The Vietnam War: A Concise International History

225 Pages·2008·1.52 MB·English

by  Mark Atwood Lawrence

THE
V I E T N A M
WAR
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T H E
V I E T N A M W A R
A Concise International History
Mark Atwood Lawrence
1
2008
1
OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther
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Withofficesin
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Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Lawrence,MarkAtwood.
TheVietnamWar:aconciseinternational
history/MarkAtwoodLawrence.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-531465-6
1. VietnamWar,1961–1975.
2. VietnamWar,1961–1975—UnitedStates.
3. Worldpolitics—1945– I. Title.
DS557.7.L3782008
959.704'3—dc22 2007050216
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
acknowledgments
It is my great pleasure to acknowledge the assistance I received
fromnumerousinstitutionsandindividualsinwritingthisbook.I
am grateful above all to the two universities that jointly enabled
me to complete the project under ideal conditions. At Yale
University,IoweanenormousdebttotheDepartmentofHistory,
the International Security Studies program, and Mr. and Mrs.
Landon T. Clay. At the University of Texas at Austin, I wish to
thanktheDepartmentofHistoryandtheCollegeofLiberalArts.
I am especially indebted to Ted Bromund, John Lewis Gaddis,
PaulKennedy,BenKiernan,andJohnMerrimaninNewHaven,
and to David Oshinsky, MichaelStoff,and Alan Tully in Austin.
Iamalsograteful toanumberofindividualswhogenerously
commented on drafts of all or parts of this book. Their sugges-
tionsnotonlytightenedmyanalysisandsavedmefromerrorsbut
also reminded me how fortunate I am to have such supportive
and talented friends and colleagues. My sincere thanks go to
WilliamJ.Duiker,JeffreyEngel,FredrikLogevall,EdwardMiller,
Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Steph Osbakken, Jon Persoff, Andrew
Preston,PaulRubinson,andBradleyWoodworth.Mostofall,Iam
indebted to Christopher Goscha, who meticulously critiqued
the entire manuscript and generously shared his extraordinary
expertise on the Vietnamese side of the war. Thanks also to
vi(cid:1) Acknowledgments
Charles Keith and Helen Pho, who helped track down elusive
information.AtOxfordUniversityPress,SusanFerbermarkedup
everypagewithhertrademarkthoroughnessandshepherdedthe
project to completion with a perfect blend of patience and en-
thusiasm. Christine Dahlin helped immeasurably with the final
stages.
Ialsowishtoacknowledgethemonumentalintellectualdebts
Iowetothosehistorianswhohaveledthewayformanyyearsin
writingabouttheVietnamWar.Ifthisbookhasmerit,itispartly
duetothatfactthatitstands,asSirIsaacNewtonmighthaveput
it,ontheshouldersofgiantssuchasDavidL.Anderson,William
J. Duiker, David W. P. Elliott, Lloyd C. Gardner, George C. Her-
ring,DavidG.Marr,RobertJ.McMahon,RobertD.Schulzinger,
and Marilyn B. Young. I am humbled by their accomplishments
and grateful for their inspiring examples. The book also stands
ontheshouldersofthosewhohavehelpedmeinmorepersonal
ways.Fortheirsupportinthisand somanyother endeavors,my
deepest thanks go to Steph Osbakken; to Jane, Elizabeth, Pris-
cilla,andPatrickMelampy;andtoRobertandElizabethAtwood
Lawrence.
contents
Introduction
1
1. The Road to Revolution
7
2. Colonialism and Cold War
27
3. An Anguished Peace
47
4. Escalation
67
5. War on ManyFronts
91
6. The Tet Offensive
115
7. Ending the American War
137
8. Wars Unending
161
viii(cid:1) Contents
Notes
187
Further Reading
201
Index
205
THE
V I E T N A M
WAR