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The War for South Viet Nam, 1954-1975 Revised Edition
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Anthony James Joes
Book Code: C6806
ISBN: 0-275-96806-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-96806-9
224 pages, maps
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 3/30/2001
List Price: $125.00 (UK Sterling Price: £70.00)
Availability: Out of stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Paperback Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This book fills a niche in the increasing number of texts on the Vietnam War as it provides a short, readable volume for the novice student written from a `revisionist' (i.e., centrist/conservative) perspective. Among its many strengths are:(1)it is accessible to the nonspecialist, (2) it provides the background in Vietnamese history and politics and the long origins of the conflict necessary to understand the context of American involvement, (3) it affords balanced insight into the contending military forces without romanticizing the Communist guerrillas, (4) it incisively critiques inadequate American military strategy and tactics, (5) it assesses honestly the problems, successes, and failures of building a viable political order in South Vietnam, and (6) it daringly challenges the `prevailing wisdom' on a wide range of issues and offers a provocative conclusion....A good volume for high school and public libraries as well as academic collections.
    —Choice
  • In an interesting, fast-paced, and well-written analysis, Anthony James Joes successfully melds the Vietnam War revisionist historian's emphasis on the inability of American and South Vietnamese leaders to understand the political dimensions of the Vietnam War with the post-revisionist historian's focus on looking at the conflict from a Vietnamese viewpoint.
    —Military History of the West     Vol. 33 2003
  • ...the author has provided a highly readable survey of the political events of the period. His work would make an excellent college survey textbook for a course on the history of the Vietnam War....will provide an excellent basis to start any such future discussion.
    —Air Power History     Winter 2001
  • ...This is a useful book, one in line with new revisionist writings...
    —Infantry
  • ...Joes' presentation is dispassionate, clear, and plausible, as he takes the reader quickly and skillfully from the Viet Minh War in 1954 to the fall of Saigon in March 1975. The moderate level of detail he employs makes the book ideal for the classroom use.
    —ORBIS
Description: Like the widely praised original, this new edition is compact, clearly written, and accessible to the nonspecialist. First, the book chronicles and analyzes the twenty-year struggle to maintain South Vietnamese independence. Joes tells the story with a sympathetic focus on South Viet Nam and is highly critical of U.S. military strategy and tactics in fighting this war. He claims that the fall of South Viet Nam was not inevitable, that an abrupt and public termination of U.S. aid provoked a crisis of confidence inside South Viet Nam that led to the debacle. Students and scholars of military studies, South East Asia, U.S. foreign policy, or the general reader interested in this fascinating period in 20th century history, will find this new edition to be invaluable reading. After discussing the principal American mistakes in the conflict, Joes outlines a workable alternative strategy that would have saved South Viet Nam while minimizing U.S. involvement and casualties. He documents the enormous sacrifices made by the South Vietnamese allies, who in proportion to population suffered forty times the casualties the Americans did. He concludes by linking the final conquest of South Viet Nam to an increased level of Soviet adventurism which resulted in the invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. military build-up under Presidents Carter and Reagan, and the eventual collapse of the USSR. The complicated factors involved in the war are here offered in a consolidated, objective form, enabling the reader to consider the implications of U.S. experiences in South Viet Nam for future policy in other world areas.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface: The Challenge of Viet Nam
  • Viet Nam Before 1945
  • The Viet Minh
  • The First Indochina War 1946-1954
  • After the Partition
  • The Viet Cong
  • Fighting Guerrillas
  • The Overthrow of President Diem
  • The ARVN from Dien Bien Phu to Tet
  • The Great Tet Offensive
  • Vietnamization: From the Parrot's Beak to the Easter Offensive
  • The United States in Viet Nam: Some Reflections
  • South Viet Nam on Its Own: 1973-1975
  • The Last Days of South Viet Nam
  • Conclusion: Viet Nam and the Future
  • Epilogue 2001: South Viet Nam's Defeat Revisited
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 00-058006
LCC Class: DS557
Dewey Class: 959
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