Description
Book SynopsisFocuses on American intervention in Vietnam. Challenging the prevailing myth that the outbreak of large-scale fighting in 1965 was essentially unavoidable, this book argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary, not merely in hindsight but in the context of its time.
Trade Review"A brilliant book." - Kai Bird, Washington Post "Thorough and nuanced, and expressed with admirable clarity. Rarely is diplomatic history so well written these days." - Jack F. Matlock Jr., New York Times Book Review "This book is a triumph of research and a narrative of unusual power that relieves the 'diplomatic Vietnam' from the mouldering archives. The result is a eureka of comprehension, a minor miracle of scholarship and argument. Fredrik Logevall has written a great book. Vietnam studies will never be the same. May he win all the prizes." - Robert Anderson, Philadelphia Inquirer "The finest history to date of America's decisions to escalate war in Vietnam. More than just a Vietnam book, Choosing War offers a rare and beautifully crafted example of how to study a turning point in history." - Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs "Compendious and persuasive." - Jonathan Mirsky, New York Review of Books "Stunning in its research and highly sophisticated in its analysis, Choosing War is far and away the best study we have of Lyndon Johnson's escalation of the conflict in Vietnam." - George C. Herring"
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface List of Abbreviations Used in the Text 1. The Kickoff: 29 August 1963 2. Breaks and Continuities: September to November 1963 3. "I Will Not Lose in Vietnam": November 1963 to January 1964 4. "A Deeply Dangerous Game": February to April 1964 5. Rumblings of Discontent: April to June 1964 6. Campaigns at Home and Abroad: June and July 1964 7. Provocations: August 1964 8. Standing Logic on Its Head: September and October 1964 9. The Freedom to Change: November and December 1964 10. "Stable Government or No Stable Government": January and February 1965 11. Americanization: February to July 1965 12. Choosing War List of Abbreviations Used in the Notes Notes Bibliography Index
