Vietnam War - United States - Political Aspects, Vietnam War - General & Miscellaneous, U.S. Politics & Government - 1968-1977, Post-World War II American History - General & Miscellaneous, U.S. Politics & Government - 1963-1969, 20th Century American His
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Overview
Was the U.S. military prevented from achieving victory in Vietnam by poor decisions made by civilian leaders, a hostile media, and the antiwar movement, or was it doomed to failure from the start? Twenty-five years after the last U.S. troops left Vietnam, the most divisive foreign U.S. armed conflict since the War of 1812 remains an open wound not only because 58,000 Americans were killed and billions of dollars wasted, but because it was an ignominious, unprecedented defeat. In this iconoclastic new study, Vietnam veteran and scholar Jeffrey Record looks past the consensual myths of responsibility to offer the most trenchant, balanced, and compelling analysis ever published of the causes for America's first defeat.Synopsis
Was the U.S. military prevented from achieving victory in Vietnam by poor decisions made by civilian leaders, a hostile media, and the antiwar movement, or was it doomed to failure from the start? Twenty-five years after the last U.S. troops left Vietnam, the most divisive foreign U.S. armed conflict since the War of 1812 remains an open wound not only because 58,000 Americans were killed and billions of dollars wasted, but because it was an ignominious, unprecedented defeat. In this iconoclastic new study, Vietnam veteran and scholar Jeffrey Record looks past the consensual myths of responsibility to offer the most trenchant, balanced, and compelling analysis ever published of the causes for America's first defeat.
Joseph L. Galloway
The one law that was immutable during America's long, bitter and costly involvement in Vietnam was Murphy's: Everything that could go wrong did. There is blame enough to go around, and Jeffrey Record spares no one in this brief but thoughtful examination of all the old arguments and all the old questions. -- The New York Times
Editorials
Joseph L. Galloway
The one law that was immutable during America's long, bitter and costly involvement in Vietnam was Murphy's: Everything that could go wrong did. There is blame enough to go around, and Jeffrey Record spares no one in this brief but thoughtful examination of all the old arguments and all the old questions. -- The New York TimesMax Boot
Although [the] book tells us little that is not already known about the course of the war itself, it does offer a succinct summary of where things stand in the ongoing debate about it. — CommentaryLibrary Journal
Record's (U.S. Strategy at the Crossroads) contributions to Cold War national security and current military historiography have earned the critical respect of soldiers and scholars alike. His latest work represents a major addition to Vietnam War literature. It is a literate and detailed analysis of the American military strategy and political effort, with chapters on the frequently ignored South Vietnamese political, military, and social conditions, the air wars in both North and South Vietnam, the ground war, and the infighting between military factions in the Pentagon and their civilian counterparts. Record's views are based on an extensive background in the era as an academic and as a civilian worker in the Office of Civil Operations for Revolutionary Development Support in South Vietnam. This overview of a still-controversial topic should be considered essential for academic libraries and for advanced readers in public libraries. -- John R. Vallely, Siena College Library, Loudonville, New YorkLibrary Journal
Record's (U.S. Strategy at the Crossroads) contributions to Cold War national security and current military historiography have earned the critical respect of soldiers and scholars alike. His latest work represents a major addition to Vietnam War literature. It is a literate and detailed analysis of the American military strategy and political effort, with chapters on the frequently ignored South Vietnamese political, military, and social conditions, the air wars in both North and South Vietnam, the ground war, and the infighting between military factions in the Pentagon and their civilian counterparts. Record's views are based on an extensive background in the era as an academic and as a civilian worker in the Office of Civil Operations for Revolutionary Development Support in South Vietnam. This overview of a still-controversial topic should be considered essential for academic libraries and for advanced readers in public libraries. -- John R. Vallely, Siena College Library, Loudonville, New YorkBooknews
Vietnam veteran and scholar Jeffrey Record examines the strategic failures of the US military's leadership in Vietnam, presenting four basic reasons for the US defeat and exploring whether a different policy could have prevented defeat.Max Boot
Although [the] book tells us little that is not already known about the course of the war itself, it does offer a succinct summary of where things stand in the ongoing debate about it. -- CommentaryBook Details
Published
January 1, 1998
Publisher
Naval Institute Press
Pages
256
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781557506993