Introduction. Points of departure: the global and local origins of the Vietnam War Edward Miller; Part I. Empires and Nations: 1. Memory, tradition, and the history of 'Vietnam' Liam Kelly; 2. The origins of the Vietnamese revolution Hue-Tam Ho Tai; 3. H¿ Chí Minh and the rise of the Vietnamese Communist Party Pierre Brocheux; 4. Indochina during World War II Eric T. Jennings; 5. The august revolution of 1945 Stein Tønneson; Part II. The First Indochina War: 6. The birth of the democratic republic of Vietnam David Marr; 7. Empire and decolonization in France and Indochina Pierre Grosser; 8. China, the Soviet Union, and the first Indochina War Chen Jian; 9. The first Indochina War in the Central Highlands Oscar Salemink; 10. The first Indochina War in Northern Vietnam and the red river delta Christopher E. Goscha; 11. The battle of ¿i¿n Bi¿n Ph¿ Christopher E. Goscha; Part III. The Two Vietnams: 12. The Geneva Conference of 1954 Martin Thomas; 13. Eisenhower and Vietnam David Anderson; 14. Ngô ¿ình Di¿m and the birth of the Republic of Vietnam Phi Van Nguyen; 15. Nation building in South Vietnam after Geneva Van Nguyen-Marshall; 16. Building socialism in North Vietnam after Geneva Alec Holcombe; 17. North Vietnam's road to war Tuong Vu; 18. Laos between two wars Vatthana Pholsena; 19. The origins of the insurgency in South Vietnam David Elliot; 20. Kennedy and Vietnam Marc Selverstone; 21. The crises of 1963 Edward Miller.