Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Bandgt;The Definitive Accountandlt;/Bandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Many other authors have written about what they thought happened -- or thought should have happened -- in Vietnam, but it was Henry Kissinger who was there at the epicenter, involved in every decision from the long, frustrating negotiations with the North Vietnamese delegation to America's eventual extrication from the war. Now, for the first time, Kissinger gives us in a single volume an in-depth, inside view of the Vietnam War, personally collected, annotated, revised, and updated from his bestselling memoirs and his book andlt;Iandgt;Diplomacy.andlt;/Iandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Here, Kissinger writes with firm, precise knowledge, supported by meticulous documentation that includes his own memoranda to and replies from President Nixon. He tells about the tragedy of Cambodia, the collateral negotiations with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, the disagreements within the Nixon and Ford administrations, the details of all negotiations in which he was involved, the domestic unrest and protest in the States, and the day-to-day military to diplomatic realities of the war as it reached the White House. As compelling and exciting as Barbara Tuchman's andlt;Iandgt;The Guns of August, Ending the Vietnam Warandlt;/Iandgt; also reveals insights about the bigger-than-life personalities -- Johnson, Nixon, de Gaulle, Ho Chi Minh, Brezhnev -- who were caught up in a war that forever changed international relations. This is history on a grand scale, and a book of overwhelming importance to the public record.
Review
"[Kissinger] is a deft portrayer of his allies and adversaries, and he knows how to make the driest diplomacy surprisingly suspenseful. At times readers may get bogged down in the dense detail, but they will be pulled back by a question that seems particularly relevant in our new imperial age: once the United States gets into a mess like Vietnam, how does it get out?" Evan Thomas, New York Times Book Review
Review
"In addition to being a major player in the events he narrates here, Kissinger is also a scholar of the first rank and a gifted prose stylist. Thus readers interested in the Vietnam period but unfamiliar with Kissinger's previous books will find this new volume worthwhile....[F]actually accurate, eminently informed and masterfully crafted." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Now, for the first time, Kissinger gives us in a single volume an in-depth, inside view of the Vietnam War, personally collected, annotated, revised, and updated from his bestselling memoirs and his book Diplomacy. Many other authors have written about what they thought happened--or thought should have happened--in Vietnam, but it was Henry Kissinger who was there at the epicenter, involved in every decision from the long, frustrating negotiations with the North Vietnamese delegation to America's eventual extrication from the war.
Here, Kissinger writes with firm, precise knowledge, supported by meticulous documentation that includes his own memoranda to and replies from President Nixon. He tells about the tragedy of Cambodia, the collateral negotiations with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, the disagreements within the Nixon and Ford administrations, the details of all negotiations in which he was involved, the domestic unrest and protest in the States, and the day-to-day military to diplomatic realities of the war as it reached the White House.
As compelling and exciting as Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, Ending the Vietnam War also reveals insights about the bigger-than-life personalities--Johnson, Nixon, de Gaulle, Ho Chi Minh, Brezhnev--who were caught up in a war that forever changed international relations. This is history on a grand scale, and a book of overwhelming importance to the public record.
Synopsis
Former Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Henry Kissinger has written about the Vietnam War in his bestselling memoirs and in the highly acclaimed
Diplomacy. Now, drawing on those works and adding substantial new material, he presents a seamless chronicle of the policies and personalities that thrust our nation into war and explains in unprecedented detail the diplomatic efforts he employed both publicly and in private to extricate America from Vietnam.
From his behind-the-scenes role in President Johnson's attempts to negotiate a peace with the North Vietnamese to his key positions as President Nixon's foreign policy and national security adviser and later his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger was at the center of America's involvement in Vietnam. In Ending the Vietnam War, he reveals what actually happened: what was said in high level meetings and in the conversations he had with President Nixon; how policy was made; the thinking behind major decisions regarding the conduct of the war and the negotiations that led to the Paris Peace table; White House reactions to domestic unrest and protest; and much more. Supported by meticulous documentation and filled with sharply observed portraits of significant players, Ending the Vietnam War is the story of the war from one of those who shaped its course.
Synopsis
The Definitive Account Many other
Synopsis
The Definitive Account Many other authors have written about what they thought happened -- or thought should have happened -- in Vietnam, but it was Henry Kissinger who was there at the epicenter, involved in every decision from the long, frustrating negotiations with the North Vietnamese delegation to America's eventual extrication from the war. Now, for the first time, Kissinger gives us in a single volume an in-depth, inside view of the Vietnam War, personally collected, annotated, revised, and updated from his bestselling memoirs and his book Diplomacy.
