Textbooks
- John Simkin, The Vietnam War
- Steve Waugh & John Wright, The USA, 1954-75: Conflict at Home and Abroad (Hodder Education)
- Vivienne Saunders, The USA and Vietnam, 1945-75 (Hodder Education)
- Mitchell K. Hall, The Vietnam War (Pearson Longman, Seminar Studies in History)
- B. Walsh, GCSE Modern World History, section 4, case study 3: pp. 353-365.
Resources
As always, make use of the resources available – for example, see:
- Web pages – e.g. Alpha History on the Vietnam Wars.
- Mind Maps – e.g. Reasons for US intervention 1954-1963
- File – e.g. What motivated US Presidents 1945-68
Key topics
Why the USA went into Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh and the Struggle Against France for Independence, 1945-1954
- The Geneva Conference and Eisenhower’s response, 1954-1960
- John F. Kennedy and US Policy in Vietnam, 1961-3
- Lyndon B. Johnson & Escalation
Why the USA failed in Vietnam
- North Vietnamese (PAVN) and Vietcong (NLF) Strategy and Tactics
- US & ARVN Tactics in Vietnam, 1964-8
- The Tet Offensive, 1968
- The Anti-War Movement and the effects of the War on the USA
How the USA got out of Vietnam and what it left behind
A quick overview
RGS History 