Wells's comprehensive examination of domestic opposition to the war in Vietnam chronicles the successes of the anti-war movement. Despite an intensive effort by the U.S. government to disrupt and divide it, the movement of 1964-1973 played a major role in restricting, deescalating and then ending our involvement in Indochina. Wells, a freelance writer, explores the acrimonious debates among high-level hawks and doves in Washington. He analyzes the effect of the movement on war policy, showing how it hindered air and ground operations during the Johnson administration, exerted a substantial impact on Nixon's Indochina policy, had a direct bearing on the deterioration of troop morale and discipline (which provided additional impetus for troop withdrawal), and ultimately led to the Watergate scandal which, as Wells tells it, played a pivotal role in ending the war. This absorbing drama filled with vivid characterizations is an impressive work of scholarship. Photos. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This history of protest activities in the United States during the Vietnam War is an important addition to the field. It complements such recent titles as Charles DeBenedetti and Charles Chatfield's An American Ordeal ( LJ 4/1/90), Charles Chatfield's The American Peace Movement (Twayne, 1992), and Melvin Small's Give Peace a Chance (Syracuse Univ. Pr, 1992). Wells concludes that activists failed to recognize their enormous impact on Congress, the White House, and U.S. public opinion and that factional squabbling within Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and similar groups was self-destructive. While the hundreds of interviews with leading antiwar activists and former government officials help show the anguish of both groups, Wells's study ultimately provides a comprehensive look at the peace movement between the years 1965 and 1975. Appendixes include a chronology of events, a list of abbreviations from the period, a list of those interviewed, and a select bibliography. Highly recommended for most libraries.-- Gary D. Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.