The Vietnam War: The History of America’s Most Controversial War
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Jim Walsh
()
About this audiobook
The Vietnam War could have been called a comedy of errors if the consequences weren’t so deadly and tragic. In 1951, while war was raging in Korea, the United States began signing defense pacts with nations in the Pacific, intending to create alliances that would contain the spread of Communism. As the Korean War was winding down, America joined the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, pledging to defend several nations in the region from Communist aggression. One of those nations was South Vietnam.
Before the Vietnam War, most Americans would have been hard pressed to locate Vietnam on a map. South Vietnamese President Diệm’s regime was extremely unpopular, and war broke out between Communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam around the end of the 1950s. Kennedy’s administration tried to prop up the South Vietnamese with training and assistance, but the South Vietnamese military was feeble. A month before his death, Kennedy signed a presidential directive withdrawing 1,000 American personnel, and shortly after Kennedy’s assassination, new President Lyndon B. Johnson reversed course, instead opting to expand American assistance to South Vietnam.
The post-analysis of war is a complicated and process that benefits from hindsight, and the involvement of the United States in Vietnam over about a decade was no exception. Never formally declared as a “war,” the Vietnam War was not fought in clean lines or with clear missions. Viewers of the evening news listening to the “box score” of killed and wounded each night had at best a hazy notion of what was happening a world away in Southeast Asia. If anything, their leaders were both attentive to reelection and on a certain level were themselves unsure of what was truly taking place. A military draft that sent over 50,000 American soldiers to their deaths was triggered by a resolution sought by President Lyndon B. Johnson in a decision to contain communism in a distant Asian land.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pleistocene Era: The History of the Ice Age and the Dawn of Modern Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Vietnam War
Related audiobooks
Fighting After the War: A History of the Most Famous American Battles that Took Place after the Wars Had Ended Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKorean War: A Short Overview of Origins, Tactics, and Outcomes of a War That Shaped History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Traitor: General James Wilkinson's Betrayal of the Republic and Escape from Justice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Start of the Vietnam War: The History and Legacy of the Events that Began America’s Most Controversial War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Edgehill: The History and Legacy of the Opening Battle of the English Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secession of the South: The History of the Confederacy’s Establishment Before the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImperial Germany’s Invasions of France: The History of the German Invasions in the Franco-Prussian War and World War I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe War of the Keys: The History and Legacy of the Military Conflict Between the Holy Roman Empire and the Vatican Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gettysburg Campaign: The History and Legacy of the Civil War’s Most Famous Campaign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRevolutions: Facts and Historical Details of the Russian and American Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Confederacy on the Brink: The History and Legacy of the Battles that Saved the Confederate Cause in 1862 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5America’s First Korean War: The History and Legacy of the United States Expedition to Korea in 1871 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dramatic Rise and Fall of the Portuguese Empire: The History and Legacy of Portugal’s Mercantile Empire across the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Nerva-Antonine Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the Emperors Who Ruled the Roman Empire at Its Peak Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Rome’s Provinces: The History of the Foreign Lands Ruled by the Roman Empire in Antiquity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rus’: The History and Legacy of the Group that Established a Russian State in the Middle Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFighting in World War I: The History and Legacy of Warfare during the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Cloud’s War: The History and Legacy of the Only 19th Century War Won by Native Americans against the United States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Occupation and Liberation of France during World War II: The History of the Decisive Campaigns in 1940 and 1944 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe French Revolution: The History and Legacy of the World’s Most Famous Social Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedieval Europe’s Mercenaries: The History of Hired Soldiers across Europe and the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommodore Matthew Perry: The Life and Legacy of the U.S. Navy Officer Who Opened Japan to the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Conquest to Colony: Empire, Wealth, and Difference in Eighteenth-Century Brazil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe People and the Ballot: A History of American Party Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHollywood’s Favorite Screwball Actresses: The Lives and Legacies of the Women Who Popularized the Comedy Genre Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Strategy Masters: The Prince, The Art of War, and The Gallic Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Agincourt 1415: Field of Blood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Vietnam War
0 ratings0 reviews