Nixon, Ford and the Abandonment of South Vietnam [Paperback]

J. Edward Lee (Author), H. C. Haynsworth (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786413026 | ISBN-13: 978-0786413027 | Publication Date: April 2002

South Vietnam fell because of events occurring thousands of miles away from the battlefields—in China, the Soviet Union, Latin America, the Middle East, and Washington's corridors of power, along protest lines, and around America's dinner tables. These other wars being fought by American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford profoundly impacted what happened in Vietnam.

This work examines those other conflicts and the political, social, and economic factors involved with them that distracted and crippled the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and led to the eventual abandonment of the U.S.-supported South Vietnamese regime. Nixon entered office with the goal of bringing the world together, but saw that goal ruined by the 1973 war in the Middle East, preoccupations with China and the Soviet Union, a weak economy, Watergate, and his disgraceful exit from the White House. Ford's presidency was tainted almost from the beginning because of the pardon he granted to Nixon, but the American public, tired of war and concerned about the economy, was ready to hear that the war had come to an end. An argument is presented that the war could have been won if the "other wars" had been fought by presidents willing to honor the American commitment to its allies in South Vietnam.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this overview of the final years of the Vietnam War, Lee (South Carolina in the Civil War) and Haynsworth (retired, business administration, Winthrop Univ.) focus on the political and foreign policy maneuverings of Presidents Nixon and Ford, arguing that they distracted from the war effort. The result is generally evenhanded, but both Presidents are nevertheless faulted for not defeating the enemy as did Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Civil War and World War II, respectively. However, South Vietnam, unlike the United States, was not a country with a longtime democratic tradition but rather a geographic entity established by the 1954 Geneva Treaty. Nixon lost the moral credibility to lead America in war because he betrayed the public and Congress. Ford, a more decent man, knew what Nixon knew: by 1975 the public and Congress would no longer support a military role in Southeast Asia. Neither president led a public motivated to defeat the enemy, as Lincoln and Roosevelt had. Though it concentrates on the political realm, this book contains some harrowing first-person accounts from those who stayed or were left behind in South Vietnam once the Americans departed in 1973. Larry Berman's No Peace, No Honor is a more thorough investigation of Nixon's diplomatic duplicity. This work may be considered for larger public libraries and academic collections. Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An excellent account of events in-country from 1973 until the final evacuation...recommended. All levels/collections" -- Choice

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Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786413026
• ISBN-13: 978-0786413027
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,886,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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