Why Did the Vietnam War Happen?

Moments in History

by Clive Gifford

The Vietnam War was a conflict between communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war spanned more than 15 years, and American involvement in the war was a point of great controversy. This book offers a well-balanced look at the causes of the war and surrounding controversies. Primary sources along with varying historians' opinions allow for a lively analysis.

48 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Clive Gifford is a highly experienced journalist and author with over 170 books published and more than 800 features and stories written for adults and children.

Clive is an unusual author who likes to work in both fiction and non-fiction. Perhaps this reflects his unusual life which, so far, has seen him travel to over 70 countries, be held hostage in Colombia, go parachuting, coach several sports and run a computer games company.

He says: "What drives me more than anything else is the desire to communicate, entertain and inform through the written word."

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Did the Vietnam War Happen? by Clive Gifford examines the causes of the Vietnam War that cost the lives of over 50,000 American lives. The author provides some historical background with Vietnam as a French colony and then under the control of the Japanese military during World War II. After the Japanese were defeated, Ho Chi Minh announced Vietnam's independence while the French wanted to reclaim their former colony. America's involvement began with providing military advisors and equipment to the French ; after the French were defeated American aid focused on helping the South Vietnamese Army fight off the communists under Ho Chi Minh. With concern that if South Vietnam fell to the communists, other countries would soon fall as well like dominos, American began sending in combat troops to help the South Vietnamese Army. The author chronicles the steady escalation and increased troop levels by the US and the politics that contributed to this escalation until public opinion began to build for getting out of Vietnam. This is a well-written account of how and why the Vietnam War happened. As a veteran of the Vietnam era, I found it particularly interesting.

[Donnie]

Brought back some memories, learned a few things.