James G. HERSHBERG. Marigold

The Vietnam War has been the subject of a vast amount of scholarship. Historians initially regarded American policy there as misguided, leading to a tremendously costly war for the United States and Vietnam. More recently, some historians have argued that the American commitment to South Vietnam was a valiant effort by the United States to defend its allies against the onslaught of Communism. James G. Hershberg's book is a valuable addition to the discourse that the Vietnam conflict was far more complicated than originally assumed. In March 1965, Vietnam became America's war. U.S. Marines entered South Vietnam to help the country against Viet Cong insurgents and North Vietnamese infiltrators. The conflict soon escalated with more U.S. troops landing in the Republic of Vietnam and increased U.S. bombing attacks on the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). The escalation caused consternation among many countries, American and Soviet allies alike. This resulted in numerous peace initiatives to facilitate negotiations between the United States and the DRV. These efforts led to a U.S. bombing halt in late 1965, but when meaningful contacts did not materialize, Washington resumed its aerial attacks on the DRV. The DRV had by then decided to fight for victory against the United States and seek the reunification of Vietnam, although Hanoi might have considered talks for strategic purposes.

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