×


 x 

Shopping cart
Seth Jacobs - The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos - 9780801445477 - V9780801445477
Stock image for illustration purposes only - book cover, edition or condition may vary.

The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos

€ 52.32
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos Hardback. Series: The United States in the World. Num Pages: 328 pages, 6, 5 black & white halftones, 1 maps. BIC Classification: 1KBB; 3JJPG; 3JJPK; JPS. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 229 x 152 x 28. Weight in Grams: 571.

During the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, Laos was positioned to become a major front in the Cold War. Yet American policymakers ultimately chose to resist communism in neighboring South Vietnam instead. Two generations of historians have explained this decision by citing logistical considerations. According to the accepted account, Laos’s landlocked, mountainous terrain made the kingdom an unpropitious place to fight, while South Vietnam—possessing a long coastline, navigable rivers, and all-weather roads—better accommodated America’s military forces. The Universe Unraveling is a provocative reinterpretation of U.S.-Lao relations in the years leading up to the Vietnam War. Seth Jacobs argues that Laos boasted ... Read more

More significant in determining U.S. policy in Southeast Asia than strategic appraisals of the Lao landscape were cultural perceptions of the Lao people. Jacobs contends that U.S. policy toward Laos under Eisenhower and Kennedy cannot be understood apart from the traits Americans ascribed to their Lao allies. Drawing on diplomatic correspondence, contemporary press coverage, and the work of iconic figures like "celebrity saint" Tom Dooley, Jacobs finds that the characteristics American statesmen and the American media attributed to the Lao—laziness, immaturity, ignorance, imbecility, and cowardice—differed from traits assigned the South Vietnamese and made Lao chances of withstanding communist aggression appear dubious. The Universe Unraveling provides a new perspective on how prejudice can shape policy decisions and even the course of history.

Show Less

Product Details

Format
Hardback
Publication date
2012
Publisher
Cornell University Press United States
Number of pages
328
Condition
New
Series
The United States in the World
Number of Pages
328
Place of Publication
Ithaca, United States
ISBN
9780801445477
SKU
V9780801445477
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1

About Seth Jacobs
Seth Jacobs is Associate Professor of History at Boston College. He is the author of Cold War Mandarin and America’s Miracle Man in Vietnam.

Reviews for The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos
The Universe Unraveling is a wonderful, spellbinding account, one of those rare books that you really do not want to put down. Although the heart of Jacobs's book is about cultural attitudes, one real strength is that he integrates them into a fairly traditional diplomatic history narrative that explains cogently the intricacies of Lao politics and American policy.
Diplomatic ... Read more

Goodreads reviews for The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos


Subscribe to our newsletter

News on special offers, signed editions & more!