The War Within: America's Battle over Vietnam (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: radical caucus, lady bird, parade committee, White House, United States, North Vietnam (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wells's comprehensive examination of domestic opposition to the war in Vietnam chronicles the successes of the anti-war movement. Despite an intensive effort by the U.S. government to disrupt and divide it, the movement of 1964-1973 played a major role in restricting, deescalating and then ending our involvement in Indochina. Wells, a freelance writer, explores the acrimonious debates among high-level hawks and doves in Washington. He analyzes the effect of the movement on war policy, showing how it hindered air and ground operations during the Johnson administration, exerted a substantial impact on Nixon's Indochina policy, had a direct bearing on the deterioration of troop morale and discipline (which provided additional impetus for troop withdrawal), and ultimately led to the Watergate scandal which, as Wells tells it, played a pivotal role in ending the war. This absorbing drama filled with vivid characterizations is an impressive work of scholarship. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This history of protest activities in the United States during the Vietnam War is an important addition to the field. It complements such recent titles as Charles DeBenedetti and Charles Chatfield's An American Ordeal ( LJ 4/1/90), Charles Chatfield's The American Peace Movement (Twayne, 1992), and Melvin Small's Give Peace a Chance (Syracuse Univ. Pr, 1992). Wells concludes that activists failed to recognize their enormous impact on Congress, the White House, and U.S. public opinion and that factional squabbling within Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and similar groups was self-destructive. While the hundreds of interviews with leading antiwar activists and former government officials help show the anguish of both groups, Wells's study ultimately provides a comprehensive look at the peace movement between the years 1965 and 1975. Appendixes include a chronology of events, a list of abbreviations from the period, a list of those interviewed, and a select bibliography. Highly recommended for most libraries.
- Gary D. Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 706 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; illustrated edition edition (April 13, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520083679
• ISBN-13: 978-0520083677
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #580,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid historically, weak analytically, July 18, 2006

By	P. Binh - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is THE most thorough treatment of the Vietnam war's history from the perspective of the ruling class figures who waged the war (McNamara, Kissinger, etc) and individual opponents in the anti-war movement. Students of the Vietnam war, and history students in particular, will benefit greatly from reading this book.

The main weakness of the book, in my opinion, is its analysis, which is weak at best and wrong at worst. After you finish the book, there is no clear explanation as to why the war ended and to what extent the movement was crucial in accomplishing its own goals. Also, in many areas of the book, one of the main radical anti-war organizations, the Socialist Workers Party, is depicted as a dogmatic Marxist sect that repeatedly undermined the movement's unity by fighting liberal or pacifist forces some of whom sought to channel the movement into the Democratic Party. While there is certainly room for criticism of the SWP's role at the time (and I have plenty), the fact of the matter is that without the SWP many, and maybe even most, of the national demonstrations against the war would not have happened at all, or if they did happen, would have been much smaller and less well organized.

People who liked this book should look into getting a few more to round out their understanding of the Vietnam war: a People's History of the Vietnam War by Jonathan Neale is an excellent analysis of the class forces in the U.S. and Vietnam from the end of WWII to the present, it covers the nature of the National Liberation Front in Vietnam and the U.S. anti-war movement, and also talks about the war's impact on Laos, Cambodia, and the U.S. after the war; grab Christian Appy's Working-Class War, which is an analysis and oral history of the working-class kids who became Vietnam GIs; and last but not least, see the new movie Sir! No Sir! which is about GI resistance to the Vietnam war, which has been written out of history because it was THE key element that brought the war to an end.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A balanced and insightful look at American society, August 1, 1998

By	Tino Plank ([e-mail]) (Sonora, CA) - See all my reviews

I was glad to see that Wells took the time to present a balanced perspective that took into account the political backgrounds of all parties involved in the events surrounding the Vietnam War. There are some great interviews which allow some behind-the-scene looks at what both sides were thinking and planning during the war era.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interpretative chronology of the antiwar movement, September 10, 2003

By	Govindan Nair (Vienna, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War Within: America's Battle over Vietnam (Paperback)

If you feel you missed out on the sixties pro or antiwar movements, this book is you chance to vicariously capture the sequence of events, year by year from 1965 to 1975. And if you were a participant, this book will set your experience in some broader context.

Wells provides an almost encyclopedic chronological narrative replete with interviews. Its appearance a few years after the 1991 Gulf War also provides some perspective on how American attitudes have evolved. Wells contends that the American movement against the Vietnam war was perhaps the most successful antiwar movement in history. Nonethelss, America's surprisingly quick victory with minimal casualties in the 19912 Gulf may have reshaped the view of the military option which had haunted American foreign policy since the 1970s.

Wells concludes QUOTE So, while the public remains opposed to the spilling of American blood overseas, it seems prepared to accept - even cheer - the swift, continued use of American force. The Vietnam syndrome continues to give Washington pause. But whether it will prevent other unnecessary conflicts is, sadly, open to doubt UNQUOTE