The Debate over Vietnam / Edition 2

by David W. Levy

Overview

David Levy's widely acclaimed Debate over Vietnam examines the bitter national discussion that raged over the propriety, the necessity, and the morality of America's longest war. Levy begins with a brief history of Vietnam under foreign rule and recounts the growing American military presence—and the increasing reaction it provoked. He explores the fundamental values and assumptions of Americans on both sides of the growing debate, contrasting Republican consensus with Democratic division and the split between intellectuals of the left and right. He also describes the positions of labor leaders, university faculty and students, and show-business celebrities.

New to this edition is a discussion of the issue of draft dodging, especially as played out in the campaigns of former Vice President Dan Quayle and President Bill Clinton. How, Levy asks, can the public today condemn the Vietnam war, yet not accept the actions of those who chose to avoid it? Why, twenty years later, is the Vietnam question still a pivotal issue in the political arena? Understanding these issues, he concluded, brings the debate over Vietnam closer to both political acceptance and resolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801851148
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	10/01/1995
Series:	The American Moment
Edition description:	second edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David W. Levy is Professor Emeritus of the Department of History of Oklahoma University at Norman Oklahoma.

Table of Contents

Editor's Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1. The Consensus: How Americans Reached Some General Agreements about Their Foreign Policy
Chapter 2. The Contest: How Americans Got involved in a Land War in Asia
Chapter 3. The Contentions: How Americans Disagreed about the War and Destroyed the Consenses
Chapter 4. The Conflicts: How Americans Fought Some Small Civil Wars in Their Own Country
Chapter 5. The Confrontation: How Americans Debated the War in Vietnam
Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliographical Essay
Index

Editorial Reviews

Levy's brief but wide-ranging book offers an overview of the major cultural issues, foreign policy concerns, social movements, and political anxieties that shape debates in the United States surrounding the Vietnam War.
—Journal of American History

Of great practical use for courses which focus on the Vietnam War or on twentieth-century American history. . . Levy's prose is eminently readable, his focus always clear, the connections between major points always apparent, and his tempo just right. This is a book that could be assigned with confidence that students won't put it down after ten pages of hopeless slogging. Most importantly, students and teachers alike will find it exciting and valuable because it consistently returns . . . to questions of how and why.
—Matthew C. Stewart, American Studies International

An excellent, elegantly written overview.
—History Today

A well-documented assessment of the elements that explain our involvement and disenchantment with Vietnam.
—Virginia Quarterly Review

From the Publisher

A well-documented assessment of the elements that explain our involvement and disenchantment with Vietnam.

Virginia Quarterly Review

An excellent, elegantly written overview.

History Today

Of great practical use for courses which focus on the Vietnam War or on twentieth-century American history... Levy's prose is eminently readable, his focus always clear, the connections between major points always apparent, and his tempo just right. This is a book that could be assigned with confidence that students won't put it down after ten pages of hopeless slogging. Most importantly, students and teachers alike will find it exciting and valuable because it consistently returns... to questions of how and why.

American Studies International - Matthew C. Stewart

Levy's brief but wide-ranging book offers an overview of the major cultural issues, foreign policy concerns, social movements, and political anxieties that shape debates in the United States surrounding the Vietnam War.

Journal of American History