Why The Vietnam War?: Nuclear Bombs and Nation Building in Southeast Asia, 1945-1961

by Michael Swanson

Why did the Vietnam War begin? When most Americans today think of the Vietnam War they think of the period of time between the years surrounding 1966 to 1969, because that is when most American soldiers actually went to Vietnam so it persists in the collective memory of their culture. It is the period portrayed the most in movies about the war and documentaries too even though in reality the conflict over Vietnam actually began in 1945 when the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam was founded and lasted until its victory over South Vietnam in 1975. For instance, the popular Ken Burns ten episode TV series on the war released in 2017 had only one episode devoted to the time period 1945 to 1961. The series was more about the culture wars that began during those years of peak American involvement in the war and less about the causes of the war much less any real lessons that can be drawn from it, but this is also the period that most books about the war focus on too. It is hard for you to know why the Vietnam War happened without understanding how the United States first became involved in region from 1945 to 1961 before President Kennedy even sent advisors to Vietnam. That is why this book starts right at the beginning to answer the question why did the Vietnam War really begin? This highly anticipated book by the author of the well reviewed and popular The War State answers this question using the documented record, including some new files never used in a book before. After you finish this book you may never view the war the same way ever again.

Genres: History, The United States Of America, War, Asia

447 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2021

Reviews

[Jim Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Swanson talks a LOT about the interactions between people who aren't as well remembered today, but were important to the policies that came out of that period. People like McGeorge Bundy, Walt Rostow, lots of Army Generals and Navy Admirals like Radford, Wheeler and of course, Curtis LeMay. His overall theme was practically everyone was encouraging Kennedy to widen the war in SE Asia, and Kennedy kept saying no combat troops, no combat troops, no no no. There was a civil war in Laos that I was previously unaware of that occupied the attention of the movers and shakers of the time before anything really got going in South Vietnam. The book was a list of meetings, incidents, opinions and personalities. It seemed like it wasn't leading up to any sort of conclusion, and more of just a retelling of events.

[Milo Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing. Dives deep into the released Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam war, navigating through the complicated mess of war-state bureaucracy. The behind closed-door decisions made by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Johnson, and more are discussed in this read as well as their specific, significant impacts. I particularly liked how it shed light on just how important the French war with Vietnam was prior to the following Vietnam-American war, as well as the importance of Laos as a moving chess piece in the fight for European control of then Indochina.

[Phil Kelley]

This is an important history of the Vietnam War, covering the period before the war started, something often neglected in other histories. This book illustrates the thesis of the author's other book, War State. It suffers from the same problems as that book - no index, no bibliography, poorly edited, etc. The footnotes seem even more inconsistent than War State.

Still, this is a worthwhile book to read. It makes a strong case that the Vietnam War could have been avoided if the government had not become an arm of the military-industrial complex.

[Brian Earle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise treatment of what led to the U.S. military in Viet Nam.

A must read for those seeking an understanding of discussions taking place about China and Indochina prior to U.S. military involvement in Viet Nam.

[Frank J Rauscher · Rating 5 out of 5]

not bad.

But a bit repetitive and disjointed vis a vis timelines. I know it hard to do a linear one. Overall, Prose is easy to read and involves most parties to the conflict buildup. It’s a useful contribution. Look forward to next one.

[Dennis Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fills a lot of gaps in

Very well written and informative about early Vietnam war plans and discussions. Damn scary how cavalier the war planners were about using nukes then!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough and Well Reasearched

This was a great book to set a foundation for the beginning of the US aim Viet Nam. The references alone make it valuable.

[Janet Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly written, detailed, author walks you through the whole thing.