Point of No Return: Tonkin Gulf and the Vietnam War (First Battles)

Rice, Earle

ISBN 10: 1931798168 ISBN 13: 9781931798167

Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub, 2003

Synopsis

Recounts the events that led up to the Tonkin Gulf Resolution which authorized increased American involvement in Vietnam, offers an explanation of what actually occured in the gulf in August of 1964, and describes the consequences.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 8 Up-Rice offers a detailed examination of the still-murky 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, when supposed North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. Navy vessels became the impetus for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, the legislation that gave Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon the authority to wage war in Vietnam. He opens with background about French and American involvement in Indochina, and then describes in detail both the American covert sea operations in the waters off North Vietnam and the events of the nights of August 2 and 4, 1964, when the attacks happened. He also covers how those events affected the decisions of military and civilian leaders. The author objectively explains the motivations of the Johnson Administration and the North Vietnamese government and the options their respective leaders had, and encourages readers to make up their own minds about what really happened. Average-quality photos of leaders and naval vessels add little to the text, and the single map of Vietnam does not have sufficient detail for students to locate many of the places mentioned in it. Although Rice covers events thoroughly and documents sources, the lengthy descriptions of covert operations and naval maneuvers are both dry and heavy on jargon. Only the most dedicated report writers will need this level of detail, and most interested readers and report writers would be better served by one of the numerous general overviews of the Vietnam conflict.
Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7-12. This thorough, well-researched book closely examines events resulting in the nearly unanimous passage of the 1964 congressional Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which gave President Lyndon B. Johnson virtually unlimited power to escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Leading up to the resolution is an overview of the conflict in Vietnam, beginning with a look at French colonial rule, then going on to explore the division of the country; the related policy-making decisions, which were shaped by cold war politics; and the attacks on U.S. destroyers. The related complications and controversies are explained clearly and concisely. Military jargon and obscure acronyms occasionally slow things down, but a glossary helps the reader along. That problem aside, this is an excellent study of a pivotal event in American history. Chapter notes, an extensive bibliography, and a time line are appended. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1931798168
• ISBN 13: 9781931798167
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 128