Vietnam War: References & Edit History
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Assorted References
- all-volunteer force
- American amnesty program
- coverage on television in the U.S.
- Indochina wars
- Kent State shooting
- major references
- presidential election of 1968
- Selective Service Acts
- Selective Service System
- Twenty-sixth Amendment
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
SIDEBAR
- The Vietnam War and the media
- Vietnam War POWs and MIAs
foreign policy of
United States
- In 20th-century international relations: Total Cold War and the diffusion of power, 1957–72
- In 20th-century international relations: Cold War assumptions and the quagmire
- domino theory
- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- Nixon administration
- Pentagon Papers
history of
- Cambodia
- Cold War
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Laos
- United States Army
- Viet Minh
- In Viet Minh
opposition by
- Abzug
- In Bella Abzug
- Ali
- In Muhammad Ali
- Baez
- In Joan Baez
- Berrigan
- Chicago Seven
- Chomsky
- Church
- In Frank Church
- Ellsberg
- Fonda
- In Jane Fonda
- Fulbright
- Hayden
- In Tom Hayden
- hippie movement
- In hippie
- Kent State University students
- King
- Kitt
- In Eartha Kitt
- McCarthy
- McGovern
- O’Neill
- Rankin
- Russell
- Spock
- Students for a Democratic Society
- Symington
portrayal in
- Halberstam’s books
- motion pictures
- O’Brien’s novels
- In Tim O’Brien
role of
- Abrams
- African Americans
- Bundy
- Cronkite
- Ho Chi Minh
- Humphrey
- Johnson, Harold
- Johnson, Lyndon B.
- Kissinger
- Le Duc Tho
- In Le Duc Tho
- Lodge
- McNamara
- Nguyen Cao Ky
- Nixon
- Rusk
- In Dean Rusk
- Thanom Kittikachorn
- Vance
- In Cyrus Vance
- Vo Chi Cong
- In Vo Chi Cong
- Vo Nguyen Giap
- Westmoreland
warfare
chemical warfare
- Agent Orange
- In Agent Orange
- In defoliant
- air defense systems
- armour
- asymmetrical warfare
- game theory
- guerrilla warfare
- Gulf of Tonkin incident
- Hanoi
- Ho Chi Minh Trail
- logistics
- MiG aircraft
- In MiG
- My Lai Massacre
- missiles
- rules of engagement
- smart bombs
- In smart bomb
- Tet Offensive
- total war
- In total war
Additional Reading
General overviews in print and video
William S. Turley, The Second Indochina War: A Short Political and Military History, 1954–1975 (1986), is the best short introduction to political and military developments in Vietnam. The best general account of the Vietnam War from the American perspective is George C. Herring, America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975, 4th ed. (2002). The North Vietnamese perspective is found in The Military History Institute of Vietnam, Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975, trans. by Merle L. Prebbenow (2002).
The following exhaustive television documentaries, based on hours of film footage and personal interviews, are available on video: Vietnam—A Television History (1983), produced by WGBH Boston for the Public Broadcasting Service; and Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War (1980), written by American war correspondent Peter Arnett.
Beginning and end of American involvement
On the origins of American involvement, an innovative approach is found in Mark Philip Bradley, Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919–1950 (1995, reissued 2000). The leadership of U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson is probably the one aspect of the war to which the most books have been devoted. Two recent works of this type are David Kaiser, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson and the Origins of the Vietnam War (2000); and Fredrik Logevall, Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam (1999). On the fall of South Vietnam and the end of the Vietnam War, there are two excellent books by authors with firsthand experience of the period: Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia (1983, reissued 1999); and Frank Snepp, Decent Interval: An Insider’s Account of Saigon’s Indecent End (1977, reissued 2002).
Conduct and nature of the war
Eric M. Bergerud, The Dynamics of Defeat: The Vietnam War in Hau Nghia Province (1991, reissued 1993), is the best explanation of how the Viet Cong won the war in the countryside. On the ground and air wars, respectively, two books are Ronald H. Spector, After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (1993); and Earl H. Tilford, Jr., Setup: What the Air Force Did in Vietnam and Why (1991).
