ABSTRACT

This chapter examines some of the most important books on the Vietnam War published in the past decade (1999–2009). In some ways, recent historiography continues the trends established in the initial accounts of the war. The works discussed in this chapter attempt to answer a basic question: How and why did the United States intervene in Vietnam? The chapter shows the continued importance of the “orthodox versus revisionist” debate in Vietnam War historiography. However, it does not simply repeat the work of earlier historians. Through the use of diverse (often international) source material and theoretical innovations in the study of history, its author offers a new perspective on the war.