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Review
| At the Water's Edge: American Politics and the Vietnam War, by Melvin Small. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee, 2005. 241 pages. $26.00, cloth.
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| This is an excellent volume on a topic often neglected in standard histories of the Vietnam War; that is, the domestic political forces that shaped and determined American involvement in Southeast Asia. Small maintains, correctly, that the existing scholarship on the Vietnam War, written predominantly by diplomatic historians, has neglected the role of domestic politics on United States decision-making. The author suggests that such an oversight is unfortunate, for he argues that the "key to understanding American policy in the Vietnam War was American domestic politics." (pp. x) The monograph's elaboration on this assertion achieves his purpose. It starts in 1945 and examines the early decisions made by President Truman in regard to the French return to Vietnam and then moves in a straightforward, chronological fashion through the war, highlighting the policies and decisions that each administration made, and why. The book concludes with the fall of Vietnam and a discussion of the war's lingering legacy for the American body politic. Most chapters, after the initial few, are devoted to only one year of the war, allowing for a detailed and informative analysis. |
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In keeping with the author's purpose however, the book is not simply a narrative. Throughout, Small reveals the domestic political considerations that each president took into account when crafting Vietnam policy. The book highlights public perceptions during election cycles, the political contest between the president and Congress, and even delves into the role of intra-party politics for both Republicans and Democrats. While the author's case is heavily stated, perhaps overstated at times, he nevertheless makes an important contribution to the literature on Vietnam, revealing that despite popular, idealistic beliefs to the contrary, politics do not end at the water's edge. |
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My experience teaching college courses on the Vietnam War indicates that the book would be an informative addition to any reading list. While the book could never stand in lieu of a basic text, it could serve as a useful and interesting topical supplement. In particular, At the Water's Edge would be highly useful in framing an ongoing classroom debate about the role of domestic politics in shaping United States foreign policy. While the depth of the material should be easily manageable by college-level history majors taking a course on the subject, the fairly quick pace of the author's prose and the volume of detail would make the book a difficult read for high school students and even college freshmen. Additionally, a full understanding of the book requires a basic knowledge of the American political process. The book is a highly recommended for background for teachers of the Vietnam period. Moreover, the book is full of detail and historical anecdotes, and would enliven the lecture notes of anyone holding forth of the topic. |
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While the book is a strong and needed addition to the literature on Vietnam, the author occasionally lends the impression that events in Southeast Asia were dictated and driven by American politics. A reader less familiar with both sides of the war would miss the important point that North Vietnam and their Viet Cong surrogates were adept at manipulating the U.S. political response. A case in point is the author's discussion of the election of 1968. He does not make sufficient mention of the fact that the 1968 Tet Offensive was arguably orchestrated by the North Vietnamese to achieve the political results that clearly transpired All considered however, the book is well-written history and succeeds in weaving the impact of domestic politics into the Vietnam story. The book is accompanied by a section on sources at the end but is devoid of footnotes or endnotes, |
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| Waynesburg College |
Phillip A. Cantrell, II |
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