Telltale Hearts: The Origins and Impact of the Vietnam Anti-War Movement

by Adam Garfinkle

Overview

Adam Garfinkle convincingly demonstrates that the antiwar movement, even at its radical height, was of marginal value and at times actually proved counterproductive to stopping the Vietnam War.

"Garfinkle (Israel and Jordan in the Shadow of War), director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Middle East Council, convincingly challenges the commonly held view that the Vietnam antiwar movement played a major role in winding down the conflict in Southeast Asia." - Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312163631
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/15/1997
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Adam Garfinkle is an American historian, political scientist, and founding editor of The American Interest.

Editorial Reviews

Garfinkle (Israel and Jordan in the Shadow of War), director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Middle East Council, convincingly challenges the commonly held view that the Vietnam antiwar movement played a major role in winding down the conflict in Southeast Asia. While granting the movement some initial successes, he argues that the conduct of the youthful radicals who took over in 1966 repelled many potential antiwar members of the middle class. His startling but well-supported argument is that the movement ultimately had little effect on the conduct of the war and may actually have prolonged it. Garfinkle defines the agendas of such prominent protest groups as the Weathermen and Students for a Democratic Society and goes on to examine the underestimated postwar influence of the antiwar movement on American political and popular culture. This work is sure to stir controversy and will cause many readers to view the Vietnam antiwar movement in a new way. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In a thoroughly researched and well-written work, Garfinkle (Foreign Policy Research Institute) explores the impact of the Vietnam experience on American society from the perspective of the antiwar movement. He builds careful cases for his three conclusions: 1) the movement proved counterproductive at crucial junctures in the war; 2) it was the product of broader social changes in American society, with the war providing the catalyst for its emergence; 3) the movement has had a continuing role in American society. Based on sound research and directed at a general audience, the work effectively uses examples from popular culture and avoids academic jargon. With the recent White House announcement to restore full diplomatic ties with Vietnam, perhaps this society will move to closure on that unhappy chapter in American history. Garfinkle's work assists that process with its insightful analysis. For all academic and large public libraries.-James Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.

Library Journal

Garfinkle (Foreign Policy Research Institute, Philadelphia) takes readers on a journey from the 1960s to the 1990s, searching out Vietnam as a metaphor, template, memory, and icon. He argues that the antiwar movement had marginal impact on limiting and ending the war, yet has had an underestimated postwar influence, and explores Vietnam as metaphor in the Kuwait crisis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews