Embers of War - by Fredrik Logevall (Paperback)

About the Book

A history of the four decades leading up to the Vietnam War offers insights into how the U.S. became involved, identifying commonalities between the campaigns of French and American forces while discussing relevant political factors.

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

Written with the style of a great novelist and the intrigue of a Cold War thriller, Embers of War is a landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam. Tapping newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations, Fredrik Logevall traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France's final years in Indochina--and shows how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history. An epic story of wasted opportunities and deadly miscalculations, Embers of War delves deep into the historical record to provide hard answers to the unanswered questions surrounding the demise of one Western power in Vietnam and the arrival of another. Eye-opening and compulsively readable, Embers of War is a gripping, heralded work that illuminates the hidden history of the French and American experiences in Vietnam.

ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED WORKS OF HISTORY IN RECENT YEARS
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians - Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award - Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award - Finalist for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post - The Christian Science Monitor - The Globe and Mail

"A balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war."--Pulitzer Prize citation

"This extraordinary work of modern history combines powerful narrative thrust, deep scholarly authority, and quiet interpretive confidence."--Francis Parkman Prize citation

"A monumental history . . . a widely researched and eloquently written account of how the U.S. came to be involved in Vietnam . . . certainly the most comprehensive review of this period to date."--The Wall Street Journal

"Superb . . . a product of formidable international research."--The Washington Post

"Lucid and vivid . . . [a] definitive history."--San Francisco Chronicle

"An essential work for those seeking to understand the worst foreign-policy adventure in American history . . . Even though readers know how the story ends--as with The Iliad--they will be as riveted by the tale as if they were hearing it for the first time."--The Christian Science Monitor

Review Quotes

"This extraordinary work of modern history combines powerful narrative thrust, deep scholarly authority, and quiet interpretive confidence."--Francis Parkman Prize citation

"A balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war."--Pulitzer Prize citation

"Fredrik Logevall's excellent book Choosing War (1999) chronicled the American escalation of the Vietnam War in the early 1960s. With Embers of War, he has written an even more impressive book about the French conflict in Vietnam and the beginning of the American one. . . . It is the most comprehensive history of that time. Logevall, a professor of history at Cornell University, has drawn from many years of previous scholarship as well as his own. And he has produced a powerful portrait of the terrible and futile French war from which Americans learned little as they moved toward their own engagement in Vietnam."--Alan Brinkley, The New York Times Book Review *Editor's Choice*

"Superb . . . penetrating . . . Embers of War is a product of formidable international research. It is lucidly and comprehensively composed. And it leverages a consistently potent analytical perspective. . . . Outstanding."--Gordon Goldstein, The Washington Post

"A monumental history . . . a widely researched and eloquently written account of how the U.S. came to be involved in Vietnam . . . certainly the most comprehensive review of this period to date."--Wall Street Journal

"The most comprehensive account available of the French Vietnamese war, America's involvement, and the beginning of the US-directed struggle. . . . [Embers of War tells] the deeply immoral story of the Vietnam wars convincingly and more fully than any others. Since many of the others, some written over fifty years ago, are excellent, this is a considerable achievement."--Jonathan Mirsky, New York Review of Books

"Magisterial."--Foreign Affairs

"The definitive history of the critical formative period from 1940 to 1960 [in Vietnam]. . . . lucid and vivid . . . As American involvement escalated, Bernard Fall, the highly respected scholar-journalist of Vietnam's wars, wrote that Americans were 'dreaming different dreams than the French but walking in the same footsteps.' Fredrik Logevall brilliantly explains that legacy."--Gary R. Hess, San Francisco Chronicle

"Embers of War is simply an essential work for those seeking to understand the worst foreign-policy adventure in American history. . . . Even though readers know how the story ends--as with "The Iliad"--they will be as riveted by the tale as if they were hearing it for the first time."--The Christian Science Monitor

"A remarkable new history . . . Logevall skillfully explains everything that led up to Vietnam's fatal partition in 1954 . . . [and] peppers the grand sweep of his book with vignettes of remarkable characters, wise and foolish."--The Economist

About the Author

Fredrik Logevall is Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs and professor of history at Harvard University. A specialist on U.S. foreign relations history and modern international history, he is the author or editor of nine books, most recently Embers of War, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Francis Parkman Prize.