Memoirs and biographies
Among the best of many good works in this category are Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (1988, reissued 1998); Tim O’Brien, If I Die In a Combat Zone (1969, reissued 2003); Bui Tin, Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel, trans. by Judy Stowe and Do Van (1995, reissued 1999); Troung Nhu Tang, A Vietcong Memoir (1985); and Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey from War to Peace (1989, reissued 2002).
Ronald H. SpectorArticle Contributors
Primary Contributors
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Article History
Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
---|---|---|---|
CBC update. | Mar 14, 2024 | ||
Top Questions updated. | Apr 14, 2023 | ||
Link added. | Feb 01, 2023 | ||
Add new Web site: New Zealand history - Vietnam War. | Nov 30, 2022 | ||
Add new Web site: CNN - Vietnam War Fast Facts. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
Add new Web site: The Balance - Vietnam War Facts, Costs and Timeline. | Mar 13, 2022 | ||
Add new Web site: NCpedia - The Vietnam War: A Timeline. | Mar 13, 2022 | ||
Media added. | Jul 06, 2021 | ||
Corrected display issue. | Sep 10, 2020 | ||
Media added. | Feb 14, 2020 | ||
Deleted videos. | Nov 01, 2019 | ||
Add new Web site: American Historama - Vietnam war facts. | Jan 16, 2019 | ||
Revised date of change of command from Westmoreland to Abrams. | Nov 14, 2018 | ||
Corrected display issue. | Mar 09, 2017 | ||
Add new Web site: Digital History - Overview of the Vietnam War. | Dec 04, 2016 | ||
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Vietnam War. | Dec 04, 2016 | ||
Media added. | Oct 28, 2016 | ||
Add new Web site: History Learning Site - Vietnam War. | Jul 22, 2016 | ||
Add new Web site: HistoryNet - Vietnam War. | Jul 22, 2016 | ||
Revised to mention the PROVN study and the issue of U.S. POWs after the war. | Jan 29, 2016 | ||
Media added. | Jan 29, 2016 | ||
Added video. | May 08, 2015 | ||
Clarified the beginning of U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam. | Sep 25, 2014 | ||
Add new Web site: History Learning Site - The Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Facts of the Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
Add new Web site: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of English - Modern American Poetry - About the Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
Add new Web site: GlobalSecurity.org - Vietnam War. | Nov 23, 2012 | ||
Added photograph. | Jul 21, 2011 | ||
Add new Web site: The Patriot Files - Dedicated to the Preservation of the U.S. Military History. | Jul 26, 2010 | ||
Add new Web site: The Patriot Files - Dedicated to the Preservation of the U.S. Military History. | Jul 26, 2010 | ||
Changed "coming to terms with defeat in its longest and most controversial war" to "coming to terms with defeat in what had been its longest and most controversial war." | Jun 07, 2010 | ||
Added images of U.S Marines in Vietnam circa 1965. | Jan 04, 2010 | ||
Added videos of a speech by Richard Nixon and coverage of the Paris peace talks. | Sep 02, 2009 | ||
Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - The Second Indochina War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
Added new Web site: World History International - Vietnam War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
Added new Web site: Ohio History Central - Vietnam War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - History - Vietnam War. | Nov 25, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: The History Place - The Vietnam War. | Jul 30, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: Think Quest - The Vietnam War. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: VietnamWar.com - Vietnam War History. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: Ohio History Central - Vietnam War. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: Spartacus Educational - Vietnam. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
Article revised and updated. | Apr 17, 2008 | ||
Added new Web site: US Army Center for Military History - The U.S Army in Vietnam. | Oct 03, 2007 | ||
Added new Web site: Vassar College - The Wars for Viet Nam: 1945 to 1975. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - American Experience - Vietnam Online. | Sep 15, 2006 | ||
Added new Web site: World History International - Vietnam War. | Aug 03, 2006 | ||
Added new Web site: Vietnam: Yesterday and Today. | Jun 02, 2006 | ||
Article revised. | Dec 10, 2004 | ||
Article revised. | May 17, 2002 | ||
Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |