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Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975 (Modern War Studies) Hardcover – April 21, 2009
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John Prados
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Print length696 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherUniversity Press of Kansas
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Publication dateApril 21, 2009
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Dimensions6.5 x 2.25 x 9.5 inches
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ISBN-100700616349
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ISBN-13978-0700616343
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Prados directly engages, and in many cases, demolishes, a host of shibboleths about the war. But this is no mere polemic. Rather, Prados's powerfully presented and meticulously argued account, buttressed by a staggering amount of documentary evidence, meets the most exacting standards of scholarship. His sweeping history forms the capstone of more than three decades of careful research and measured reflection on the Vietnam War. . . . It may be the single most important book yet written on the Vietnam conflict."--American Historical Review
"A remarkable achievement [and] one of the most significant books published on Vietnam in the last decade."--Journal of Military History
"This is the book [on the Vietnam War] we've been waiting for. . . . It definitely establishes itself as the new standard."--Vietnam
"This important and provocative work should be read by anyone studying the war, whether in academia or from personal interest."--Library Journal
"If you only had to have one book on the Vietnam War, this is the one."--The Veteran
"An awe-inspiring achievement in epic form."--Lloyd Gardner, author of Pay Any Price: Lyndon Johnson and the Wars for Vietnam
"One of the country's most distinguished historians has written a veritable international history of America's long war in Vietnam. Utilizing a trove of declassified documents from archives in the U.S. as well as Vietnam, John Prados contributes to the historiography of the war by providing context for why the war was unwinnable. This book is a terrific read, full of revelations, astute interpretations, and historical documentation--the recipe for a classic because it advances our understanding of history."--Larry Berman, author of Perfect Spy: The Extraordinary Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent and No Peace No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger and Betrayal in Vietnam
"Prados has given us a great gift--a fresh, original, and fascinating synthesis of a long and complicated war by one of the nation's foremost experts."--Christian G. Appy, author of Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides
"A monumental work of passionately engaged scholarship, written in an easy, conversational style. There is no other history of the war quite like it."--Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990
"Should be read by the lawmakers and opinion leaders who habitually babble on about the 'lessons of the Vietnam War.'"--Ronald Spector, author of After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam
From the Back Cover
"A monumental work of passionately engaged scholarship, written in an easy, conversational style. There is no other history of the war quite like it."--Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990
"Should be read by the lawmakers and opinion leaders who habitually babble on about the 'lessons of the Vietnam War.'"--Ronald Spector, author of After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam
"An awe-inspiring achievement in epic form."--Lloyd Gardner, author of Pay Any Price and The Long Road to Baghdad
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : University Press of Kansas (April 21, 2009)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 696 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0700616349
- ISBN-13 : 978-0700616343
- Item Weight : 2.79 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 2.25 x 9.5 inches
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Best Sellers Rank:
#369,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #358 in Southeast Asia History
- #746 in Vietnam War History (Books)
- #18,156 in United States History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Some of the interesting facts/surprises one can find in the book include:
1. The United States was forking out 40% of the cost of the French war against Vietnam by the time the Eisenhower administration began. Amazingly, (tactical) nuclear weapons were proposed by the this administration to assist the French in the conflict.
2. It was Eisenhower, and not Nixon, who first initiated counterintelligence programs to "identify and discredit" American citizens who were against the conflict.
3. 80% of the South Vietnamese were Buddhists, but Catholics played a supportive role in the South Vietnamese government under Diem.
4. Michigan State University was involved in a "population control" strategy in South Vietnam. The author omits the details of this strategy however.
5. The National Security Agency now supports the notion that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was completely false.
6. Norman Schwarzkopf was a senior adviser of ARVN paratroops.
7. Great Britain had an embassy in Hanoi throughout the conflict, and traded actively with the North Vietnamese (this is very surprising to read). France also maintained diplomatic ties with North Vietnam during the conflict.
8. The decision to not invade North Vietnam was due to fears about instigating a wider war with the Soviet Union or China.
9. Truman set up a Psychological Strategy Board to manipulate public opinion on the Cold War, which was later used by Walt Rostow to manipulate opinion on the Vietnam conflict.
10. Johnson instructed the FBI to find out which student protestors obtained federal scholarship money.
11. There were apparently mutinies in the U.S. Army towards the later years of the war, one being the "Route 9" mutiny.
12. An actual U.S combat division was deployed in Washington several times to handle protests against the conflict.
The role of technology in the Vietnam conflict is also brought out in the book:
1. Helicopters quickly transferred soldiers from one place to another, which explains the difference in actual "fighting hours" in Vietnam versus say World War II.
2. The first use of laser guided munitions from aircraft.
3. The seeding of clouds to flood Vietnamese rivers.
4. The use of defoliants to clear dense forests in order to better observe North Vietnamese troop movements.
Opinions or statements by the author that should have been left out of the book:
1. That the press were frequently "paper soldiers" in support of the conflict.
2. That Johnson ordered intelligence agencies to "stimulate" events that he thought would divert the attention of war protestors. The author gives no evidence for this.
3. That the Army Security Service monitored U.S. civilian communications along with disrupting them. No evidence for this is given.
Top reviews from other countries
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