Vietnam and America: The Most Comprehensive Documented History of the Vietnam War

by Marvin E. Gettleman (Editor), Jane Franklin (Editor), Marilyn B. Young (Editor), H. Bruce Franklin (Editor)

Overview

No single event since World War II has marked this country’s foreign policy and national image as deeply as did the war in Vietnam. Vietnam and America is a complete history of the war, as documented in essays by leading experts and in original source material. With generous selections from the documentary records, the book dispels distortions and illuminates in depth the many facets of the war, from Vietnam’s history before the war, to Washington’s insider policy making, to troop perspectives, to the impact back on the home front. In essays introducing each major stage of the war, the editors elucidate the issues, foreign policy choices, and consequences of U.S. involvement. Substantial headnotes put each document in historical perspective. This comprehensive anthology is an invaluable reference for anyone who wants to understand the Vietnam War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802133625
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/14/1995
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	560
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

Fearful that an ``America ignorant and innocent of Vietnam can again freely move against the self-determination of other nations,'' the editors have compiled here a history of United States involvement in Vietnam that draws equally on original material and surveys. Included are Vietnam's 1945 Declaration of Independencepart of which paraphrases our ownthe highlights of other key statements, speeches and treaties of the past 40 years, as well as such widely varied selections as Robert Scheer on the ``Vietnam lobby'' of the '50s, Seymour Hersh's account of the My Lai massacre, General Giap's recollection of the fall of Dien Bien Phu, and several excerpts from the Pentagon Papers. Although the publication of this material in one volume is immensely useful, the editors' notes are sometimes overbearing, as if the reader isn't trusted to come independently to their conclusionthat U.S. policy in Vietnam should be condemned. November

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The editors of this important anthology participated in the ``teach-in'' movement of 1965, which mobilized the academic community against U.S. policy in Vietnam. Patterned after Gettleman's bestselling sourcebook of the period, Vietnam: history, documents, and opinions (1956), this work is chiefly designed to let the facts speak for themselves. Essential documents are reprinted, including the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the 1954 Geneva Conference Declaration, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, together with well-researched notes, introductions, and an abstract preceding each piece. Controversial issues are explored (a whole chapter is devoted to the antiwar movement), but the selections are balanced fairly. Official statements by top political and military leaders on both sides are included. This convenient one-volume compilation of a wide range of largely primary source material is highly recommended for most libraries. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno

Library Journal