Vietnam War: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
General overviews in print and video
William S. Turley, The Second Indochina War: A Short Political and Military History, 1954ā1975 (1986), is the best short introduction to political and military developments in Vietnam. The best general account of the Vietnam War from the American perspective is George C. Herring, Americaās Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950ā1975, 4th ed. (2002). The North Vietnamese perspective is found in The Military History Institute of Vietnam, Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the Peopleās Army of Vietnam, 1954ā1975, trans. by Merle L. Prebbenow (2002).
The following exhaustive television documentaries, based on hours of film footage and personal interviews, are available on video: VietnamāA Television History (1983), produced by WGBH Boston for the Public Broadcasting Service; and Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War (1980), written by American war correspondent Peter Arnett.
Beginning and end of American involvement
On the origins of American involvement, an innovative approach is found in Mark Philip Bradley, Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919ā1950 (1995, reissued 2000). The leadership of U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson is probably the one aspect of the war to which the most books have been devoted. Two recent works of this type are David Kaiser, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson and the Origins of the Vietnam War (2000); and Fredrik Logevall, Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam (1999). On the fall of South Vietnam and the end of the Vietnam War, there are two excellent books by authors with firsthand experience of the period: Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia (1983, reissued 1999); and Frank Snepp, Decent Interval: An Insiderās Account of Saigonās Indecent End (1977, reissued 2002).
Conduct and nature of the war
Eric M. Bergerud, The Dynamics of Defeat: The Vietnam War in Hau Nghia Province (1991, reissued 1993), is the best explanation of how the Viet Cong won the war in the countryside. On the ground and air wars, respectively, two books are Ronald H. Spector, After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (1993); and Earl H. Tilford, Jr., Setup: What the Air Force Did in Vietnam and Why (1991).
Memoirs and biographies
Among the best of many good works in this category are Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (1988, reissued 1998); Tim OāBrien, If I Die In a Combat Zone (1969, reissued 2003); Bui Tin, Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel, trans. by Judy Stowe and Do Van (1995, reissued 1999); Troung Nhu Tang, A Vietcong Memoir (1985); and Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Womanās Journey from War to Peace (1989, reissued 2002).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Ronald H. Spector
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Vietnam War. | Jul 26, 2026 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 27, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - POW / MIA. | Jul 11, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: PBS - American Experience - The M.I.A. Issue. | Mar 20, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: PBS Newshour Classroom - Journalism in Action - Vietnam: Search for the Truth. | Feb 14, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 13, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Pritzker Military Museum and Library - Prisoners of War during Vietnam. | Feb 07, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Pennsylvania - ScholarlyCommons - Vietnam and the Press (PDF). | Dec 20, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Arms Control Association - Robert McNamaraļæ½s logical legacy. | May 30, 2024 | ||
| Link added. | Feb 01, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: New Zealand history - Vietnam War. | Nov 30, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: CNN World - Vietnam War Fast Facts. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: NCpedia - The Vietnam War: A Timeline. | Mar 13, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Balance - Vietnam War Facts, Costs and Timeline. | Mar 13, 2022 | ||
| Media added. | Jul 06, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Sep 10, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 14, 2020 | ||
| Deleted videos. | Nov 01, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: American Historama - Vietnam war facts. | Jan 16, 2019 | ||
| Revised date of change of command from Westmoreland to Abrams. | Nov 14, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 09, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Vietnam War. | Dec 04, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Digital History - Overview of the Vietnam War. | Dec 04, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 28, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: HistoryNet - The Vietnam War: Facts, Dates, and Information About America?s Most Controversial Conflict. | Jul 22, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: History Learning Site - Vietnam War. | Jul 22, 2016 | ||
| Revised to mention the PROVN study and the issue of U.S. POWs after the war. | Jan 29, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 29, 2016 | ||
| Added video. | May 08, 2015 | ||
| Clarified the beginning of U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam. | Sep 25, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: History Learning Site - The Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of English - Modern American Poetry - About the Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Facts of the Vietnam War. | May 19, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: GlobalSecurity.org - Vietnam War. | Nov 23, 2012 | ||
| Added photograph. | Jul 21, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Patriot Files - Dedicated to the Preservation of the U.S. Military History. | Jul 26, 2010 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Patriot Files - Dedicated to the Preservation of the U.S. Military History. | Jul 26, 2010 | ||
| Changed "coming to terms with defeat in its longest and most controversial war" to "coming to terms with defeat in what had been its longest and most controversial war." | Jun 07, 2010 | ||
| Added images of U.S Marines in Vietnam circa 1965. | Jan 04, 2010 | ||
| Added videos of a speech by Richard Nixon and coverage of the Paris peace talks. | Sep 02, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: World History International - Vietnam War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - The Second Indochina War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Ohio History Central - Vietnam War. | Mar 23, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - History - Vietnam War. | Nov 25, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The History Place - The Vietnam War. | Jul 30, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Ohio History Central - Vietnam War. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: VietnamWar.com - Vietnam War History. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Think Quest - The Vietnam War. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Spartacus Educational - Vietnam. | Jul 29, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Apr 17, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: US Army Center for Military History - The U.S Army in Vietnam. | Oct 03, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Vassar College - The Wars for Viet Nam: 1945 to 1975. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - American Experience - Vietnam Online. | Sep 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: World History International - Vietnam War. | Aug 03, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Vietnam: Yesterday and Today. | Jun 02, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 10, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | May 17, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |