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A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941-1975
Even after two decades, the memory of the Vietnam War seems to haunt our culture. From Forrest Gump to Miss Saigon , from Tim O'Brien's Pulitzer Prize-winning Going After Cacciato to Robert McNamara's controversial memoir In Retrospect , Americans are drawn again and again to ponder our long, tragic involvement in Southeast Asia. Now eminent historian Robert D. Schulzinger has combed the newly available documentary evidence, both in public and private archives, to produce an ambitious, masterful account of three decades of war in Vietnam--the first major full-length history of the conflict to be based on primary sources.
In A Time for War , Schulzinger paints a vast yet intricate canvas of more than three decades of conflict in Vietnam, from the first rumblings of rebellion against the French colonialists to the American intervention and eventual withdrawal. His comprehensive narrative incorporates every aspect of the war--from the military (as seen in his brisk account of the French failure at Dienbienphu) to the economic (such as the wage increase sparked by the draft in the United States) to the political. Drawing on massive research, he offers a vivid and insightful portrait of the changes in Vietnamese politics and society, from the rise of Ho Chi Minh, to the division of the country, to the struggles between South Vietnamese president Diem and heavily armed religious sects, to the infighting and corruption that plagued Saigon. Schulzinger reveals precisely how outside powers--first the French, then the Americans--committed themselves to war in Indochina, even against their own better judgment.
Roosevelt, for example, derided the French efforts to reassert their colonial control after World War II, yet Truman, Eisenhower, and their advisers gradually came to believe that Vietnam was central to American interests. The author's account of Johnson is particularly telling and tragic, describing how president would voice clear headed, even prescient warnings about the dangers of intervention--then change his mind, committing America's prestige and military might to supporting a corrupt, unpopular regime. Schulzinger offers sharp criticism of the American military effort, and offers a fascinating look inside the Nixon White House, showing how the Republican president dragged out the war long past the point when he realized that the United States could not win. Finally, Schulzinger paints a brilliant political and social portrait of the times, illuminating the impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Americans and Vietnamese. Schulzinger shows what it was like to participate in
the war--as a common soldier, an American nurse, a navy flyer, a conscript in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, a Vietcong fighter, or an antiwar protester.
In a field crowded with fiction, memoirs, and popular tracts, A Time for War will stand as the landmark history of America's longest war. Based on extensive archival research, it will be the first place readers will turn in an effort to understand this tragic, divisive conflict.
In A Time for War , Schulzinger paints a vast yet intricate canvas of more than three decades of conflict in Vietnam, from the first rumblings of rebellion against the French colonialists to the American intervention and eventual withdrawal. His comprehensive narrative incorporates every aspect of the war--from the military (as seen in his brisk account of the French failure at Dienbienphu) to the economic (such as the wage increase sparked by the draft in the United States) to the political. Drawing on massive research, he offers a vivid and insightful portrait of the changes in Vietnamese politics and society, from the rise of Ho Chi Minh, to the division of the country, to the struggles between South Vietnamese president Diem and heavily armed religious sects, to the infighting and corruption that plagued Saigon. Schulzinger reveals precisely how outside powers--first the French, then the Americans--committed themselves to war in Indochina, even against their own better judgment.
Roosevelt, for example, derided the French efforts to reassert their colonial control after World War II, yet Truman, Eisenhower, and their advisers gradually came to believe that Vietnam was central to American interests. The author's account of Johnson is particularly telling and tragic, describing how president would voice clear headed, even prescient warnings about the dangers of intervention--then change his mind, committing America's prestige and military might to supporting a corrupt, unpopular regime. Schulzinger offers sharp criticism of the American military effort, and offers a fascinating look inside the Nixon White House, showing how the Republican president dragged out the war long past the point when he realized that the United States could not win. Finally, Schulzinger paints a brilliant political and social portrait of the times, illuminating the impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Americans and Vietnamese. Schulzinger shows what it was like to participate in
the war--as a common soldier, an American nurse, a navy flyer, a conscript in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, a Vietcong fighter, or an antiwar protester.
In a field crowded with fiction, memoirs, and popular tracts, A Time for War will stand as the landmark history of America's longest war. Based on extensive archival research, it will be the first place readers will turn in an effort to understand this tragic, divisive conflict.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionWar
416 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
About the author
Robert D. Schulzinger
25 books5 followersRobert D. Schulzinger was on faculty at the University of Colorado, where he taught history and led the Center for International Affairs.
He received SHAFR's 1997 Robert H. Ferrell Prize for A Time for War.
He received SHAFR's 1997 Robert H. Ferrell Prize for A Time for War.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 28, 2018
Written by an academic historian, 'A Time for War' is dry and factual--none of the asides to the experiences of individuals involved except, of course, prominent ones and then only in terms of their professional capacities. Having grown up with the war and being in the midst of Ken Burns' documentary, 'The Vietnam War', I picked this up both as a refresher and as a supplement to other overviews about the subject read previously.
While a freshman in high school I had been assigned a research paper on the war. It was 1965, the year the first regular U.S. combat troops landed, the war previously having been substantially a C.I.A. operation so far as we were concerned, the regular soldiers being deemed 'advisers'. My 'research', such as it was, consisted of picking out those few books the Maine Twp. H.S. South library had on the subject, those being mostly memoirs of Americans who had already served in S.E. Asia. This being so, my attitude was anticommunist and pro-war.
Soon after turning in the paper, I joined in a conversation Dad was having with his mother's husband. They were both critical of the war. Argument ensued. I defended the Johnson administration with heat supplemented with the factoids I'd picked up from the memoirs. Such a political disagreement within the family was unprecedented. I returned home, shaken, staying up late to go through books and magazines at home which might offer further information.
As it turned out, many of the arguments of my elders--such as reference to the Geneva agreements of 1954 and to O.S.S. cooperation with Ho Chi Minh during WWII--were correct. Despite my previous display of arrogant self-assurance, they had known more than I had. My views had changed radically--overnight, as it were.
Within months I accompanied an older friend to a demonstration at the Museum of Science and Industry against their exhibit of the technologies of war employed by our forces in SE Asia. This was to be the first of many, many demonstrations and other actions I participated in until the U.S. withdrawal.
While a freshman in high school I had been assigned a research paper on the war. It was 1965, the year the first regular U.S. combat troops landed, the war previously having been substantially a C.I.A. operation so far as we were concerned, the regular soldiers being deemed 'advisers'. My 'research', such as it was, consisted of picking out those few books the Maine Twp. H.S. South library had on the subject, those being mostly memoirs of Americans who had already served in S.E. Asia. This being so, my attitude was anticommunist and pro-war.
Soon after turning in the paper, I joined in a conversation Dad was having with his mother's husband. They were both critical of the war. Argument ensued. I defended the Johnson administration with heat supplemented with the factoids I'd picked up from the memoirs. Such a political disagreement within the family was unprecedented. I returned home, shaken, staying up late to go through books and magazines at home which might offer further information.
As it turned out, many of the arguments of my elders--such as reference to the Geneva agreements of 1954 and to O.S.S. cooperation with Ho Chi Minh during WWII--were correct. Despite my previous display of arrogant self-assurance, they had known more than I had. My views had changed radically--overnight, as it were.
Within months I accompanied an older friend to a demonstration at the Museum of Science and Industry against their exhibit of the technologies of war employed by our forces in SE Asia. This was to be the first of many, many demonstrations and other actions I participated in until the U.S. withdrawal.
January 8, 2021
Zaskakująco lekka w lekturze historia Wojny w Wietnamie z perspektywy amerykańskiej polityki. Dlaczego weszli, dlaczego tak długo nie wyszli, jak się spierali wewnętrznie i co kierowało decyzjami kolejnych prezydentów.
October 6, 2024
A mildly right-wing perspective on the Vietnam War and the USA’s actions.
March 10, 2019
Great book on the modern history of Vietnam and its conflicts with France and the United states. More diplomatic history than war and battle history, it would make a great compliment to a history of the Vietnam Wars in more detail.
September 2, 2017
This book has to be the most comprehensive, complete account of 1940's-1970's Vietnamese and American History, pertaining thereto, around. Incredibly informative.
October 21, 2024
This book provides a good overview of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. A great starting point for those who want to learn about the conflict without investing too heavily in specifics and minutiae.
August 2, 2026
Detailed, but dry and The author could have provided more insights into how both sides operated, how their daily life looked life and what military force each side had.
July 27, 2009
Time is a major theme in this book. The author emphasises its importance in describing the events of the long Vietnam War. The patience of North Vietnam (they said they had a thousand years to accomplish their goals) is compared to the American sense that time was running out before public war-weariness set in. Time controlled the clockwork of approaching U. S. elections which in turn always affected the pace of military operations and of negotiations. Time was a factor in the perceptions of the individual soldier--the Vietnamese, north and south, in for the duration, the Americans always on a running one-year clock with an ever-so-slowly approaching end of tour. Time affects the reader, too. Schulzinger's narrative is a bit dry in recounting the early years of the conflict. The reader will be rewarded when the war becomes and American one and the author displays his great understanding of and control over his material so that he's able to impart depth to issues as complex as those of the 34-year Vietnam War. To write so clearly, thoroughly, and fluidly about such a complicated reality is impressive. Only stunning authorial command such as this could cover the politics and military aspects of the war in 336 pages while at the same time including economic concerns, the tides of dissent, and how the war affected every segment of American society. This is insightful, balanced history, y'all, and a whale of a book.
October 26, 2013
Parts of this book were interesting but mainly it was a very political look at the American involvement in Vietman. Not much on the social aspect or life of soldiers in the field, which has more of an interest with myself.
May 31, 2010
Diplomatic history of the Vietnam War. Comprehensive and starts (as the title states) in the 1940s. Good background for classroom.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews