I finished Embers of War by Frederik Logevall a five star book which through a extremely well written narrative traces the lineage of the Vietnam War from Ho Chi Minhs early attempts in to gain Woodrow Wilson’s support in the aftermath of World War I to free Vietnam from French colonialism following the principles laid out in the 14 Points, but was never seen by Wilson and seemingly was meant for those of European descent not Asian or African. Ho Chi Minh later fueled by principles articulated by President Franklin Roosevelt hopes to gain U.S. assistance and recognition of a free Vietnam, which he might very well had received had Roosevelt lived but was again stymied by Roosevelt’s premature death.

Logevall in great detail goes through the failure of the of France to find a way to veer from its path to retain its colonial empire specifically Indochina leading ultimately to its cataclysmic loss at Dien Bien Phu which ultimately led to its withdrawal from Vietnam ultimately replaced by the United States. He goes into great detail at both a local level and high level of the decisions made by the France and other involved nations including Great Britain, the United States, The Soviet Union and China and Ho Chi Minh and the many Vietnamese from communists and nationalists from both sides of the conflict including General Vo Nguyen Giap, Bao Dai, Ngo Dinh Diem.

The failure of the French early on to allow Vietnam true freedom from French domination and its failure to recognize but not lost to Ho Chi Minh that war was to lost or won with the peasantry and true social reform, a lesson later repeated y the United States.

Logevall illustrates that from Truman being stymied by the sting of being painted as losing China to the Communists and being painted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and those of a similar ilk to being soft on communism. This trend continues from President Dwight Eisenhower being penned in by similar forces and rhetoric through President Kennedy and the wars escalation by President Lyndon Johnson.

The saddest point of the book is that all the lessons of the French War were later lost to the United States and the same mistakes repeated. The war that needed not to have occurred and and path which at numerous times could have been altered from Wilson through, from post World War II French policies to the escalation of the Johnson administration. A sad story of what if’s and repeated mistakes and missteps and might have been. A must read. ( )

nonfiction (history of Viet Nam 1919-1959, anti-colonialist struggles with France leading up to US' active military involvement in America's "Vietnam War"). Extremely detailed and thorough; I probably would not recommend to people not accustomed to reading military histories--battles and offensive/defensive positions, plus political undercurrents, etc., and peace talks (that typically go on FOREVER without progress), or for that matter, people who know next to little about the history of conflict in Viet Nam, unless they are fans of SLOW reading (I think slow reading can be very beneficial, but not everyone's got that kind of patience or are willing to put the time in).
I thought the author's writing style was a little distracting--it contained so many dangling modifiers that I would often have to stop and reread sentences to make sense of them--but overall worth reading if you're interested in the topic. ( )

This is one of the best works of history I've read in a long time! It shines a useful, timely, and comprehensive light into a largely ignored part of our history.

This work is incredibly deep and detailed! But unlike so many histories of similar scope and depth, it never felt dense to me. I didn't have any problems keeping track of names/dates/places/events, the way I usually do when I read big historical tomes.

Mr. Logevall's writing style is engrossing and sweeps you along - at times, it almost felt novelistic for the ease with which it reads. I never felt lost or bogged down. At the same time, I never felt that anything was being glossed over. It's a stunning stylistic achievement in a work such as this! ( )

Very interesting book on our road to war in Viet Nam. 20-20 has perfect vision. However, this book presents info that was available to our government at the time. It was evident this was the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. ( )

Fredrik Logevall's The Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the making of America's Vietnam takes Vietnam's struggle for independence to its very beginning and carries it through the beginning of America's “real” involvement in the war. It is clearly written and written in great detail. Logevall backs up his book with eighty-three pages of bibliography, roughly one page for every ten written.

At the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, a young Vietnamese man in a rented morning coat comes to meet Woodrow Wilson and give him a letter. The letter is due almost entirely with Wilson, his Fourteen Points and his criticism of colonial empires. Ho Chi Minh was that man and hoped Wilson would help his country gain independence. Ho Chi Minh would leave disappointed never meeting Wilson or receiving a reply to his letter.

Jump to the end of World War II, China is the occupying country supervising the removal of the Japanese and keeping the peace. With the Japanese gone, Ho Chi Minh believes Vietnam is liberated and works to form a government. He gives speeches and quotes the Declaration of Independence. FDR as president did not support empires. He remained quiet about it to Churchill, but openly voiced how France could not support an empire. In other words France as a power was finished. However, it was Truman who was president after the war and Ho Chi Minh's independent Vietnam was ignored by France and England. Marshall Plan dollars allowed France to start sending troops back to Vietnam. Truman even allowed French troops to be transferred on American ships.

Ho Chi Minh called for free elections and land reform; he won the elections, but it matters little. The Chinese broker a peace that requires France to recognize the Republic of Vietnam and Vietnam to allow 25,000 French troops for a five year period. The French troops were replacing the Chinese troops. Ho Chi Minh travels to France looking for support. He is seen as a simple and genuine man although he admits to being a communist he says Vietnam is not ready for communism, just independence. He gains little support in France even from the socialists.

America is not too concerned about Vietnam. It is still seen as a defeated France trying to desperately to cling to its past. Truman is more concerned with Korea and the political fallout from the war. When Eisenhower is elected France asks for support and Eisenhower demands that there be a plan before any aid is given. This is also where things begin to change. Vietnam is not about France wanting to keep its empire, its about communism. The early development of the Domino Theory begins. If Vietnam falls, Thailand then India falls to communism. Suddenly America's opinion change. Communism changes the entire viewpoint.

Although the book primarily is about France's handling of Vietnam, it does show the very gradual but growing U.S. involvement in the war. From denying France its empire, to aid, to Americans directly assisting the French, to support for Diem, to fighting the war. The book also shows the frustration of Ho Chi Minh. For fifty-five years from believing in Wilson, to the Declaration of Independence speeches, to having independence taken away, to wanting fair and free elections, to having his communism doubted by the USSR and China (but not the US), Ho Chi Minh never lived to see his county free. France left defeated in Vietnam only to fight another war with its colonial holding Algeria.

Embers of War is an excellent history of the Vietnam conflict before the American commitment. It is a conflict that never should have happened and had so many opportunities to be resolved without violence. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in foreign affairs or history. ( )