A dead-end alley : the United States, France and the first Indochina War, 1950-1954 -- Our offspring : nation-building in South Vietnam, 1954-1961 -- Limited partnership : Kennedy and Diem, 1961-1963 -- Enough, but not too much : Johnson's decisions for war, 1963-1965 -- On the tiger's back : the United States at war, 1965-1967 -- A very near thing : the Tet Offensive and after, 1968 -- A war for peace : Nixon, Kissinger, and Vietnam, 1969-1973 -- The "postwar war" and the end of an ear.

Includes index.

The author portrays American participation in the Vietnam War as the logical culmination of the containment policy that began under Harry Truman in the late 1940's. Also his portrayal of the complex challenge that Vietnam posed for the United States and the varied responses it evoked from American people & leaders.