Annotated Bibliography
Book Source: Berman, Larry. Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Vietnam. U.S.: Penguin Books Ltd., 1982.
This book looks at the decisions faced the men who were in office during the years of the Vietnam War, for example Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy. The book reflects and discusses how the “presidents and advisors looking for a way out of sending American troops to fight and die, yet each unwilling to accept the consequences of such logic.” The author analyzes the politics, processes and leaders that had an impact during the crisis that was the Vietnam War. Berman goes over the factors that led to the decision making, and draws conclusions on why and how the choices were made. He incorporates white house documents, interviews, and manuscripts into his book as evidence. In his book, Berman overall assesses in which direction the United States went, which turned the internal struggle within Vietnam into an American War. Larry Berman is an associate professor of political science at the University of California. I would consider this source a reliable one, as he has a background in the topic of Vietnam, is well educated, and has an updated list of sources. The evidence (documentation) that he provides is well sourced. Just by reading the title, it is obvious that Berman feels the U.S. did not make a wise choice in getting involved with the war, but with this book he is able to voice his own opinion, while using facts from both opposing sides, giving the reader both views on the topic. This book is useful, as it is specifically written about the American involvement in Vietnam (which is what my topic is on), rather than just important dates and events that occurred in Vietnam during the war.
Book Source: Grant, Reg. Atlas of Conflicts: The Vietnam War. Milaukee: Arcturus Publishing Ltd., 2004.
Grant looks at the causes and origin of the Vietnam War. He describes the events that occurred during the war, and analyzes how the war has had an impact on Vietnam and the United States, then and now. The author explores the war between the United States (allied with South Vietnam) and the communist North Vietnam. Grant discusses the roots of conflict in Vietnam, starting with the French taking over the country. He also accounts details of the United States’ developing role in the war to stop communism, the anti war demonstrations within the U.S., as well as their final withdrawl from Vietnam. Grant has written a series of “Atlas of Conflicts” books on Vietnam. I consider this to be a scholarly source, and feel the author is neither objective nor bias. Grant shows no hidden agenda in his writing, and is not trying to persuade the reader of anything. His sources are very recent, which has led me to believe that this book is reliable. It is useful to me as it gives a variety of information about Vietnam, not only political but as well as economical and military impacts. It gives a good history of what happened, as well as the explains the part that the Americans played in the war. The author talks about the impact the war has had on society today, and helps to determine whether the war was worth it or not.
Book Source: Cavendish, Marshall. The Vietnam War: People and Politics. Long Island, NY: Marshall Cavendish Ltd., 1988.
The book describes the history of Vietnam, and the initial takeovers by France and China, as well as it’s rivalries with surrounding countries. It focuses on the motives and view points of the major leaders in the war (for example Ho Ch Minh and his original resentment towards the Geneva Accords). The book talks about the United State’s role in the war, as well as battle tactics used by both Americans and battling Vietnamese. I found this book to be fairly useful, as reading about each leader’s impacts on the war helps me to expand my knowledge of my topic. On the other hand, the book was very generic, and with the exception of the information on the influential leaders, the rest I had already read in previous books. It does not help me to really focus on one side of the U.S.’s conflicting involvement in the war. Marshall Cavendish is a subsidiary company of the Times Publishing Group, and publishes under a variety of brands such as Federal-Marshall Cavendish Education, Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish Academic and Times Books International.
Journal Article: Lomperis, Timothy J. “To a Baghdad Victory via Saigon”. World Affairs 168. 4(2006):147
The purpose of this article is to analyze and compare the similarities between the Vietnam War and the current war in Iraq. Lomperis uses the comparisons to explain how “the wrong nation building strategy that failed in Vietnam can be righted to succeed in Iraq”. In this article, he basically says that those involved in the decision making when approaching Vietnam took the wrong path, which led to defeat, but the right path still exists today, and should be taken to result in victory with Baghdad. I would consider this article scholarly writing, and undoubtedly objective. Despite the author’s objectivity, the information provided is still useful and relates to my topic. It is helpful to look at his perspective and opinion on what the mistakes were that the United States made in Vietnam, and what it is that they should have done. Timothy Lomperis is a professor of political science specializing in international security and Asian studies at the Saint Louis University. He has written three books on the Vietnam War.
