America in Vietnam 1st Edition

by Guenter Lewy (Author)

10 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195027327

ISBN-10: 0195027329

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Chronicles American involvement in Vietnam, from the 1950s through the 1970s, documenting strategic and tactical failures and reviewing the charges made against the American conduct of the war.

America in Vietnam

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An astute critical analysis of the many ambiguities and complexities concernig the Vietnam War. It is filled with shrewd insights and is characterized by a well-balanced perspective."--Marshall E. Nunn, Glendale Community College

"Extraordinary....[America in Vietnam] will have a profound impact on all subsequent historical writing on Vietnam."--Lucian Pye, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"A splendid book, in many ways the best history of the war yet to appear."--The Economist

"Superbly done. [Lewy has] established a new standard for objective scholarship on Vietnam."--James L. Jablonowski, Marquette University

"An intellectually balanced work that should be the touchstone for future analyses of our Vietnam experience."--Washington Post

"[A] balanced account which corrects many of the myths that were perpetuated during the Vietnam conflict."--Claude R. Sasso, Avila College

About the Author

Guenter Lewy is at University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Emeritus).

Paperback: 560 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (May 29, 1980)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195027329
ISBN-13: 978-0195027327
Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.1 x 5.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 10 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #752 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Mathematics > Geometry
- #2201 in Books > History > Military > United States > Vietnam War
- #3461 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military

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One of the most well researched books I have read on any topic

ByDude12345on July 21, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

An evenhanded account that delves into strategy, policy, tactics, ethics, and social issues, this book provides a great understanding of the Vietnam War. The author is incredibly knowledgeable and backs up any statements with quote of source material. Highly recommend for anyone interested in history.

Note: I know true objectivity is impossible, but the author seems to try, and to let facts lead the way. He probably falls somewhere just left of center. He refutes and argues against the claims of both the right and the left, skewering America morally and intellectually, but defending her legally.

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Just the Facts about America in Vietnam

Bydaveyon July 21, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

By the time researcher-access to the classified documents--upon which this book is based--became available, public opinion had already been shaped by half-truths and purposeful misinformation. Guenter Lewy cared enough about the truth to put together this somewhat dry, but engaging, analysis of the facts surrounding the US's involvement in the Vietnam war. The truthful picture is very different from the mass media story. This is a must-read for anyone desiring a clear understanding of this pivotal time period in American history.

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Facts about U.S. in Viet Nam.

ByFrank/USMCon May 3, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Lewy presents the facts about the U.S. in Viet Nam. Well worth reading. He gives a scholarly account of much essential history as opposed to the distorted propaganda written by supporters of the communist regimes which slaughtered three million people after their 1975 victory.

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Balanced and comprehensive

ByGilagrumpon January 1, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an excellent book for one who wants to understand the Vietnam war. The author seeks balance and objectivity and presents alternative opinions. Perhaps he tilts a bit to support the decisions leading to and during the war but this is the most balanced analysis I have read.

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A unprejudiced view

ByNIKOSon December 7, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Εexcellent book A clear and all round non sensationalist view which looks at the war in the round and not from any biased one sided view

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Still Standing

ByNicholas E. Sarantakeson February 2, 2009

Format: Paperback

A testament to the quality of this highly readable book is the fact that it is still in print thirty years after its initial publication. That is all the more impressive considering that Guenter Lewy began writing this book only a few months after the fall of Saigon. History normally requires the detachment and distance that time offers.

Lewy's central argument is that the United States failed in Vietnam because of the incompetence of its military. The person most responsible for this outcome was General William Westmoreland. Under Westmoreland, Americans sought out and engaged the North Vietnamese Army in big unit, fire-power intensive battles, ignoring pacification where Lewy and North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap believed the war was won and lost. The U.S. Army pursued this strategy out of ignorance, arrogance, and impatience. The Americans wanted to focus on what they did well--what are now called "kinetic operations," which is to say combat,--and ignored things at which take too long and required skills they did not possess--understanding the land, people, and history of Vietnam.

Although Lewy's overall argument is persuasive, putting the onus on Westmoreland is a bit unfair. The General never had command of U.S. Marine Corps or U.S. Air Force assets. Also, as Lewy points out, the flawed operational approach continued under Westy's successor General Creighton Abrams. Lewy also shows that there were several systemic issues that worked against the military. The caliber of officers diminished as the war progressed, because draft deferments allowed the "best and brightest" to avoid duty in Vietnam. The enlisted ranks also began to deteriorate. The heavy drug usage among soldiers was a product of the fact the military was taking more and more individuals who social misfits before they joined the service.

Lewy tackles a number of issue, many of which were and still are emotionally loaded. He dismisses arguments that the war was immoral. All wars are cruel and to focus on the suffering is beside the point. Atrocities happened, but they were never intentional on a large-scale basis. Then enemy had a dirtier record than the United States in this conflict. He also dismisses allegations that the military doctored intelligence reports. This issue became a bone of contention between Westmoreland and CBS News and led to his famous lawsuit in the early 1980s. These charges were floating around long before CBS reported them and Lewy calls them "unfounded," because the disputed figures did not reflect individuals that caught the United States off guard in the biggest surprise of the war, the Tet Offensive (p. 75.)

Despite all these problems, the United States came much closer to winning than most people think. Would pacification have worked? Obviously that is as question that no one can answer, but Lewy makes it clear that the U.S. effort was deeply flawed, and other approaches certainly appear to have had a better chance of victory than the one that was pursued.

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Preachy

ByAmazon Customeron October 28, 2015

Format: Paperback

The author is listed as a Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts. And, that's how this book comes across...a liberal look at the Vietnam War and the morality of our involvement. The books seems geared toward colleage level graduate school debates. Some of the chapters were interesting. But, many of the chapters I found to be rather preachy. For example, was the use of defoliants criminal and against the Geneva Convention? Who cares. Was the use of cluster bomb units and the M16 criminal as one professor claims? Who cares. Did the bombing on North Vietnam...the atrocities committed against the people...American military tactics...violate the Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention with respect to rules of war? Again, who cares? I didn't. Overall, the book really wasn't that bad. But, be aware that it can be a bit preachy with respect to our involvement in Vietnam.

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Most recent customer reviews

A biased view

Long after public opinion had dramatically turned against the war and our military had been ravaged by
over 500,000 AWOL's along with fraggings and mutinies, Lewy arrives on...Read more

Published on March 20, 2014 by Ara Sanjian

Still one the best general studies of the Vietnam War

Lewy's history of the war in Indochina is balanced and judicious.

He is not an apologist for the war, but rather highly critical.Read more

Published on July 22, 2005 by S. Pollock

Still worth reading

Though this book was published in 1978, only three years after Vietnam fell to the Communists, this book says some insightful things about the war in Vietnam and makes many valid...Read more

Published on October 22, 2003 by Schmerguls

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