Pulitzer-prize winning author David Halberstam's eyewitness account provides a riveting narrative of how the United States created a major foreign policy disaster for itself in a faraway land it knew little about. In the introduction to this edition, historian Daniel J. Singal supplies crucial background information that was unavailable in the mid-1960s when the book was written. With its numerous firsthand recollections of life in the war zone, The Making of a Quagmire penetrates to the essence of what went wrong in Vietnam. Although its focus is the Kennedy era, its analysis of the blunders and misconceptions of American military and political leaders holds true for the entire war.
ISBN-13: 9780742560086
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers - Inc.
Publication Date: 11-09-2007
Pages: 248
Product Dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.09(h) x 0.57(d)
David Halberstam (1934-2007) was the author of 20 books, the last 14 of which have been national best-sellers. His most recent book, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, is about the Chinese entry into the Korean War. He was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in Vietnam and was a member of the elective Society of American Historians.
What People are Saying About This
Robert Dallek
As it did in 1965, Halberstam's book will provoke vigorous discussion. Readers will marvel at how the United States allowed itself to be so misled in South Vietnam and will use the book to make connections to more recent events in the Middle East.
Table of Contents
Introduction Part I: Edging Toward Calamity: Vietnam in the Early 1960s Chapter 1: Coming into a Troubled Land Chapter 2: Latter-Day Mandarins: The Ngo Family Chapter 3: A Strange Alliance: The Americans and Diem Part II: The War in the Delta Chapter 4: In the Field with the ARVN Chapter 5: Finding an Elusive Foe Chapter 6: Disaster: The Battle of Ap Bac Chapter 7: Collapse in the Delta Part III: The Fall of the Diem Regime Chapter 8: The Buddhist Revolt Begins Chapter 9: The Raid on the Pagodas Chapter 10: A Slow Change in American Policy Chapter 11: The Saigon Press Controversy Chapter 12: The Final Days of Ngo Dinh Diem Chapter 13: What Should Be Done in Vietnam? Epilogue: Return to Vietnam
