Vietnam : Explaining America's Lost War.

Intro -- Title page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- 1 From the Streets to the Books: The Origins of an Enduring Debate -- Debating the War, 1965-1968: The Power-Morality Issue -- The Battle of the Books: Doves and Hawks -- Revisionism: The "Noble Cause" and "If-Only" History -- The Orthodox School: A "Mistaken Commitment" and an "Unwinnable War" -- Approaching the Problem: Seven Key Issues -- Summary -- 2 A Necessary War ora Mistaken War? -- Origins of Commitment: Regional and Global Contexts -- The Revisionist Case for the "Necessary War" -- The Orthodox Case for the "Mistaken War" -- Summary -- 3 "Kennedy Exceptionalism," "Missed Opportunity for Peace," or "Lost Victory?": The Movement toward War, 1961-1965 -- The Orthodox Narrative -- The "Quagmire" Interpretation: Leaders Caught in Tragedy -- "Kennedy Exceptionalism": Disengagement as An Alternative to War? -- The Critique of "Kennedy Exceptionalism": JFK as the Cold Warrior -- Johnson and Negotiations: A Viable Alternative to War? -- Johnson as an Ineffective Leader -- The Revisionist Argument: The First "Lost Victory" -- Assessments of Diem's Leadership and North Vietnam's Belligerency -- Summary -- 4 The Revisionist Critique of the "Strategy for Defeat": The Clausewitzian Alternative -- Westmoreland: The "General Who Lost The War" or "Good General, Bad War?" -- The Ground War in South Vietnam: The Limits of Search-and-Destroy -- The Air War against North Vietnam: The Limits of Rolling Thunder -- The Revisionist Position: The Strategy for Victory -- The Response to Revisionism: Ill-Founded and Risky "If-Only" History -- Summary -- 5 The Revisionist Critique of the "Other War": The "Hearts-and-Minds" Prescription for Victory -- Wartime Proponents of the "Other War" -- The Arguments for the Hearts-and-Minds Strategy -- Critique of Hearts-and-Minds: The Limits of American Influence.

Summary -- 6 The Media and the War: Irresponsible or Balanced Journalism? -- Wartime Leaders' Criticism of the Media -- The Revisionist Denunciation of Irresponsible Journalism -- The Response: Supportive and Balanced Reporting -- Summary -- 7 The Tet Offensive: Decisive American Victory or Devastating Loss? -- Revisionism: The Failure to Exploit a Military Advantage -- Orthodoxy: A Crippling Loss -- Summary -- 8 Nixon-Kissinger and the Ending of the War: A "Lost Victory" or "Neither Peace nor Honor?" -- Nixon, Kissinger, and the Origins of Revisionism -- The Revisionist Case for the "Lost Victory" -- The Orthodox "Neither Peace nor Honor" Interpretation -- Summary -- 9 Conclusion: The War's "Lessons" -- The Weinberger- Powell Doctrine -- Petraeus and Counter-Insurgency Doctrine -- Historians and the War's Lessons -- Bibliography -- Index -- End User License Agreement.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.