The Truman and Eisenhower years, 1945-1960 / by Fox Butterfield -- Origins of the insurgency in South Vietnam -- The Kennedy years, 1961-1963 / by Fox Butterfield -- The overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem, May-November, 1963 / by Hedrick Smith -- The covert war and Tonkin Gulf, February-August, 1964 / by Hedrick Smith -- The consensus to bomb North Vietnam, August, 1964-February, 1965 / by Neil Sheehan -- The launching of the ground war, March-July, 1965 / by Neil Sheehan -- The buildup, July, 1965-September, 1966 / by Fox Butterfield -- Secretary McNamara's disenchantment, October, 1966-May, 1967 / by Hedrick Smith -- The Tet offensive and the turnaround / by E.W. Kentworthy -- Appendix 1: Analysis and comment -- The lessons of Vietnam / by Max Frankel -- Editorials from the New York Times -- Appendix 2: Court records -- Appendix 3: Biographies of key figures.