Embers of War

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZEWritten with the style of a great novelist and the intrigue of a Cold War thriller, Embers of War is a landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam. Tapping newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations, Fredrik Logevall traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France's final years in Indochina-and shows how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history. An epic story of wasted opportunities and deadly miscalculations, Embers of War delves deep into the historical record to provide hard answers to the unanswered questions surrounding the demise of one Western power in Vietnam and the arrival of another. Eye-opening and compulsively readable, Embers of War is a gripping, heralded work that illuminates the hidden history of the French and American experiences in Vietnam.ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED WORKS OF HISTORY IN RECENT YEARSWinner of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians. Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award. Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award . Finalist for the Cundill Prize in Historical LiteratureNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe Washington Post . The Christian Science Monitor . The Globe and Mail"A balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war."-Pulitzer Prize citation"This extraordinary work of modern history combines powerful narrative thrust, deep scholarly authority, and quiet interpretive confidence."-Francis Parkman Prize citation"A monumental history . . . a widely researched and eloquently written account of how the U.S. came to be involved in Vietnam . . . certainly the most comprehensive review of this period to date."-The Wall Street Journal"Superb . . . a product of formidable international research."-The Washington Post"Lucid and vivid . . . a definitive history."-San Francisco Chronicle"An essential work for those seeking to understand the worst foreign-policy adventure in American history . . . Even though readers know how the story ends-as with The Iliad-they will be as riveted by the tale as if they were hearing it for the first time."-The Christian Science Monitor

“"This extraordinary work of modern history combines powerful narrative thrust, deep scholarly authority, and quiet interpretive confidence." --Francis Parkman Prize citation ”

"Embers of War", a remarkable new history of the first Vietnamese war by Fredrik Logevall The Economist
This is an excellent study of this crucial period in post-war history, and a compelling account both of the French struggle in Vietnam and the way in which the United States was dragged into a war she couldn't really win. History of War 03/08/2015
Fredrik Logevall's excellent book "Choosing War "(1999) chronicled the American escalation of the Vietnam War in the early 1960s. With "Embers of "War, he has written an even more impressive book about the French conflict in Vietnam and the beginning of the American one. . . . It is the most comprehensive history of that time. Logevall, a professor of history at Cornell University, has drawn from many years of previous scholarship as well as his own. And he has produced a powerful portrait of the terrible and futile French war from which Americans learned little as they moved toward their own engagement in Vietnam. The New York Times Book Review-Editor's Choice
A monumental history . . . a widely researched and eloquently written account of how the U.S. came to be involved in Vietnam . . . certainly the most comprehensive review of this period to date. Wall Street Journal
A balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war. Pulitzer Prize citation

Fredrik Logevallis Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs and professor of history at Harvard University. A specialist on U.S. foreign relations history and modern international history, he is the author or editor of nine books, most recently Embers of War, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Francis Parkman Prize.

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