Vietnam War Reexamined

Going beyond the dominant orthodox narrative to incorporate insight from revisionist scholarship on the Vietnam War, Michael G. Kort presents the case that the United States should have been able to win the war, and at a much lower cost than it suffered in defeat. Presenting a study that is both historiographic and a narrative history, Kort analyzes important factors such as the strong nationalist credentials and leadership qualities of South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem; the flawed military strategy of 'graduated response' developed by Robert McNamara; and the real reasons South Vietnam collapsed in the face of a massive North Vietnamese invasion in 1975. Kort shows how the US commitment to defend South Vietnam was not a strategic error but a policy consistent with US security interests during the Cold War, and that there were potentially viable strategic approaches to the war that might have saved South Vietnam.

List of contents

Introduction: understanding the Vietnam War; 1. The Vietnam War in history; 2. Vietnam 101: origins to 1946; 3. Vietnamese communism, 1920-1946; 4. America comes to Vietnam, 1954-1963; 5. The Americanization of the Vietnam War, 1963-1968; 6. The Vietnamization of the war and the 'lost victory'; 7. The Paris Peace Accords to Black April; Summary and epilogue.

About the author

Michael G. Kort is a Professor in the Social Sciences department of Boston University. He is the author of several books, including The Soviet Colossus: History and Aftermath (2010), The Columbia Guide to the Cold War (2001), and A Brief History of Russia (2008).

Summary

Kort goes beyond the dominant orthodox narrative surrounding the Vietnam War, incorporating insight from revisionist scholarship on the war, to provide a comprehensive and concise case that the United States could and should have been able to win the war at far less cost than it suffered in defeat.

Product details

• Authors: Michael Kort, Michael G Kort, Michael G. Kort, Michael G. (Boston University) Kort, Kort Michael G.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9781107628175
• ISBN: 978-1-107-62817-5
• No. of pages: 264
• Series: Cambridge Essential Histories; Cambridge Essential Histories
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Vietnam, Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, HISTORY / United States / General, c 1960 to c 1970, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, c 1970 to c 1979, c 1960 to c 1969, Modern warfare, c 1970 to c 1980, Vietnam War, Specific wars and military campaigns