Kort, Michael

"Going beyond the dominant orthodox narrative to incorporate insight from revisionist scholarship on the Vietnam War, Michael G. Kort presents the case that the United States should have been able to win the war, and at a much lower cost than it suffered in defeat. Presenting a study that is both historiographic and a narrative history, Kort analyzes important factors such as the strong nationalist credentials and leadership qualities of South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem; the flawed military strategy of 'graduated response' developed by Robert McNamara; and the real reasons South Vietnam collapsed in the face of a massive North Vietnamese invasion in 1975. Kort shows how the US commitment to defend South Vietnam was not a strategic error but a policy consistent with US security interests during the Cold War, and that there were potentially viable strategic approaches to the war that might have saved South Vietnam"--Provided by publisher.

Chronicles the history of Russia from the tenth century to the post-Soviet period, discussing the country's social, economic, and political changes and crises.

An overview of East Asia that provides information on the region's history, present day economic, environmental, and political structure, important people and places, and geography.

Photographs and text cover the origin and development of China's Communist regime, and examine the forces (nuclear power and population growth) that are pushing the country toward change.

Offers a handbook on the Middle East focusing on its regions, peoples, history, geography, economy, and conflicts.

Recounts the factors shaping the history of the USSR to the present.

A guide to the Cold War that discusses its causes, the way it influenced American and Soviet relations, the effects it had on the economies of the United States and the Soviet Union, the events that led to the end of the Cold War, and other related topics.

Follows the life of the man who was head of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964.

Discusses the life of Mikhail Gorbachev from his formative years to the present, and examines the reforms he has introduced to the Soviet Union.

Covers the long ideological conflict between the communist world and the Western democracies from the end of World War II to the collapse of communism in Europe in 1990.