This book is an excellent introduction to the complexities of the Vietnam war. It is particularly strong on the subject of South Vietnamese politics, though it makes clear that the American side was the more byzantine. In particular the book indicts both military and civilian advisors to LBJ. It is thinnest on the activities and motivations of the enemy.

The Indonesian struggle for independence and survival in the tricky geopolitics of Cold War Asia is an extremely important historical topic, and one could do a lot worse than start with this book, which originally came out in 1952. George McTurnan Kahin spent a couple of years in the late 1940s in Indonesia doing research, fortuitously during the most tumultous years of the Netherlands Indies' struggle to become Indonesia. Incorporating not only secondary and primary sources, but also his own experiences, Kahin analyzes the colonial history of Indonesia and recounts the exciting story of its independence movement. Leaders like the fascinating Sjahrir (oddly, Soekarno does not nearly get as much airplay as some might think appropriate) come alive and frequently provide a personal context for the road to freedom for one of Asia's most important countries. While Kahin's book is obviously dated, it's still a useful and interesting text with which to begin a study of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, or postwar nationalist movements in general.