Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life (Problems in American History) [Hardcover]

Robert Buzzanco (Author)

Book Description

Series: Problems in American History | Publication Date: February 3, 1999

The Vietnam War, which dominated American life during the 1960s, helped to create, radicalize, and alter social and political life in the US.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Indochina wars have cast a long shadow over world affairs. For the victims, they were a devastating catastrophe. Their legacy for the United States was substantial, interacting in complex ways with internal developments in American society. Buzzanco's study examines these themes with skill and insight, informed by outstanding scholarship and enriched by perceptive understanding." Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

From the Back Cover

In this concise and lively volume, award-winning author Robert Buzzanco examines the role America played in the Vietnam War and how the consequences of this involvement dramatically changed American politics, culture, and society at a period when the United States was most vulnerable.

Divided into two sections, Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life begins with a history of the emergence of Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese nationalist movement and explains why the United States intervened in Vietnam despite pessimism over American military prospects there. Buzzanco then traces the repeated escalations of the war in the Johnson and Nixon years, and, finally, the causes and consequences of American defeat. Part Two focuses on the major political and social movements of the 1960s: liberalism, civil rights, women's liberation, student activist movements protesting the war, and other youth culture movements. The book demonstrates how domestic mobilization against the war changed US political and social life and these changes gave rise, in turn, to other movements and consequent changes of great significance to American society.

The Vietnam War, which dominated American life during the 1960s, helped to create, radicalize, and alter social and political life in the US. In Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life Robert Buzzanco generates fresh and intriguing insights that will inspire both students and general readers as they approach this dramatically divisive, volatile, and ultimately crucial period of American history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (February 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577180933
• ISBN-13: 978-1577180937
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,485,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life, December 13, 1999

By 

Patrick Conklin (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life (Problems in American History) (Paperback)

Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life designates the aspects of the Vietnam War as well as the political and social movements of the American people during the 1960's. Dr. Buzzanco's main thesis that he is trying to convey is divided into two parts, the Vietnam War and the issues of the 1960's. His first theme on the Vietnam War subject is the United States after World War II tried to become the world leader during their foreign affairs in the Indochina region but failed. The second theme, which deals with the domestic problems in America during this time period, is how the people of the United States erupted into its domestic problems and how they are linked with the war in Vietnam. In the first half of the book, Buzzanco announces his thesis statement, letting the reader know that the first half was all the details of the war. Then he comes back in the second half of the book and describes what was happening at home on American soil. In essence, he has written two documentaries and combined them quite well. He has two points that he is trying to convey, broken up into two halves. Dr. Buzzanco did an astounding job in proving his points. He clearly and strongly showed examples that lead people to believe him. In every major point in both parts of his book, he used clear and precise examples to prove his words correct. He used all second hand information due to the fact that he was born too late to participate in the actual war. But his information was all very accurate and strong. He really did not use any points that criticized anything he was trying to convey in his book. But there could be some rival opinions on various subjects throughout the book. For example in the second part of the book, on page 202 he is trying to blame much of the domestic uprisings on Martin Luther King and the march on Washington. He claims that the march got the African-Americans to strongly disapprove of the war. But the march was more or less strictly on the civil rights issues, not on the war. He was, however, extremely successful at effectively using his sources in a convincing manner. Starting on page 104 and continuing, he shows how American foreign policy on the countries surrounding Vietnam essentially escalated the conflict even further. He does not however; use any examples of others that would give evidence that his points are not true or inaccurate. Some of his issues are controversial and he leads the reader to think that they are not. For example on page 68, he makes it clear to the reader that the war was inevitable even in the early 1960's under JFK's policy. But in reality much could have been done to prevent the conflict from escalating. More or less he is trying to convince the reader that his points are one sided and are not controversial. He seems biased on the fact that he offers nothing on the opposite side of him. All good writers usually give points to satisfy both for and against. All of his points, especially the first half of the book, help to prove his thesis. He pretty much uses strong logical reasoning and uses evidence to support that. Due to Dr. Buzzanco's education level and his astounding credibility and awards his information can be trustworthy. He uses strong examples to prove his thesis and also uses several other points throughout the book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useless, July 1, 2010

By 

Rowan Oak "missrowanoak" (JACKSON, TN, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life (Problems in American History) (Paperback)

The author is clearly biased in some cases. Moreover, there's some shoddy history going on with "maybe" this and referring to Ho Chi Minh as a "nationalist" over and over but never as Communist, which he was. Sure, he was both but the failure to ever refer to him or the VC as communist simply strikes me as an attempt to sway his readers into a belief that they were harmless. They weren't. And while I don't think Vietnam was the right course of action for the US to take, I fail to understand why the author would refer to troops in Vietnam as "stoned" and "demoralized" implying they were always so. Yes, this is true after about '68, but to imply that it was the case for all troops is dangerous and disrespectful.

It's also faulty his assertion that the majority of the US was against US intervention in Vietnam. The majority of Americans were in favor of the US's policy of containment.

Read Stanley Karnow's _Vietnam_ or Michael Hunt's _Lyndon Johnson's War_. This book is pretty biased and seems to be an exercise in language to make Ho Chi Minh an Asian Abe Lincoln.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life-Review, December 9, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life (Problems in American History) (Hardcover)

Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life is an intelligent and informative look into the Vietnam War and how it influenced American life. This book helps you understand better the people, issues, problems, and times of the 1960's and early 1970's and how Vietnam influenced the people, issues, and the problems of that time.If you are not knowledgeable about the Vietnam War, this book explains in great detail the events leading up to the war and the repercussions of the war on Americans and American life and, it will make you understand and create your own opinions about the war.