Approaching Vietnam: From World War II Through Dienbienphu, 1941-1954

“An extremely solid history of Indochina in the Viet Minh War era. Essentially a diplomatic history, but one that carefully weaves in developments on the battlefield. Makes use of new knowledge and is a useful corrective to some of the earlier works on the subject by the French. Recommended.” —Douglas Pike, Indochina Chronology

The first Vietnam War, a war of diplomatic maneuver and decisions made from afar, began in 1941, while the fires of World War II raged. With masterly command of documents never before analyzed in a book, Lloyd C. Gardner paints an absorbing picture of the events of that fateful period.