Table of Contents

Preface viii 1 From the Streets to the Books: The Origins of an Enduring Debate 1 2 A Necessary War or a Mistaken War? 23 3 Kennedy Exceptionalism, Missed Opportunity for Peace, or Lost Victory? : The Movement toward War, 1961 1965 49 4 The Revisionist Critique of the Strategy for Defeat : The Clausewitzian Alternative 84 5 The Revisionist Critique of the Other War : The Hearts ]and ]Minds Prescription for Victory 111 6 The Media and the War: Irresponsible or Balanced Journalism? 133 7 The Tet Offensive: Decisive American Victory or Devastating Loss? 155 8 Nixon Kissinger and the Ending of the War: A Lost Victory or Neither Peace nor Honor? 179 9 Conclusion: The War s Lessons 209 Bibliography 218 Index 221

About the Author

Gary R. Hess is Distinguished Research Professor of Historyat Bowling Green State University, where he taught for forty-fiveyears. His publications include The United States at War,1941 1945 (Wiley, 3 rd edition, 2010), Presidential Decisions for War: Korea, Vietnam, the PersianGulf, and Iraq (rev. ed., 2009), Vietnam and the UnitedStates: Origins and Legacy of War 1941 1945 (1998), and The United States Emergence as a Southeast AsianPower (1987).