The Second Indochina War

A Concise Political and Military History

By (author) William S. Turley

Not available to order

Publication date:

17 October 2008

Length of book:

336 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742555259

Now in a thoroughly revised edition, this influential book offers a concise history of the "Vietnam War" as seen by all sides, not just from the American perspective. Retaining its invaluable account of the strategies, perspectives, and internal politics of the Vietnamese Communists based on research in primary documents and interviews in Saigon and Hanoi, this completely updated and expanded edition incorporates the avalanche of documentation and secondary literature in both English and Vietnamese that has appeared over the past two decades. Distinguished scholar William S. Turley traces the conflict from its origins in the colonial period to its aftermath and shows how the local, national, regional, and global layers of conflict blended into a single event of great complexity. He takes a refreshingly objective look at contentious issues and concludes with a penetrating assessment of the claims, justifications, and "lessons" that scholars, statesmen, and strategists have advanced since the war's end.

More information is available on the author's
website.
An admirable success, a book that everyone, from undergraduates to specialists in the field, can read with profit. . . . The book appears to be bias free. The writing and organization are very clear. . . . This reviewer has every intention of using the paperback edition as an undergraduate text, and encourages others to do likewise.