America Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 Paperback – Import, 4 September 2013

Lucid; panoramic; and not overly long. His research is prodigious; best footnotes I've seen in a long time; and he minces no words when it's time to discuss Nixon and Kissinger. In fact, Herring minces no words when he discusses all our presidents from Truman through Carter. But perhaps his sharpest insights are reserved for Ho Chi Minh and his successor Le Duan, especially the latter. Altogether the best short history of the Vietnam Wars I've read. Herring is both scholarly and opinionated -- and clearly labels each -- and his bibliography provides enough specialized reading for a lifetime. The most recent edition of the book takes advantage of recently opened archives and current scholarly research; and Professor Herring's opinions clearly have not mellowed with age -- a good thing. He even manages some rare bits of humor, here and there, in a book otherwise focused on our worst American tragedy since our Civil War.

Apparently it's possible to get even less than you paid a penny for. The book is tatty, and ex-library judging by the stickers all over it and covered in notes in the margins and unerlining in the text. It's dog eared and has obvious water and nicotine/smoke damage. I suppose i should be grateful that all the pages seem to be present and accounted for. The only good thing i can say is that it came well ahead of the expected delivery date.

This book was required reading for a course I was taking on the Vietnam War. I am grateful to the instructor who included it in the reading list. Eminently readable and comprehensive, this book provides a wide range view of America's war, starting in 1945.I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the Vietnam War.

Presents important information in a reasonable way.

Excellent breakdown of the many facets of the Vietnam War. Extremely informative, easy to read, & while every book has some bias - this one seemed to work hard to present all sides with minimal bias.