Authors: Edward Dole, Samuel Lipsman, Terrence Maitland, Stephen Weiss
Publisher: Boston (U.S.A)
Language: English
Size: 23.5 x 29 (cm)
Quantity: 192 pages
Year: 1982
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South Vietnam and the national reunification on April 30th, the Library of the Vietnam National Museum of History respectfully introduces to readers a book titled America Takes Over, which is one of twelve publications of THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE written by American authors.
In America Takes Over, you are about to begin a two-part journey through the early years of the Vietnam War – 1965 to 1967 – in the next two volumes of THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE, America Takes Over and A Contagion of War. In these books we recount the events that led to the quandary of late 1967 – the leaders and strategists, their debates and decisions, the enemies and allies, and the American troops whose fate lay in the balance.
In the book, the authors focus on the high-level political and military decisions behind America's "big build-up" of men and materiel between 1965 and 1967 and their application on the battle field. By ordering the first American combat troops to Vietnam in spring 1965, President Johnson had demonstrated U.S. resolve to fight communism in Southeast Asia. His advisers and America's top military officers now turned to the question of how to pursue the fight.
In America Takes Over you will read General William Westmoreland's answer to that question and discover why it became so controversial. Why did a leading military historian later write that General Westmoreland's "strategy of attrition" was "irrefutable proof of the absence of any strategy." America Takes Over gives you the facts you will need to judge for yourself. It shows you how that strategy worked, taking you the length of South Vietnam on "search and destroy" missions, the instruments of U.S. strategy.
America Takes Over also covers the air war strategy, formulated by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and approved by President Johnson, who selected many of the bombing targets himself. You will also read about the beginnings of protest in the United States and around the world. Readers can find many valuable images taken by American combat photographers in this publication as well.
Protesters from universities across the country throng to the steps of the Capitol on April 17, 1965, for the first mass protest in Washington, part of a nationwide protest organized by the Students for a Democratic Society. (An image from the book)
The book includes following contents:
Chapter 1: War Footing
Chapter 2: LBJ: Commander in Chief
Chapter 3: Search and Destroy
Chapter 4: The “Other” War
Chapter 5: Three Battles
Chapter 6: The International Front
Chapter 7: The War Comes Home
Chapter 8: A Year of Momentum?
Readers can find the publication America Takes Over at the Library of the Vietnam National Museum of History (25 Tong Dan Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam).
It’s a great pleasure to inform readers!
Mai An (summarized)