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Vietnam: An American History |
Exactly why was America in Vietnam? This remarkable and
essential seven-volume series--six years in the making
and originally broadcast on public television in
1983--tells the agonizing history of Vietnam's lengthy
conflicts with some of the largest powers on Earth.
While the primary focus is on the United States'
miserable efforts to prop up a porous, anti-Communist
government in South Vietnam as a bulwark against Chinese
and Soviet expansionism, the series' makers expend no
less energy detailing important antecedents to America's
intervention. Of vital interest are the first two hours,
which tell the compelling story of France's 80-year
colonial rule in Southeast Asia and the rise of a
European-educated generation of Vietnamese intellectuals
turned warriors, chief among them the architect of
Vietnam's prolonged revolt against the West, Ho Chi Minh.
By the time a viewer comes to understand how and why
America shrugged off Vietnamese independence after World
War II, it is easier to grasp the tragic context for the
disastrous military campaign of the 1960s and '70s. The
rest of the series covers the various expansions of
America's war in Vietnam through a succession of
presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon, carefully
explaining the sundry issues that drove each
commander-in-chief to send more money, more troops, and
more weapons into a seemingly unwinnable and dubious
battle. The later volumes take the story into Laos and
the horrible siege of Cambodia by a U.S.-supported Khmer
Rouge, and examine the history of the antiwar movement
in America. No stone is left unturned in this important
project, which runs some 13 hours and should be
considered one of the most important television series
in history. --Tom Keogh (Amazon.com)
NOTE: The American Experience producers responsible for
the Vietnam series recently re-edited the original
13-part Vietnam series. The editing was undertaken to
remove outdated information and to create a more
cohesive story for viewers. WGBH Boston Video has
reduced the purchase price for the Vietnam series to
$79.95 to reflect the shorter running time.
A six-year project from conception to completion, this
eleven-hour DVD collection carefully analyzes the costs
and consequences of this controversial but intriguing
war. From the first episode to the last, it provides a
detailed visual and oral account of the war that changed
a generation and continues to color American thinking on
many military and foreign policy issues. |
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SHOP |
 Vietnam
- A Television History (1983)
Starring: Everett Alvarez; Herbert Bluechel; George Ball
(II); J. Lawton Collins; William Colby (II); Ted
Danielsen; Bill Erhart; Vernon Gillespie; Leslie Gelb;
John Keegan (II); Henry Kissinger; Abbot Low Moffat;
Frederick Nolting; Archimedes Patti; Robinson Risner;
Maxwell Taylor; Paul Warnke; William C. Westmoreland;
Earl J. Young; Xuan Teo Dang
Order now at Amazon.com |
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