The Navy Department Library
Tonkin Gulf Crisis
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Allen, George W. None so Blind: A Personal Account of Intelligence Failure in Vietnam. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001. [See pp. 182-183].
Alvarez, Everett, Jr. and Anthony S. Pitch. Chained Eagle. New York: Fine, 1989. [Alvarez flew air cover over the destroyers during the 4 Aug. incident and was shot down over the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam the following day.]
Ball, George W. The Past Has Another Pattern. New York: W.W. Norton, 1982. [See "Tonkin Gulf Charade," pp.379-380.].
Barrett, David M. ed. Lyndon B. Johnson's Vietnam Papers: A Documentary Collection. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1997. [See index for "Tonkin Gulf"].
Bernstein, Irving. Guns or Butter: The Presidency of Lyndon Johnson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. [See pp.335-338, 534, 564.].
Bouchard, Joseph F. "Uses of Naval Force in Crises: A Theory of Stratified Crisis Interaction." Ph.D. diss., Stanford University, 1989.
Cherwitz, Richard A. "The Rhetoric of the Gulf of Tonkin: A Study of the Crisis Speaking of President Lyndon B. Johnson." Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, 1978.
Cogar, William B. ed. New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Eighth Naval History Symposium. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1989. [See Edward Marolda's "Tonkin Gulf: Fact and Fiction," pp.281-303; Edwin Moise's "Tonkin Gulf: Reconsidered," pp. 304-322; and James Barber, Jr.'s, "Tonkin Gulf: Comments," pp. 323-328.].
Conboy, Kenneth and Dale Andrade. Spies and Commandos: How America Lost the Secret War in North Vietnam. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2000. [See ch. 12, "Tonkin Gulf," pp.116-123.].
Duiker, William J. U.S. Containment Policy and the Conflict in Indochina. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994. [See "Toward the Tonkin Gulf," pp.320-323.].
Edwards, Steve "Stalking the Enemy's Coast." US Naval Institute Proceedings. 118, no. 2 (Feb. 1992): 56-62.
Galloway, John. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Rutherford: Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 1970.
Gardner, Lloyd C. Pay Any Price: Lyndon Johnson and the Wars for Vietnam.Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1995. [See index for "Gulf of Tonkin" and "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution."].
Goulden, Joseph. Truth is the First Casualty. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969.
Hanyok, Robert J. "Skunks, Bogies, Silent Hounds, and the Flying Fish: The Gulf of Tonkin Mystery, 2-4 August 1964." Cryptologic Quarterly [Fort Meade, MD, National Security Agency] (no date): 1-55.
Johnson, Lyndon Baines. The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. [See ch. 6 "Challenge and Response," pp. 112-120.].
Kurland, Gerald. The Gulf of Tonkin Incidents. Charlotteville, NY: SamHar Press, 1975.
Logevall, Fredrik. Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. [See ch. 7, "Provocations, August 1964," pp.193-221.].
Mann, Robert. A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam. New York: Basic Books, 2001. [See pp. 345-370.].
Marolda, Edward J. and Oscar P. Fitzgerald. The United States Navy and the Vietnam Conflict. vol. 2. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1986. [See ch. 14, "Naval Engagements in the Gulf of Tonkin," pp. 393-436; ch. 15, "The American Response to the Tonkin Gulf Attacks," pp. 437-462. The primary author subsequently changed his interpretation of the 4 August incident, acknowledging no enemy attack occurred on that date. Nevertheless, this is an extremely useful source.].
McNamara, Robert S., James G. Blight and Robert K. Brightam. Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy. New York: Public Affairs, 1999. [See index for "Tonkin Gulf incident," and "Tonkin Gulf Resolutions."].
McNamara, Robert S. with Brian VanDeMark. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. New York: Random House, 1995. [See ch. 5 "The Tonkin Gulf Resolution," pp.127-143.].
Moise, Edwin E. Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. [An excellent source with useful notes and bibliography.].
Nguyen-Nghe. Facing the Skyhawks. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1964.
