Review
"Schulzinger's analysis is insightful and respectful of disparate viewpoints."--kenton Clymer, The International History Review
"A new chapter has opened between the United States and Vietnam, and Robert Schulzinger provides the roadmap in A Time for Peace. Anyone interested in the factors that will be most critical for cooperation and issues likely to present obstacles and the factors affecting the relationship between former adversaries should read this marvelous and important book."--Larry Berman, author of No Peace, No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger and Betrayal in Vietnam
"This extremely well-researched book finally paints a big picture that accurately depicts the long, painful, tense, and frustrating struggle for reconciliation between America and Vietnam. It also vividly captures the incredible experiences of the survivors of that all-too-long conflict. Every participant in the War and those who worked to facilitate reconciliation will find revelations in this book interestin
Product Description
The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal--indeed some scars remain even today. In A Time for Peace, prominent American historian Robert D. Schulzinger sheds light on how deeply etched memories of this devastating conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. Schulzinger examines the impact of the war from many angles. He traces the long, twisted, and painful path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action and how it resulted in years of false hope for military families, and the outcry over Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. In addition, the book examines the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees and Amerasian children into the US and describes the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated, though some led productive post-war lives. Schulzinger looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films, ranging from novels such as Going After Cacciato and Paco's Story to such movies as The Green Berets (directed by and starring John Wayne), The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, and Rambo. Perhaps most important, the author explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. We see how the "lessons" of the war have been reinterpreted by different ends of the political spectrum. Using a vast array of sources--from government documents to memoirs, film, and fiction--A Time for Peace provides an illuminating account of a war that still looms large in the American imagination.