Passing the Torch

The Vietnam Experience #2

by Edward Doyle, Samuel L. Lipsman, Robert Manning

The editors of Time-Life Books have produced another exciting The Vietnam Experience. Raising the Stakes is brought to you in wonderful detail through vivid photography and engaging, informative text.

Genres: History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1982

Reviews

[Robert Alexander Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ Passing the Torch

This volume offers a clear explanation of how responsibility for the conflict shifted from France to the United States, and it helps show why the situation grew more complicated as American involvement expanded. The book covers the political decisions, early advisory roles, and rising tensions in a straightforward way, and the photographs and maps make the material easy to follow. Some sections move quickly and feel more like a summary than a deeper study, but the overall narrative remains useful for readers trying to understand how the war evolved after the French withdrawal. It works well as an introductory account and fits smoothly into the broader series.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Passing the Torch" the First Indo-China war, the rise of Ho Chi Minh in the north, and Nguyen Ngo Diem in the south, and the early commitment of the Kennedy administration to the war. This last section is covered more fully in other books in the series, and as a survivor of Bob Brigham Vietnam War history class, I can say that the Indo-China War and political developments in Vietnam are covered in a comprehensive and balanced way. Another great addition to the series.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise account of the political origins and tactical course of the French war and the subsequent insurgency.

Its chief weakness lies in the simplistic treatment of American decisionmaking after 1958, but it's good at assimilating the insight of various respected voices on the subject.