Vietnam: A History by Karnow, Stanley - 1983

The Viking Press, 1983. Hardcover. Good/Good. 6th Printing Hard cover in good condition. Text block clean and tight. Book shows some age toning to the papers. No markings noted. Dust jacket in near good condition, shows some rubbing at edges and a small chip at top of spine. * From the book, ""The central theme of Mr. Karnow's book is that America's leaders, prompted as much by domestic politics as by global ambitions, carried the United States into Southeast Asia with little regard for the realities of the region. The Truman administration first set America's course in Vietnam by supporting France's futile effort to reimpose its rule there as a barrier against Communism; then Eisenhower pledged the nation to South Vietnam's defense; John Kennedy and his aides deepened the American commitment by their complicity in a plot that led to the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem; Johnson sent in hundreds of thousands of American troops; Nixon and Kissinger, finally, made the concessions that led to the Communist victory they had for so long, and at such a high price, hoped to prevent. ...is a towering achievement--history with all the drama and excitement one expects from a masterpiece that will be read for generations to come.""