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George C. Herring
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The Pentagon Papers First Edition

by George Herring (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
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This book provides a brief and manageable collection of the most important documents on U.S. policymaking in the Vietnam War between 1950 and 1968. Edited by the foremost Vietnam historian, this supplementary text can be used in conjunction with any history of the Vietnam war--Herring's own America's Longest War, for example.
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  1. ISBN-10
    007028380X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0070283800
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1993
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
  8. Print length
    224 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George C. Herring is Alumni Professor of history at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia and taught at Ohio University before moving to the University of Kentucky. He is the author of numerous books, articles, and essays, including The Secret Diplomacy of the Vietnam War: The Negotiating Volumes of the Pentagon Papers (1983) and LBJ and Vietnam: A Different Kind of War (1994). He served as editor of the scholarly journal Diplomatic History from 1982 to 1986 and was President of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations in 1990. In 1991, he served as Visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand and from 1993 to 1994, he was Visiting Professor of History at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; First Edition (January 1, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 007028380X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0070283800
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

About the author

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George C. Herring

George C. Herring

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George C. Herring is Alumni Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Kentucky. His book in the Oxford History of the United States series, From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 won the Robert Ferrell Prize of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A leading authority on U.S. foreign relations, he is the former editor of Diplomatic History and a past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. He is the author of America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975, among other books. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

moznick
5.0 out of 5 stars Condition exactly as described
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
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Book arrived fairly quickly and in excellent shape. Cover unmarred and pages crisp with no underlining. Exactly as described.
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Michael Greenberg
3.0 out of 5 stars Ho wants help in 1946
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
Viet Nam-we missed the signals in 1946 and 1954. The outrage is that the US knew it was unwinnable early on, and that "70%" of the reason for not pulling out was our "prestige," according to the Papers. Another reason, also key, was to support imperialism, and our "ally" the French, and our right wing zealots. The people of the US, during our "Golden Era," were sold a bill of goods. This was the era when people trust the US government all the way. Once in , we seemed to not "fess up" to the fact that North Viet Nam wanted their country back from imperialists, and no matter how many bombs we dropped, or bodies we piled up, they would never quit-never, no matter how many people they lost. There are films of North Viet Nam soldiers carrying field artillery pieces up muddy mountains via ropes. In one account a Viet Nam soldier threw his body under a piece, and was crushed to death, rather than let that piece fall off the mountain during a heavy rain. Good luck beating people with that type of motivation, regardless of how "superior" we were.

We also missed the fact that North Viet Nam was not a stooge of China or the Soviet Union. As far as this book goes-it was clearly informative, but written in a choppy style since it was condensed from many volumes. There are other works but this was referred to me by the author of "The Age of Eisenhower" as the place to start to understand the roots of the conflict. I was already quite familiar about the early events of Viet Nam, but this is close to the horse's mouth. What comes as a "shock" to me was revealed documents from another source (Kissinger: the Flawed Architect) that quoted sources from the North indicating that they did want to take over all of Indochina, and that some of their higher ups were true revolutionaries-like a Che Guevarra with a real country behind them. The original cause of my wanting to read further on this topic was my lack of knowledge about the so called Domino Theory. All I ever read was that "if Viet Nam goes then Cambodia goes then Laos goes," and the next thing we know the Commies were in New Jersey. None of the sources that I had read ever explained the mechanics of how that could happen. The book on Kissinger does go into it by citing and quoting statements from North Viet Nam sources and documents. While I turned against the war, and was against Nixon and all others who put us in there, I did have a change of mind in terms of Nixon trying to extricate the US from Viet Nam without us looking like weaklings. That does not excuse anything, but politics and war seem to be one and the same. Due to politics our country was shattered and the North lost over a million people. That cannot be excused.

A key question is about Daniel Ellsberg-hero or traitor. An entire class, with debates, could probably be focused on this weighty topic. One thing is clear for me: Mei Lai was a black mark on our country, and any attempt to whitewash it is hideous.

So, what can I say about this book-a tough read, very informative, but if one wanted to understand the full picture the entire Pentagon Papers should probably be read. Not for me, an armchair historian. However, it did "advance the ball"
for my understanding. The author of the Age of Eisenhower wrote me that the compiler of this very condensed work on the Viet Nam story we know as the Pentagon Papers requires his students to read it. It might be the case that an entire course on Viet Nam in college must have this or other introductions to be a required work in order to really understand our entry into Viet Nam through the LBJ years. I cannot fault Professor Herring, as it seems that condensing the entire work is a near impossible task-the only reason for my three star rating.
One person found this helpful
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jamie jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Vietnam Knowledge is power
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014
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Received the book right away and the book is fabulous. Good reading and historical perspective about a time that still causes polarization today. A war that should never have been fought.
2 people found this helpful
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Donna Crosby
4.0 out of 5 stars PP
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
This book covers but a small part of the overall deception of the government in the Vietnam War. It does paint an excellent picture of the inner workings and the thinking of corrupt officials up to and including the president.
14 people found this helpful
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Yolanda G
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016
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Thank you
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Otis James Freeman
3.0 out of 5 stars Sent a soft cover when I ordered a hardcover
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2022
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Sent a soft cover book when I ordered a hardcover. The book has extensive markings inside and folded pages. I ordered a very good book, and this is acceptable at best.
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china cat
5.0 out of 5 stars pentagon papers
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016
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Intigueing
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P N
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2015
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Decent book
One person found this helpful
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