Web Site Source: O’Malley, Michael. The Vietnam War and the Tragedy of Containment. 1996. 27 Sep. 2006<http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122vietnam/lecture.html
The site is directed at the foreign policy of “containment”, which was established under the President Harry Truman. The author goes on to explain his arguments and reasons for his belief that the “Truman doctrine” directly led to the war in Vietnam. O’Malley dissuses the premises that the doctrine was based on, which in summary, was that all communist countries were pawns of the Soviet Union, and that all countries were either aligned with the US or the USSR. This author is objective, and admits it, but provides evidence for all of his arguments. I consider this information to be fairly reliable (keeping in mind it’s objectivity), as it is current and is from an educational site. The author, O’Malley, taught at New York University and Vassar College and now teaches at George Mason University where he is Associate Professor of History and Associate Director of the Center for History and New Media. I found this site to be extremely
useful, as it is the first source that I have found which specifically talks about the Truman doctrine, and why the U.S. feared communism and the “domino effect”. My topic is on the United State’s involvement in the war, and whether it was justified. One of the main arguments that justify U.S.’s role was that it was necessary to stop the takeover of communism in Eastern Asia. With this site I am able to understand why the United States was so afraid of communist governments, and whether or not this was a realistic idea.
Book Source: Gibson, James W. The Perfect War: Technowar in Vietnam. U.S.: Library of Congress, 1986.
The author writes of the “technowar” in Vietnam, which he describes as warfare viewed as a production system, where “on the military assembly line careers rose or fell according to the size of the body count, whether the dead were women and children or soldiers”. He discusses how, from a liberal view, the war was the result of “mistakes” by leaders. He examines the war from a unique perspective, and argues that lessons America should have learned in Vietnam are still being ignored today. I found this book to be intriguing, as it discusses who the “enemy” was in the eyes of the military, who used the rule that “if it’s dead and it’s Vietnamese, it’s Viet Cong”. Gibson he goes in depth about how the military did not keep these reasons in mind while fighting and killing innocent people. This site helps to enhance my knowledge of why so many people opposed Vietnam. I consider Gibson’s opinion valid and reliable. He is a Professor of Political Science, and is a Research Associate at the Weirdenbaum center on the economy, government, and public policy. His sources are well documented, although some are not very recent.
Book Source: McNamara, Robert S., James Blight, and Thomas Biersteker. Argument without End. New York: Perseus Books Group, 1999.
In this book, the authors describe where the Americans and North Vietnamese made the crucial mistakes that led to the prolonging of the Vietnam War. Rather than blaming one side, they talk about the misinterpretations between both countries, from Vietnamese and American point of view. This book is a result of meetings between Robert McNamara, his colleagues from the Johnson and Kennedy administrations (Vietnam scholars), and their Vietnamese counterparts. Together, over a four year period, they analyzed decisions and actions made on both sides, and came up with answers to questions such as “Why did so many efforts to end the war fail? Where did we miss opportunities to avoid conflict altogether?”. This book is a great source, as the information it contains explains the intentions of both the Americans and Vietnamese, aiding me in understanding where both countries stood at the time of war, and what their objectives were. This will help me in my thesis especially on the defense panel, as it is very necessary for me to understand what role the Vietnamese played in escalating the war as well. McNamara was secretary of defense to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson,
and is a professor of international relations at Brown University. I consider this book a reliable source, as it contains first hand accounts from men, both Vietnamese and American, who were in positions closely tied to the war. All sources are well documented.
Book Source: Fall, Bernard B. Last Reflections on a War. Garden City, NY: DoubleDay & Company, INC., 1967.
This book is composed of 19 articles and transcripts about the Vietnam war, as well as recorded tape interviews. Some of the articles have to do with Indo-Chinese history, America’s participation in the struggle, Vietnam War accounts, and the real meaning of the conflict. With these different sources, the author who wrote them attempts to relate the Vietnam war to Asian nationalism. What makes this compilation of information so fascinating is that the author, Professor Fall, died in South Vietnam in 1967. These are his own accounts of what he thought about the war at the time the conflict was happening. This primary source is useful as it allows the reader to adjust their mindset to that of a person who was alive when the war was on. I am able to compare his reflection of the war back then, to another one of my sources’ conclusions of the war today. As interesting as this information is, I also have to keep in mind that we know much more today about what went on behind the scenes, when it comes to political decisions that were made, than they did back then. Bernard Fall was a Professor of International Relations at Howard University, and has written four other books on Vietnam.
By: Lauren Spears