Perils of Dominance

Gareth Porter offers a bold reinterpretation of how and why the United States went to war in Vietnam, challenging conventional views by focusing on hawkish policymakers who overrode Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson.

Drawing on declassified documents, the book contends that an overwhelming U.S.

military imbalance prompted aggressive policies rather than North Vietnamese aggression, providing compelling evidence for decisions from 1954 to mid-1965.