The Pentagon Papers: The Defense Department History of United States Decisionmaking on Vietnam. vol.3. Senator Gravel edition. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1971-72. [See chronology on pp. 128-131 and "July-October 1964," pp. 182-191.].
Phan Dinh et al. Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 1954-1975. Trans. Merle L. Pribbenow. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 2002. [See "The Gulf of Tonkin Incident," pp. 132-133.].
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President 1963-64. vol.2. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1965.
Schreadley, R.L. From the Rivers to the Sea: The United States Navy in Vietnam. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. [See ch. 5, "The Tonkin Gulf – Beyond the Point of No Return," pp. 62-73.].
Schwab, Orrin. Defending the Free World: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and the Vietnam War, 1961-1965. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. [See ch. 3, "Toward the Gulf of Tonkin," pp.81-113.].
Shane, Scott. "Doubt Cast on Vietnam Incident, But Secret Study Stays Classified." New York Times (31 Oct. 2005): A1, A16.
Sharp, U.S. Grant. Strategy for Defeat: Vietnam in Retrospect. San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, 1978. [See ch. 4 "The Tonkin Gulf Incidents," pp.39-46.].
Siff, Ezra Y. Why the Senate Slept: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Beginning of America's Vietnam War. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
Stockdale, Jim and Sybil Stockdale. In Love and War. Revised ed. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1990. [Author flew air cover during the incidents of 2 and 4 August, and air strike against North Vietnam on 5 August.].
Sweeney, Susan B. "Oral History and the Tonkin Gulf Incident: Interviews About the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War." International Journal of Oral History. 7, no. 3 (Nov. 1986): 211-16.
Tourison, Sedgwick. Secret Army Secret War: Washington's Tragic Spy Operation in North Vietnam. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995. [See "The Incident," pp.149-158.].
United States-Vietnam Relations 1945-1967: Study Prepared by the Department of Defense. v.4. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1971. [See "The Tonkin Gulf Crisis," pp.5-15.].
US Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Promoting Maintenance of International Peace and Security in Southeast Asia. 88th Cong., 2d sess., 6 August 1964.
US Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services. Nomination of Adm. Thomas H. Moorer to be Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. June 4, 5, 1970. [Moorer believed the 4 August incident had occurred.].
US Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Background Information Relating to Southeast Asia and Vietnam. 4th rev. ed. 90th Cong., 2d sess., March 1968. [See chronology on p. 17; "President's Message to Congress, August 5, 1964," pp. 135-137; Adlai Stevenson's charge of North Vietnamese Attacks at the UN on 5 Aug. 1964, pp.137-140; "Southeast Asia Resolution, Approved Aug. 10, 1964," p. 141; and "Address by President Johnson, Aug 12, 1964 (Excerpt)," pp. 144-145.].
____. The Gulf of Tonkin, the 1964 Incidents. 2 parts. February 20, 1968. [Includes statements by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense; General Earle Wheeler, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Captain H. Sweitzer, USN, military assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; etc.].
____. Promoting Maintenance of International Peace and Security in Southeast Asia. 88th Cong., 2d sess., 6 Aug. 1964.
____. U.S. Commitments to Foreign Powers. August 2, 16, 21, 23, September 19, 1967.
US Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services. Southeast Asia Resolution. 6 Aug. 1964. [Includes statements by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense; Dean Rusk, Secretary of State; and General Earle Wheeler, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; etc.].
US Department of State. Vietnam 1964. vol. 1 of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1992. [See ch. 8, "U.S. Reactions to Events in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 1-10," pp. 589-664].
Vandiver, Frank E. Shadows of Vietnam: Lyndon Johnson's Wars. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1997. [See ch. 2, "A Tough Campaigning Year, 1964"].
Willenson, Kim. The Bad War: An Oral History of the Vietnam War. New York: New American Library Books, 1987. [For James Stockdale's account of providing air cover during the 4 August event, see pp. 28-35.].
Windchy, Eugene G. Tonkin Gulf. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
25 August 2015
