Vietnam Documents American And Vietnamese Views

Fifty documents, including Vietnam's declaration of independence in 1945, the final declaration of the 1954 Geneva Conference, CIA reports, US presidential addresses, anti-war leaflets, thoughts by Vietnamese and American intellectuals, and statements by the Vietnamese government and NLF. Paper edit

Ideal for classroom use, this book contains fifty-two readings -- mostly primary sources -- that present a complete picture of the conflict in Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. All sides are represented: the Vietnamese Communists, both northern and southern; the pro-U.S. South Vietnamese; and the U.S government, as well as various antiwar Americans. Substantial chapter introductions by the editor place each reading context.

Provides a comprehensive narrative history of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, giving full and unbiased treatment. It also discusses why Americans tried so hard to stop the spread of Communism into Indochina. And why they failed. Blending Vietnamese and American political, diplomatic, and military history, this book presents U.S. involvement in southeast Asia as an episode in the forty-year Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It also points out the French effort to reimpose colonialism on Vietnam. The third edition of History of the Vietnam War has been revised to include an expanded account of the postwar period, leading to the restoration of normal relations between the U.S. and Vietnam on July 11, 1995. It reveals the strong national identity of the Vietnamese people against Kennedy, a committed "Cold Warrior". It also analyzes media coverage of the war and the anti-war movement in the U.S., to demonstrate that neither really turned public opinion against the war.

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."

The Vietnam War is an outstanding collection of primary documents related to America’s conflict in Vietnam which includes a balance of original American and Vietnamese perspectives, providing a uniquely varied range of insights into both American and Vietnamese experiences. Includes substantial non-American content, including many original English translations of Vietnamese-authored texts which showcase the diversity and complexity of Vietnamese experiences during the war Contains original American documents germane to the continuing debates about the causes, consequences and morality of the US intervention Incorporates personal histories of individual Americans and Vietnamese Introductory headnotes place each document in context Features a range of non-textual documents, including iconic photographs and political cartoons

Readings and discussion questions present conflicting points of view concerning American involvement in Vietnam.

Publisher description: This landmark volume at last gives us a full picture from both sides of the Vietnam conflict, from Ho Chi Minh's first call for revolution to the fall of the U.S.-backed government in Siagon. Decision-makers whose words come to us in over 300 documents spanning almost 35 years. Many of these documents come from recently declassified U.S. archives. They combine to show the step-by-step process by which Franklin Roosevelt's early support for Vietnamese independence moved in succeeding administrations to support for French colonial rule, and then to our own direct armed intervention. They form a record, too, of changing North Vietnamese policy as hope of peaceful triumph faded and struggle against vast military odds became a necessity. Charged with a sense of tragic inevitability as American misconceptions compounded themselves and North Vietnamese militancy stiffened, this revelatory compliation gives eloquent answers to agonizing questions raised by one of the great turning points of modern history. Here is what really happened. And here is why.