Apocalypse then : American intellectuals and the Vietnam War, 1954-1975 / Robert R. Tomes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tomes, Robert R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--United States.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Influence.

Intellectuals--United States--Political activity--History--20th century.

Intellectuals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (307 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Prior to the Vietnam war, American intellectual life rested comfortably on shared assumptions and often common ideals. Intellectuals largely supported the social and economic reforms of the 1930's, the war against Hitler's Germany, and U.S. conduct during the Cold War. By the early 1960's, a liberal intellectual consensus existed. The war in Southeast Asia shattered this fragile coalition, which promptly dissolved into numerous camps, each of which questioned American institutions, values, and ideals. Robert R. Tomes sheds new light on the demise of Cold War liberalism and the development of the New Left, and the steady growth of a conservatism that used Vietnam, and anti-war sentiment, as a rallying point. Importantly, Tomes provides new evidence that neoconservatism retreated from internationalism due largely to Vietnam, only to regroup later with substantially diminished goals and expectations. Covering vast archival terrain, Apocalypse Then stands as the definitive account of the impact of the Vietnam war on American intellectual life.

Contents:

A long time in the comin' : American intellectuals and the Cold War, 1945-1963

Consensus and commitment : American intellectuals and Vietnam, 1954-1963

The search for order : from Diem to Pleiku, November 1963 to January 1965

Skepticism and dissent : from Rolling Thunder to Tet, February 1965 to January 1968

The collapse of the liberal consensus, 1968

The twilight of liberalism, 1969-1975.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-280) and index.

ISBN:

0-8147-8435-6

OCLC:

782878066