Roots of the Vietnam War - Beginnings of an American Tragedy
On Feb 9th, 1965, the first U.S. Combat troops landed in Vietnam, a Marine Corps air defense missile battalion deployed to Da Nang by President Johnson. The lessons of history were lost. Fredrik Logevall's brilliant Embers of War is an emotional roller-coaster in how the U.S. became embroiled in it's longest, costliest war.
Top Recommendation for February
Embers of War, by Fredrick Logeval, (2012 - 861 pp)
Award-winning history of the century leading to the Vietnam conflict beginning with French colonialism, young Ho Chi Mi Minh's amazing early life.
Such a great book. And one that makes clear for all the role of French colonialism starting in the 1850’s, the remarkable character of Ho Chi Minh as a champion for his people, the saga of Dien Bien Phu and roles of Ike, JFK and the other misguided cold-warriors. If we had only known.