A Time for Peace: The Legacy of the Vietnam War

by Robert D. Schulzinger

The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal--indeed some scars remain even today. In A Time for Peace , prominent American historian Robert D. Schulzinger sheds light on how deeply etched memories of this devastating conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. Schulzinger examines the impact of the war from many angles. He traces the long, twisted, and painful path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action, the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees into the US, and the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated. Schulzinger looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films and, perhaps most important, he explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. Using a vast array of sources, A Time for
Peace provides an illuminating account of a war that still looms large in the American imagination.

252 pages, Hardcover

First published July 19, 2006

About the author

Robert 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.