Apocalypse Then: American Intellectuals and the Vietnam War - Hardcover

Tomes, Robert R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814782345 ISBN 13: 9780814782347

Publisher: New York University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Before the Vietnam War, American intellectual life rested largely on shared assumptions and often common ideals; for the most part, intellectuals supported the social and economic reforms of the 1930s, the war against Hitler's Germany, and US conduct during the Cold War. By the the early 1960s there existed a liberal intellectual consensus. The war in south-east Asia shattered this fragile coalition, which dissolved into numerous camps, each of which questioned American institutions, values and ideals. Aiming to shed light on the demise of Cold War liberalism and the development of the New Left, this text examines the steady growth of a conservatism that used Vietnam and anti-war sentiment as a rallying point. It presents evidence indicating that neo-conservatism retreated from internationalism partly as a result of Vietnam, only to regroup later with substantially diminished goals and expectations.

About this title

Review:

"Traditional intellectual history at its finest. . . . a comfortable, logical, uncontroversial book that is likely to remain a standard work for a long time." -H-Net "In this work of prodigious scholarship, Robert Tomes has illuminated both the intellectual contours of this country's Vietnam trauma and the even larger story of the breakdown of the liberal consensus after 1960. An extremely valuable contribution." -David Levy, author of The Debate Over Vietnam "Interesting and thought-provoking . . . a lively account." -The Journal of Military History "A welcome addition . . . Valuable not only for its documentation of changing ideas, but also because it reveals broad intellectual contours. . . . Anyone who seeks to understand the passion of intellectuals about the war as well as its impact on American political and social ideas will want to read this book." -Choice "This is more than just another book about the Vietnam War: Robert R. Tomes offers an intellectual history of the war on the home front. . . . Constitutes a superb start for cultural and intellectual historians interested in the reception of the war on the home front." -The Journal of American History

About the Author:

ROBERT R. TOMES is Associate Dean of St. Vincent's College at St. John's University.

About this edition

• Publisher: New York University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0814782345
• ISBN 13: 9780814782347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288