotter shows a keen understanding of the best ways to enhance classroom debate, compiling a text that is accessible, readable, and sensitive to the deep interest in Vietnam shared by today's students. In its diversity and centrality of topics, its balanced inclusion of readable, accessible and academically respected articles, and its genuine tolerance and sympathy, this text remains one of the best options available in support of Vietnam courses.

Susan Farnsworth

Andrew Rotter has compiled an illuminating selection of essays and book excerpts. His introduction is an insightful, concise history of the Indochina wars.

Marc Leepson

Light at the End of the Tunnel is the best Vietnam War anthology available. Andrew Rotter’s freshman-friendly twenty-page capsule history of this complex conflict is a godsend to teachers and worth the price of the book all by itself. I didn't think this anthology could get any better, but darned if Rotter hasn't pulled it off.

Seth Jacobs

A truly brilliant overview. .. perhaps the best anthology yet assembled.

Palo Alto Daily News

This excellent anthology is substantially revised from the first edition—almost half the items included are new. I am delighted that it is back in print and available for class use.

George Herring

An important work simply because it is so extended.

Indochina Chronology

Thoroughly balanced, providing accounts with different emphases and interpretations of what remains a highly emotional ordeal in our history, Light at the End of the Tunnel offers numerous opportunities to stimulate thought, discussion, and debate.

Kenton Clymer

Andrew Rotter's anthology on the Vietnam War has always been the best book available on this conflict. This third edition has been substantially revised. Rotter has retained those articles that are essential for understanding the scope and complexity of the Vietnam War and has included new articles that will give students even more insight into the many facets of American and Southeast Asian history that continue to haunt us to this day.

Steven Hood

Andrew Rotter's anthology on the Vietnam War has always been the best book available on this conflict. This third edition has been substantially revised. Rotter has retained those articles that are essential for understanding the scope and complexity of the Vietnam War and has included new articles that will give students even more insight into the many facets of American and Southeast Asian history that continue to haunt us to this day.--Steven Hood, Ursinus College

As in the earlier editions, Andrew Rotter shows a keen understanding of the best ways to enhance classroom debate, compiling a text that is accessible, readable, and sensitive to the deep interest in Vietnam shared by today's students. In its diversity and centrality of topics, its balanced inclusion of readable, accessible and academically respected articles, and its genuine tolerance and sympathy, this text remains one of the best options available in support of Vietnam courses.--Susan Farnsworth, Trinity (Washington) University

Light at the End of the Tunnel is the best Vietnam War anthology available. Andrew Rotter's freshman-friendly twenty-page capsule history of this complex conflict is a godsend to teachers and worth the price of the book all by itself. I didn't think this anthology could get any better, but darned if Rotter hasn't pulled it off.--Seth Jacobs, Boston College

From the Publisher