The First Vietnam War: France’s Defeat, America’s Inheritance, and the Lessons Never Learned

Before America lost Vietnam, France lost Indochina.InThe First Vietnam War, Julien Peltier delivers a gripping narrative of France’s doomed fight in Indochina (1946–1954) and the tragic handoff that set the stage for America’s greatest foreign policy disaster.From the rubble of World War II to the jungles of Điện Biên Phủ, this page-turning history brings to life the battles, politics, and personalities that defined France’s colonial collapse—and America’s fateful decision to take its place.Discover:How France tried—and failed—to crush Hồ Chí Minh’s nationalist movement.The Cold War stakes that turned Vietnam into a battlefield of empires.The siege of Điện Biên Phủ, one of the most dramatic battles of the 20th century.Why Washington ignored France’s warnings and repeated every mistake.How the rise of Ngô Đình Diệm and the Viet Cong made America’s war inevitable.Fast-paced, deeply researched, and written for general readers as well as history lovers,The First Vietnam Waruncovers the forgotten chapter of the Vietnam conflict—and shows why the lessons of Indochina still matter today.If you enjoyedMax Hastings, Fredrik Logevall, or Barbara Tuchman, you’ll be riveted by this book.Read more