The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War (Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures)

More than a quarter of a century after the last Marine Corps Huey left the American embassy in Saigon, the lessons and legacies of the most divisive war in twentieth-century American history are as hotly debated as ever. Why did successive administrations choose little-known Vietnam as the "test case" of American commitment in the fight against communism? Why were the "best and brightest" apparently blind to the illegitimacy of the state of South Vietnam? Would Kennedy have pulled out had he lived? And what lessons regarding American foreign policy emerged from the war?The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War helps readers understand this tragic and complex conflict. The book contains both interpretive information and a wealth of facts in easy-to-find form. Part I provides a lucid narrative overview of contested issues and interpretations in Vietnam scholarship. Part II is a mini-encyclopedia with descriptions and analysis of individuals, events, groups, and military operations. Arranged alphabetically, this section enables readers to look up isolated facts and specialized terms. Part III is a chronology of key events. Part IV is an annotated guide to resources, including films, documentaries, CD-ROMs, and reliable Web sites. Part V contains excerpts from historical documents and statistical data. Part I Historical Narrative -- 1 Studying The Vietnam War -- 2 Vietnam: Historical Background -- Roots Of The Vietnamese Culture And State -- The Impact Of French Colonialism -- The Rise Of Vietnamese Nationalism -- The Origins Of Vietnamese Communism -- 3 United States: Historical Background -- Idealism And Realism In U.s. Foreign Relations -- The United States And The Open Door In Asia -- World Wars: The Legacies Of Wilson And Munich -- The Origins Of The Cold War -- 4 The French War In Vietnam -- The August Revolution -- Outbreak Of The Franco-vietminh War -- U.s. Support Of France In Indochina -- Dienbienphu And The Geneva Conference -- T The Diem Years: Eisenhower -- Decision To Back Ngo Dinh Diem -- The Non-election Of 1956 -- The Illusion Of Nation Building -- Nlf: Rise Of The Southern Insurgency. 6 The Diem Years: Kennedy -- Counterinsurgency Warfare -- The Buddhist Crisis -- The Diem Assassination -- What If Kennedy Had Lived? -- 7 The American War In Vietnam: Escalation -- The Gulf Of Tonkin Incident -- Rolling Thunder -- Johnson Decides On A Land War In Asia -- Theories Of Causation -- 8 The American War In Vietnam: Strategy -- The Draft -- Attrition Strategy And Body Count -- Humpin' It: The American Soldier -- The Air War -- Diplomacy -- The Resilient Enemy -- 9 The American War In Vietnam: The Limits Of Power -- The Tet Offensive -- The Antiwar Movement And The Media -- Johnson's Decision To Stop Escalation -- The Presidential Election Of 1968 -- 10 The American War In Vietnam: De-escalation -- Vietnamization And More Bombing -- Cambodia And Kent State -- Negotiations And The Paris Peace Accords -- Drv Victory In 1975 -- 11 The War That Will Not Go Away -- The Postwars In Southeast Asia -- American Vietnam Veterans -- Films, Fiction, And Poetry -- Postmortems -- Part Ii The Vietnam War From A To Z -- Part Iii Chronology -- Part Iv Resource Guide. 2 History Of Southeast Asia And U.s. Foreign Relations -- General History Of Vietnam -- History Of U.s. Foreign Relations -- The French Indochina War -- Laos And Cambodia -- The Diem Years -- 4 North Vietnam And The Vietcong -- 5 Escalation Of The American War -- The Gulf Of Tonkin Incident -- Lyndon Johnson's Decisions For War -- 6 The American Way Of War -- Military Operations And Overviews -- My Lai Massacre -- Pacification And Counterinsurgency -- International Setting -- 7 Limits Of American Power -- Antiwar Movement -- American Politics And Economy -- Television And The Press -- The Tet Offensive -- The End Of The American War -- Richard Nixon's War And Diplomacy -- The End Of South Vietnam -- 9 The Legacy Of The Vietnam War -- Lessons And Postmortems -- Literarture, Movies And Music -- American Cultural Myths And The National Identity -- 10 Films And Documentaries -- 11 Electronic Resources -- Part V Appendices. David L. Anderson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [197]-243) And Index. Films And Documentaries: P. [244]-246. More than a quarter of a century after the last Marine Corps Huey left the American embassy in Saigon, the lessons and legacies of the most divisive war in twentieth-century American history are as hotly debated as ever. Why did successive administrations choose little-known Vietnam as the "test case" of American commitment in the fight against communism? Why were the "best and brightest" apparently blind to the illegitimacy of the state of South Vietnam? Would Kennedy have pulled out had he lived? And what lessons regarding American foreign policy emerged from the war? The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War helps readers understand this tragic and complex conflict. The book contains both interpretive information and a wealth of facts in easy-to-find form. Part I provides a lucid narrative overview of contested issues and interpretations in Vietnam scholarship. Part II is a mini-encyclopedia with descriptions and analysis of individuals, events, groups, and military operations. Arranged alphabetically, this section enables readers to look up isolated facts and specialized terms. Part III is a chronology of key events. Part IV is an annotated guide to resources, including films, documentaries, CD-ROMs, and reliable Web sites. Part V contains excerpts from historical documents and statistical data