The war in Vietnam was a seminal event in post-1945 world affairs. The conflict had a profound and lasting impact on the politics and society of Vietnam and the United States, but also shaped the larger international system in critical ways. This volume provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to the origins of the war. It situates the developments from the French colonial period to the eruption of major war in 1965 in their larger global setting - how Vietnamese affairs were shaped by - and in turn shaped - developments outside Vietnam. The Origins of theVietnam War looks at:

• Why France colonized Indochina in the late 19th century, and why that colonial venture ended in defeat at the hands of Ho Chi Minh's Vietminh in 1954.
• Why the 1954 Geneva Agreement failed to bring long-term peace to Indochina.
• Why the United States opted to make a commitment to the creation of an independent, non-communist South Vietnam.
• Why a major war developed in 1965, with the US and South Vietnam on one side and the National Liberation Front and North Vietnam, backed by China and the Soviet Union on the other.
• Whether the war could have been avoided.

Fredrik Logevall is Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara.