Discusses the origins and legacy of the Vietnam War and its impact on the United States.

From 1787 the author traces the ebb and flow of U.S. diplomatic, economic, and strategic interests in Vietnam. Amply illustrated with excerpts from contemporary correspondence and official documents, the research shows Vietnam's intricate relationship with China, the gradually increasing commercial involvement of the Western powers, and the impact of Japan's expansionist policy. Map and illustrations. Chronology of events and index.

A sort of nebulous sad thing happening forever and ever : childhood socialization to the Vietnam War -- Why couldn't I fight in a nice, simpler war? : comic books and Mad magazine -- Who bombed Santa's workshop? : militarizing play with commercial war toys -- One of the most agonizing years of my life : knowing someone in Vietnam -- Mom tried to make it for us like he wasn't even gone : father separation and reunion -- God bless dad wherever you are : POW/MIA -- How come the flags around town aren't flying at half-mast? : Gold Star children -- Yes, I am My Lai, but My Lai is better than Viet Cong! : Vietnamese adoptees and Amerasians.

This book examines the unfolding new relationship between Vietnam and the United States (US) since the end of the Cold War, discussing how the relationship has emerged as one of the most intriguing facets of the regional geopolitical landscape and how the two countries turned from staunch adversaries to partners within the span of four decades after the end of the Vietnam War. It explains in particular the interplay between international relations factors, such as the US' rivalry with China, and domestic factors in both countries, which, the book argues, are crucial to understanding the changing relationship. Overall, the book provides many insights into Vietnamese foreign policy and a rich context for those seeking to understand the prospects of closer Vietnam-US ties or actually trying to broaden the vistas of bilateral cooperation between Hanoi and Washington.

This new edition masterfully explains the origins and outcome of America's war in Vietnam by focusing on its local dimensions.

In this study of the encounter between Vietnam and the United States from 1919 to 1950, Mark Bradley fundamentally reconceptualizes the origins of the Cold War in Vietnam and the place of postcolonial Vietnam in the history of the twentieth century. Among the first Americans granted a visa to undertake research in Vietnam since the war, Bradley draws on newly available Vietnamese-language primary sources and interviews as well as archival materials from France, Great Britain, and the United States. Bradley uses these sources to reveal an imagined America that occupied a central place in Vietnamese political discourse, symbolizing the qualities that revolutionaries believed were critical for reshaping their society. American policymakers, he argues, articulated their own imagined Vietnam, a deprecating vision informed by the conviction that the country should be remade in America's image. Contrary to other historians, who focus on the Soviet-American rivalry and ignore the policies and perceptions of Vietnamese actors, Bradley contends that the global discourse and practices of colonialism, race, modernism, and postcolonial state-making were profoundly implicated in--and ultimately transcended--the dynamics of the Cold War in shaping Vietnamese-American relations.