The complete idiot's guide to the Vietnam War / by Timothy P. Maga

Includes bibliographical references ([319]-320) and index

Part 1: The Not-So-Good War -- 1. Discovering Vietnam -- Why Vietnam? -- Saigon is not a Detroit suburb -- A short history of French rule -- The first Cold War -- Parlez-vous Francais? -- Vietnam for the Vietnamese -- Just shoot me -- 2. Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh -- A George Washington for Vietnam -- The influence of Phan Boi Chau -- A legend begins -- Nationalism, Communism, opportunism -- The real Ho Chi Minh -- Ho and Lenin -- The RYL -- Ho's Hong Kong honeymoon and Hoover's depression -- The Hong Kong platform -- The American home front -- The arrest of a radical -- Franklin Roosevelt -- a Ho Chi Minh for America? -- As the world turns -- 3. Uncle Ho meets Uncle Sam -- Ho gets charisma -- Let's dance! Ho Chi Minh and Franklin Roosevelt -- The beginning of a beautiful friendship? -- Free Vietnam! -- Eleanor does Vietnam? -- Ho meets Harry -- 4. Thirty Years War, Act One -- Harry, Goofy, and Dewey -- Truman and Chiang -- Report from Vietnam -- Gone with the wind and Brother Charles -- France fights the last war -- The French offensive -- An appeal to America -- 5. Destiny at Dienbienphu -- Why dominoes are scary -- Ferreting out the Red menace -- Un-American affairs -- "The forgotten war" not forgotten -- Foolish Frenchmen -- Dienbienphu -- France folds -- This is the end

Part 2: How to make a quagmire -- 6. Thirty Years War, Act Two -- The Bao Dai boogie -- The Geneva Conference -- Enter Bao Dai -- The violence continues -- Our man Diem -- Lightning Joe and Colonel Ed -- A new, sexy profile -- 7. Kings of corruption -- Don't you trust them Commies! -- All in the family -- The Can Lao -- The new South Vietnam -- Ho the terrorist -- SEATO -- Why Americans are "ugly" -- The quiet American -- The good America -- Where are ye, Ho? -- 8. The military-industrial complex -- Won't you play with me? -- Getting it together in South Vietnam -- Spontaneous uprisings -- NLF reforms -- Laos and Vietnam -- Phouma, Phoui, and Phoumi -- The Commies creep closer -- A statesman to the rescue? -- 9. Enter the New Frontier -- Can't you see that big red "S" under my shirt? -- Kennedy's presidential bid -- Kennedy's can-do team -- Getting the job done -- Where is "Layous?" -- Who will rid me of this troublesome man? -- Diem's weaknesses -- Losing Diem -- 10. The American lake -- Johnson's inheritance -- So you want to be a millionaire? -- Dollars and sense -- The new Pacific community -- Please speak Japanese, if you please -- Brother Bobby and Vietnam -- Brother Teddy and Vietnam -- The copy machine breaks down -- 11. The other Vietnam? -- Down with Sukarno -- Sukarno and the Dutch -- "Guilded democracy" -- The West Irian problem -- American charisma meets Indonesian charisma -- Stumbling blocks to peace -- The Pope case -- Vietnam War or Indonesia War? -- A war in Vietnam IS good enough for me

Part 3: Escalation -- 12. Holding the beachhead -- Legend sounds better than act -- Myths and reality -- Complexity and contradiction -- Ho gets ready -- America tries to get ready -- Murmurs in the Pacific -- Johnson visits the Pacific -- Vacation in Vietnam -- War can ruin a good night's sleep -- 13. All the way with LBJ -- America goes to the dogs? -- LBJ, Texas populist -- Texas politics -- Johnson's rising star -- Beating Kennedys -- The wicked truth -- Throwing out the leftovers -- Westmoreland to the rescue -- ARVN on the ropes -- Uncle Lyndon, your good buddy -- 14. Thirty Years War, Act Three -- World War II commitment? -- Controversy in the Tonkin Gulf -- The "facts" -- Stepping carefully -- The Tonkin Gulf Resolution -- "Grandma's nightshirt" -- The two dissenters -- Mr. Right meets Landslide Lyndon -- 15. Death in Pleiku -- Big Minh and the wrath of Khanh -- A doubting Nelson -- Terror at the Brinks Hotel -- Pleiku, my old country home -- Pleiku is Vietnamese for Alamo -- The White House strikes back -- Springtime in Vietnam -- 16. March to victory? -- Guns and butter -- The early opposition speaks -- Westmoreland asks for more -- High tech vs. low tech -- Who should we bomb today? -- What's happened to the bad guys? -- 17. The young Turks and the search for victory -- Ky is the key? -- "Many flags" -- Like a ROK -- What are friends for? -- Victory under the palms -- The Dominican Republic invasion -- A hint of things to come?

Part 4: No light in the tunnel -- 18. Question authority -- Those good old days -- As American as apple pie -- Tom Hayden -- Of Weathermen and Hippies -- Fulbright vs. Johnson -- Endless war -- 19. The art of lying -- Hubert's "Great adventure" -- The government has two faces -- Westmoreland on Capitol Hill -- A national election -- Winning and losing at the same time -- "On the run" -- Seesaw campaigns -- Victory nears? -- 20. The Tet offensive -- The big "showdown" -- America is surprised -- The horror show -- Turning points -- Landslide Lyndon retires -- 21. The battling Democrats and Campaign '68 -- Getting "clean for Gene" -- The rise of McCarthy -- New Hampshire speaks -- Rough road ahead -- What about George? -- Good Bobby, evil Hubert, and a November defeat -- 22. Thirty Years War, the final act -- You can trust "Tricky Dicky" -- Henry the K. and Vietnamization -- Henry Kissinger -- Vietnamization -- The protesters vs. the Great Silent Majority -- "Vietnamization" in action -- Hamburger Hill -- Publicizing Vietnamization -- A legend is born -- 23. Cambodia -- Things keep falling apart -- Spiro Agnew -- The My Lai Debate -- Flash dance in Cambodia -- "Patton" blunders -- The Kent State tragedy -- A warning shot from Congress -- 24. Watergate -- Laos and the uneasy calm -- Daniel Ellsberg feels your pain -- I'm the president, and you're not -- From Quang Tri to Watergate -- McGovern -- "Tricky Dicky" takes a hike

Part 5: Defeat and renewal -- 25. Coming home -- Let's go to China -- Let's go to Paris -- Christmas bombs bring a New Year's peace -- The "decent interview" begins -- A Ford, not a Lincoln -- 26. The fall of Saigon -- Final days -- Chaos rules -- Thieu's suspicions -- You storm, I'll drizzle -- The War Powers Act -- Bad days for Henry -- Don't forget the flag -- 27. Hollywood goes to Vietnam -- The taboo topic -- Trailblazing movies and TV -- A few good superheroes -- Magnum, P.I. -- Norris and Stallone -- Francis and Oliver go to Vietnam -- 28. The road to normalization -- What Vietnam? -- Jimmy Carter looks for a policy -- Ronald Reagan sees an "Evil Empire" -- Bill Clinton wants to build an embassy -- Welcome back to Vietnam -- Pete Peterson, POW -- Future tense -- Appendixes: -- A. Casualty figures for the Vietnam war -- B. Jarhead Jargon glossary -- C. Recommended reading

Chronicles the Vietnam War, discussing its causes, the goals and strategies of each American president involved, the U.S. home front and antiwar movement, and the war's cultural and political legacy