The Vietnam War was remarkable for the number of unsuccessful 
initiatives to end it through negotiation and the active involvement 
of noncombatant nations seeking peace. The analyses and
conclusions gathered in this volume focus on the domestic and
international sources of such efforts, as well as the relationship of
these attempts to the Cold War.

    On the domestic front, contributors look at peace initiatives
from the Johnson Administration and consider the place of
larger American diplomatic philosophies in shaping the U.S. 
options. On the international front, scholars examine the role of 
Canada, France, Japan, India, China, Czechoslovakia, and the
Soviet Union in proposing, furthering, or blocking negotiations. 
Finally, they consider the positions of the Vietnamese themselves.

    Although unsuccessful in ending the conflict, these efforts
were important in shaping both U.S. politics and the international 
relations that prevailed in later years. The Search for Peace in
Vietnam, 1964–1968 offers new perspectives on a conflict that,
arguably, continues to shape the American presence in the world.

_________________________________________________________

LLOYD C. GARDNER, the Charles and Mary Beard Professor of
History at Rutgers University, lives in Newton, Pennsylvania. TED 
GITTINGER is director of special projects at the Lyndon Baines
Johnson Library and a Vietnam veteran. He and Gardner previously
edited International Perspectives on Vietnam.


Number Eight: Foreign Relations and the Presidency