Year of the hawk: America's descent into Vietnam, 1965

Introduction: America in 1965

Prologue: Strange landing, strange war

Backstory, crucial decisions, and strategies. Vietnam's struggle against French colonialism ; The origins of America's war ; Washington: The complicated politics of escalation ; Creeping toward major war ; Hanoi goes for broke

The fighting on different fronts. Machines at war ; The big buildup and the "other war" ; The air war and the Ho Chi Minh trail ; Domestic politics and the antiwar movement ; The big fight in the central highlands

Looking back. Aftermath ; Reflections.