Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945 – 2010

Where the Domino Fell recounts the history of American involvement in Vietnam from the end of World War II up to 2010; it clarifies the political aims, military strategy, and social and economic factors that contributed to the participants′ actions. Narrated in an accessible and lively style by two distinguished historians, the book explores the legacy of war in the region, and traces step by step how America got involved in the region and pulled deeper into the conflict. This sixth edition has been revised and updated to include a final chapter examining Vietnam through the point of view of the soldiers themselves, and brings the story up to the present day through a look at how the war has been memorialized. There are also additional images and new and improved maps. A final chapter examines Vietnam through the lens of Oliver Stone′s films and opens up a discussion of the War in popular culture. Compact yet substantial, and containing a bibliography, chronology, and glossary to further help students, Where the Domino Fell is an important contribution not only to the study of the Vietnam War but to an understanding of the larger workings of American foreign policy.

Preface  vii Prologue: LBJ and Vietnam  ix 1 Eternal War: The Vietnamese Heritage  1 2 The First Indochina War, 1945–1954  18 3 The Making of a Quagmire, 1954–1960  43 4 The New Frontier in Vietnam, 1961–1963  67 5 Planning a Tragedy, 1963–1965  93 6 Into the Abyss, 1965–1966 117 7 The Mirage of Progress, 1966–1967 138 8 Tet and the Year of the Monkey, 1968  163 9 The Beginning of the End, 1969–1970 190 10 The Fall of South Vietnam, 1970–1975  215 11 Distorted Images, Missed Opportunities, 1975–1995  237 12 Oliver Stone’s Vietnam  257 Selected Bibliography  280 A Vietnam War Chronology  283 Glossary and Guide to Acronyms 292 Index  295 Maps Map 1 Indochina, 1995  xii Map 2 Vietnam, 1945 to 1975 66 Map 3 Major battles of the Tet offensive, January 1968  169

James S. Olson is Distinguished Professor of History at Sam Houston State University, and the recipient of the university′s Excellence in Teaching Award and Excellence in Research Award. He is the author, co–author, editor, or co–editor of more than 30 books, including The Ethnic Dimension in American History , Fourth Edition (with Heather Olson Beal, Wiley–Blackwell, 2010) and Bathsheba′s Breast: Women, Cancer, and History (2002), which won the History of Science Category Award from the Association of American Publishers, and was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as one of the best non–fiction books in America for 2002. Randy W. Roberts is Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University. Among other books he is the author of A Team for America: The Army–Navy Game That Rallied a Nation at War (2012), coeditor of Hollywood′s America: Twentieth–Century America Through Film, Fourth Edition (with Steven Mintz, Wiley–Blackwell, 2010), and coauthor of A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory (with James S. Olson, 2001), My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (with James S. Olson, 1998), and John Wayne American (with James S. Olson, 1996).