The Lowdown: A Short History of the Origins of the Vietnam War: (The Lowdown)

In this concise history of the origins of the Vietnam War, Dr David Anderson, Professor of History at California State University, Monterey Bay, examines the events that led to one of the most controversial wars the US has ever known and succinctly explains, for a new generation, why this conflict still matters today.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Why the Vietnam War Matters A Vietnamese Jefferson or a Vietnamese Lenin? Nam Is a Place, Not Just a War Chapter 2: France Failed First East Collides with West Vietnam for the Vietnamese The French War in Vietnam Chapter 3: Enter the Americans Why Did the Americans Care about Vietnam? Exit the French The Ngo Dinh Diem Solution To Build a Nation in South Vietnam Chapter 4: The American War in Vietnam Kennedy's War Johnson's War America's War The Vietnam War Then and Now

About the Author :
Dr. David L. Anderson is Professor of History at California State University, Monterey Bay. He was Dean of the College of University Studies and Programs at CSUMB from 2004 to 2007. Previously he was Professor of History and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Indianapolis, where he taught from 1981 to 2004. A specialist in the history of U.S. relations with East and Southeast Asia, he is a past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR). He has served on the editorial boards of Diplomatic History and the Vietnam Documentation Project of the National Security Archive. He is general editor of the book series, "Vietnam: America in the War Years," published by Rowman and Littlefield. He is the author or editor of ten books: Imperialism and Idealism: American Diplomats in China (1985), Trapped by Success: The Eisenhower Administration and Vietnam (1991), Shadow on the White House: Presidents and the Vietnam War (1993), Facing My Lai: Moving Beyond the Massacre (1998), The Human Tradition in the Vietnam Era (2000), The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War (2002), The Human Tradition in America since 1945 (2003), The Vietnam War (2005), The War That Never Ends: New Perspectives on the Vietnam War (2007), and The Columbia History of the Vietnam War (2011). Trapped by Success received the Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize from SHAFR. The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War earned a "Best of the Best" designation from the American Library Association and the American Association of University Presses and an "Outstanding Academic Title" listing from Choice magazine. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in Washington, D.C., named him the CASE Professor of the Year for the state of Indiana in 1991. He has a BA degree in history from Rice University and MA and PhD degrees in history from the University of Virginia. He was in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970 and served in Vietnam as a sergeant in the Signal Corps.

Review :
'The most complete account of the origins of the War that i've ever read. A great job, by turns subtle in its political analysis and gripping in its narrative. As an esteemed history scholar and a vetran of the conflict David is able to deliver the facts and provide the right amount of humanity required to make this a first class read for all.' Amazon reader review, UK.