Mark Lawrence Atwood is currently director of graduate studies at the Clements Center for National Security in Austin at the University of Texas. Associate Professor of History and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Roberts Strauss Center for International Law and Security. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Mark Atwood received his bachelor of arts from Stanford University in 1988 and his doctorate from Yale in 1999. Since enrolling in the University of Texas, history department in 2000, the author has published two history books: The Vietnam War: A concise international history (2008) and Taking on the Burden: Europe and the American Engagement in the Vietnam War (2005). In this history book, Mark Lawrence traverses centuries of commitment to the small southeastern nation. The author begins with the first-century Trung sisters' struggle to usher in Chinese rule, to outline how America, in Vietnamese perceptions, was now another in a long line of ultimately overwhelmed enemies.[1] The author finds Sister Trung's divine heir in Ho Chi Minh, a socialist activist who declared independence before finding himself fighting an American-backed South Vietnamese uprising.[2] This book stands up to its attainable billing and short nature, although there is generally little information regarding the other major players in the “war,” China, the Soviet Union, and France; By far an American-centric story, the narrative is based on major events in the United States from the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 to the fall of the American Embassy in 1975.[3] The author shines in outlining how Johnson Lyndon followed by Nixon and then Kissinger struggled in vain to find an acceptable reason to withdraw. In a confirmation that modern readers see as familiar, the three leaders repeatedly stressed that retreating without victory would bring shame before the world and strengthen their enemies.[4] From the book, Lawrence points out that the opposite eventually happened and America's popularity declined further the longer Americans fought. Even more, neither communism nor North Vietnam prospered after the withdrawal of the Americas. The author points out that the opposite happened. America's popularity plummeted as they fought in the war, then recovered. Neither North Vietnam nor communism prospered after their withdrawal. Furthermore, the book accurately considers both the short-term and long-term origins of the battle. The author analyzes the growth of Vietnamese communism in the early 20th century and shows how the Cold War discomfort of the 1940s and early 1950s set the United States on the path to intervention. Certainly the book deals above all with the "American war", which ranges from the overthrow of South Vietnamese President Diem Dinh to the odious effects of Tet on American public opinion, to Richard Nixon's expansion of the war into Laos and Cambodia, to Lyndon's withdrawal from 1968 presidential contest and the challenging 1973 peace agreement, which ultimately ended American military participation.[5]Remember: This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayConclusionThe book examines the The difficult outcome of the battle is an enduring legacy in American films, books, and political discussions, as well as Vietnam's struggle with intense economic and social tribulations. Lawrence's narration is a solid briefing and.