{"product_id":"vietnam-the-history-of-an-unwinnable-war-19451975-modern-war-studies","title":"Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War  1945-1975 (Modern War Studies)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Vietnam war continues to be the focus of intense controversy. While most peopleliberals  conservatives  Democrats  Republicans  historians  pundits  and citizens alikeagree that the United States did not win the war  a vocal minority argue the opposite or debate why victory never came  attributing the quagmire to everything from domestic politics to the press. The military never lost a battle  how then did it not win the war?  Stepping back from this overheated fray  bestselling author John Prados takes a fresh look at both the war and the debates about it to produce a much-needed and long-overdue reassessment of one of our nations most tragic episodes. Drawing upon several decades of research-including recently declassified documents  newly available presidential tapes  and a wide range of Vietnamese and other international sourcesPradoss magisterial account weaves together multiple perspectives across an epic-sized canvas where domestic politics  ideologies  nations  and militaries all collide.  Prados patiently pieces back together the events and moments  from the end of World War II until our dispiriting departure from Vietnam in 1975  that reveal a war that now appears to have been truly unwinnabledue to opportunities lost  missed  ignored  or refused. He shows howfrom the Truman through the Eisenhower  Kennedy  Johnson  and Nixon administrationsAmerican leaders consistently ignored or misunderstood the realities in Southeast Asia and passed up every opportunity to avoid war in the first place or avoid becoming ever more mired in it after it began. Highlighting especially Ikes seminal and long-lasting influence on our Vietnam policy  Prados demonstrates how and why our range of choices narrowed with each passing year  while our decision-making continued to be distorted by Cold War politics and fundamental misperceptions about the culture  psychology  goals  and abilities of both our enemies and our allies in Vietnam.  By turns engaging narrative history  compelling analytic treatise  and moving personal account  Pradoss magnum opus challenges previous authors and should rightfully take its place as the most comprehensive  up-to-date  and accurate one-volume account of a war thatjudging by the frequent analogies to the current war in Iraqhas not yet really ended for any of us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44984645255221,"sku":"ByrdShop_0700616349","price":21.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780700616343.jpg?v=1770840230","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/vietnam-the-history-of-an-unwinnable-war-19451975-modern-war-studies","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}