Chapter 1 Introduction: The United States and Vietnam
1. Introduction
2. Overview of the War
3. Overview of the Debates on the Vietnam War
Chapter 2 Vietnam and Foreigners before 1953
1. Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese Nationalism
2. The United States and Vietnam, 1941–5
3. The Reasons for the Early American Involvement in Vietnam
4. 'These Situations ... Have a Way of Snowballing'
5. Key Debates on the Truman Years
Chapter 3 Eisenhower and Two Vietnams
1. Ho, Giap and the French Failure in Indochina
2. Dienbienphu – the Debate over American Intervention
3. The Geneva Conference on Indochina, 1954
4. Two Vietnams and Two Leaders
5. Assessment of Eisenhower’s Policy
6. Key Debates
Chapter 4 'Vietnam is the Place' – the Kennedy Crusade (1961–3)
1. Introduction: Kennedy's War?
2. Kennedy’s Early Ideas about Vietnam
3. The President and his Advisers
4. Kennedy’s Actions in the Third World
5. Kennedy and Diem
6. Conclusions
7. Key Debates
Study Guide
Chapter 5 'Johnson's War'?
1. Why Johnson Continued US involvement in the War
2. How Johnson Was Able to Escalate the War
Vietnam?
4. 'Where Are We Going?'
5. Historians and 'Johnson's War'?
Study guide
Chapter 6 Why the USA Failed: I – The People in Vietnam
1. The Vietnamese
2. The Americans
3. Key Debates
Chapter 7 Why the USA Failed: II - US Politicians and People
1. Problems with Johnson’s Aims and Methods
2. Why and How Johnson was Forced to Retreat
3. Johnson’s Last Months
4. Conclusions about Johnson and the War
Study Guide
Chapter 8 1969–73: Richard Nixon – Diplomatic Genius or Mad Bomber?
1. The Transformation of a Cold Warrior?
2. President Nixon
3. 1969–71
4. 1972 – Getting Re-elected
5. Assessment of Nixon’s Vietnam Policy
6. Key Debates
Study Guide
Chapter 9 Conclusions
1. Summarising the Debates
2. The Effects of the War
3. The Lessons of the Vietnam War
Glossary
Index