by David L . Anderson (Editor)
Harry Truman's administration began searching for an American response to the clash in Indochina between French colonialism and Vietminh communism in 1945. 30 years and five administrations later, Gerald Ford and his aides tried unsuccessfully to solicit additional aid for South Vietnam from a reluctant Congress. For Truman, Ford and every American leader in between, the dilemma in Vietnam hung ominously over the presidency. In Shadow on the White House , seven historians examine how the leadership of six presidents and an issue that grew into a difficult and often unpopular war shaped each other. Focusing on the personalities, politics, priorities and actions of the presidents as they confronted Vietnam, the authors consider the expansion of presidential power in foreign-policy formulation since World War II. In their analyses, they chronicle the history of executive leadership as it related to Vietnam, assess the presidential prerogatives and motives on war and peace issues, and clarify the interconnection between the modern presidency and the nation's frustrating and humiliating failure in Southeast Asia. Although other histories have been written about the Vietnam experience, this book is a systematic and comparative survey on presidential leadership as it relates to the war issue. It is organised by presidential administrations, giving a detailed examination of each president's decisions and policies. Based on the most recently opened archival sources, the essays provide a framework on which to hang the events of the war.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 248
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 30 Jun 1993
ISBN 10: 0700605835
ISBN 13: 9780700605835
A fine collection of essays by leading scholars of the Vietnam War. Focusing on the presidents who made and executed United States policy, the authors frequently provide fresh insights into the conflict and its impact on the presidency. This book should enliven and enrich what is fast becoming America's longest debate. --Andrew J. Rotter, author of The Path to Vietnam: Origins of the Commitment to Southeast Asia
Anderson and his collaborators have provided an important addition to the vase literature on the Vietnam war. --Pacific Historical Review
Anyone interested in the war can learn from this book. The writing is succinct and crisp, the narratives easily followed, and analyses sound and to the point. --Intelligence and National Security
This compilation of essays by Anderson and other noted presidential scholars provides superbly researched and richly detailed accounts of how six successive US Presidents grappled unsuccessfully with the war in Vietnam. --War, Literature, and the Arts