International Perspectives on Vietnam is a collection by a diverse group of scholars that looks at the Vietnam War in terms of its significance to the global arena. Under the guidance of editors Lloyd C. Gardner and Ted Gittinger, the contributors examine whether the Vietnam War was responsible for transforming the international system. Topics include Robert J. McMahon's assessment of the war's legacy to Southeast Asia; Xiaoming Zhang's analysis of Chinese involvement in the Sino-Soviet rivalry; Ilya V. Gaiduk's account of the Soviet Indochina policy within the context of Moscow's foreign relations; and other analyses by H. W. Brands, Lloyd C. Gardner, Hiroshi Fujimoto, Robert K. Brigham, Frank Costigliola, Judith A. Klinghoffer, Kil J.Yi, and Qiang Zhai. John Prados concludes by questioning whether the Vietnam War was just a sideshow in international relations and attempts to understand the war's impact on the world and the United States.
International Perspectives on Vietnam breaks free of the mold of many American analyses of Vietnam, which place the war solely in the context of America's involvement and detriment. A true scholarly work, this volume challenges readers to think about this pivotal point in international history in a new way.