Here, Kissinger writes with firm, precise knowledge, supported by meticulous documentation that includes his own memoranda to and replies from President Nixon. He tells about the tragedy of Cambodia, the collateral negotiations with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, the disagreements within the Nixon and Ford administrations, the details of all negotiations in which he was involved, the domestic unrest and protest in the States, and the day-to-day military to diplomatic realities of the war as it reached the White House. As compelling and exciting as Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, Ending the Vietnam War also reveals insights about the bigger-than-life personalities -- Johnson, Nixon, de Gaulle, Ho Chi Minh, Brezhnev -- who were caught up in a war that forever changed international relations. This is history on a grand scale, and a book of overwhelming importance to the public record.
About the Author
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Medal of Liberty. He is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Does America Need a Foreign Policy?, Years of Renewal, and Diplomacy. Dr. Kissinger is currently the chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. Born in Germany and a U.S. citizen since 1943, he lives in New York.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Forewordandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;1.andlt;/Iandgt; America's Entry into the Morass (1950-1969)andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;2.andlt;/Iandgt; Evolution of a Strategyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;What the Nixon Administration Found and#149; Groping for a Strategy: The North Vietnamese Offensive and the Bombing of Cambodia and#149; Attempts at a Diplomatic Outcome and#149; Peace Initiatives and#149; The Beginning of Troop Withdrawals and#149; A Secret Meeting and#149; Another Reassessment and#149; The Unpacifiable Doves and#149; A Strategy Emergesandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;3.andlt;/Iandgt; Secret Negotiations and a Widening Warandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Secret Negotiations and#149; Special Advisor Le Duc Tho and the First Round of Talks and#149; Laos Interlude and#149; The Overthrow of Sihanouk and#149; Another Major Troop Withdrawal and#149; The Attack on North Vietnamese Sanctuaries and#149; The Cambodian Incursion and#149; The Domestic Travail and#149; The Balance Sheetandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;4.andlt;/Iandgt; Diplomacy and Strategy: From a Cease-fire Proposal to the Interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trailandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Madame Binh's Eight Points and#149; The Setting of a Strategy and#149; The Laos Operation and#149; Lam Son 719: The Military Operation and#149; Braving Domestic Opposition and#149; The Negotiations Are Resumed and#149; The South Vietnamese Presidential Election and#149; Revealing the Secret Talksandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;5.andlt;/Iandgt; Hanoi Throws the Dice: The Vietnam Spring Offensiveandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Diplomatic Maneuvers and#149; What Strategy?andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;6.andlt;/Iandgt; The Showdownandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The May 2 Secret Meeting and#149; The Mining and Bombing of North Vietnam and#149; The Summit in the Balanceandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;7.andlt;/Iandgt; From Stalemate to Breakthroughandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Testing the Stalemate and#149; A Visit to Saigon and#149; Interlude: Meetings of September 15 and 27 and#149; The Breakthrough: The October 8 Meetingandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;8.andlt;/Iandgt; The Troubled Road to Peaceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Interlude in Paris and#149; Consultation with Thieu and#149; Rumblings and#149; Showdown with Thieu and#149; The Journey Homeandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;9.andlt;/Iandgt; "Peace Is at Hand"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Election Interlude and#149; Haig Visits Saigon Again and#149; The Meetings with Le Duc Tho Resume and#149; The Breakdown of the Negotiations and#149; The Christmas Bombing and#149; Negotiations Resume and#149; The January Round of Negotiations and#149; Thieu Relents and#149; Peace at Last and#149; Postludeandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;10.andlt;/Iandgt; A Visit to Hanoiandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;11.andlt;/Iandgt; Enforcement and Aidandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Thieu Visit and#149; Watergate and Enforcement and#149; The Search for Peace in Cambodia and#149; The Aborted Chinese Mediation and#149; The Negotiations Unravelandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;12.andlt;/Iandgt; Ford and Vietnamandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Strangulation of South Vietnam and#149; Hanoi Resumes the Offensive and#149; The End of the Roadandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;13.andlt;/Iandgt; The Collapse of Cambodiaandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Myth of the Failure to Negotiate on Cambodia and#149; The Final Collapse and#149; Final Noteandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;14.andlt;/Iandgt; The End of Vietnamarandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Debate over Evacuation and#149; The Search for a Political Solution and#149; The Evacuation and#149; The Last Dayandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Epilogueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Appendixandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index