1st Edition

The Origins of the Vietnam War

By Anthony Short Copyright 1990

    This study examines the origins of the Vietnam War itself, going back to the nature of French colonial rule in the early 20th century. It investigates the original conflict between France, as well as the United States, and the forces of Vietnamese nationalism and communism.

    It argues that it was probably a mistake for the United States to internationalize the war in 1954 and it discusses the American commitment to the war, directed as much against China as against North Vietnam and the ideological hostility to communism.

    Chapter 1 Ho Chi Minh and the French: National Communism? 1920–1946; Chapter 2 Acheson and the Entangling Alliance: 1946–1952; Chapter 3 Dulles at the Brink: 1952–1954; Chapter 4 The Ashes of Geneva: 1954; Chapter 5 Diem and the National Liberation Front: 1954–1960; Chapter 6 Kennedy's Frontier: Wars of National Liberation: 1961–1963; Chapter 7 Johnson's Choice: 1963–1965; concl Conclusion;

    Biography

    Anthony Short

    " . . . excellent and extremely readable . . . of much general interest as well as considerable specialist appeal."
    — Royal Society of Asian Affairs