Other editions of book The Vietnam War: A Primary Source History

Few Americans would have been able to find Vietnam on a map when the frist U.S. troops arrived there. As history has shown, what was initially put forward as an effort to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia evolved into a military and political quagmire for the United States. As battles raged half a world away, tensions in the U.S. peaked between those who backed the involvement and those who questioned it. For the first time ever, returning veterans were greeted by criticism and hostility for the sacrifices they and their fallen buddies had made for a cause they may not have fully understood but felt committed to defend. Discover what led to the war and to the turning of public opinion against it in the form of massive antiwar protests. Learn how the war and its effects back home changed Americans' attitude toward combat and how the Vietnam experience caused long-lasting changes in U.S. society, plitics, and culture.