Using official documents from the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations, the author challenges widely held assumptions about the roles of those presidents.

Includes index.

The Eisenhower administration and Indochina: 1954-1960 -- No war in Laos: January-June 1961 -- A new effort in Vietnam: January-August 1961 -- War or peace? September-November 1961 -- Limiting the commitment: November 1961-November 1962 -- The war in Vietnam: 1962 -- A gathering storm: January-July 1963 -- The Buddhist crisis and the cable of August 24: 1963 -- The coup: August-November 1963 -- A decision for war: November 1963-April 1964 -- To the Tonkin Gulf: April-August 1964 -- Planning for war: September-December 1964 -- Over the edge: December 1964-March 1965 -- War in secret: March-June 1965 --War in public: June-July 1965 -- Bad history, wrong war -- Epilogue: tragedy and history.