Widely acclaimed when it appeared in French in 1987, this first general history in English examines the colonial background, the period of Japanese control, the rise of Ho Chi Minh, the struggle of his rural-based guerrillas through the five former kingdoms, and the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The war, which split France and politicized the French army, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and the reemergence of de Gaulle. Although Ho lost the peace, he established a model of mid-20th-century revolutionary war and set the scene for America's military involvement in Vietnam. Certain to become the standard work on the subject.

Widely acclaimed when it appeared in French in 1987, this first general history in English examines the colonial background, the period of Japanese control, the rise of Ho Chi Minh, the struggle of his rural-based guerrillas through the five former kingdoms, and the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The war, which split France and politicized the French army, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and the reemergence of de Gaulle. Although Ho lost the peace, he established a model of mid-20th-century revolutionary war and set the scene for America's military involvement in Vietnam. Certain to become the standard work on the subject.