America 250 · 1968–1980
Vietnam & the Seventies
The decade that lost a war, drove out a president, and broke the postwar bargain.
From Tet through the Iran hostage crisis — Vietnam, Watergate, the oil shocks, stagflation, the fall of Saigon, the Bicentennial, the disco era. The decade Americans tend to skip in their memory.
Presidents who served
Histories
Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
Rick Perlstein · 2008
The era through Nixon's rise. Perlstein on how the country that elected him became the country he leaves us.
All the President's Men
Bob Woodward · 1974
Woodward and Bernstein's own account of the Watergate reporting — written in the months after Nixon resigned.
Lives
Richard Nixon: The Life
John A. Farrell · 2017
The best modern one-volume Nixon — uses the tapes without becoming a Watergate book.
Fiction
The Things They Carried
Tim O'Brien · 1990
O'Brien's linked Vietnam stories — what soldiers carried, literal and metaphorical. The era's defining war fiction.
On screen
The Vietnam War
Ken Burns · 2017
PBS ten-part documentary by Burns and Lynn Novick. 18 hours; the most ambitious thing either has made.
Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola · 1979
Coppola's Heart of Darkness in Vietnam — the war movie that broke the genre.
All the President's Men
Alan J. Pakula · 1976
Pakula's film with Redford and Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein — the canonical Watergate movie.
Common questions
Where should I start learning about Vietnam & the Seventies?
To understand the political landscape of Vietnam & the Seventies, begin with Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland, which covers the fracturing of America. For a comprehensive look at the conflict that defined the era, watch the 2017 documentary series The Vietnam War.
Why does the Vietnam & the Seventies era matter in American history?
Vietnam & the Seventies represents a period that broke the postwar bargain. It encompasses the loss of the Vietnam War, the resignation of a president due to Watergate, and significant economic instability including stagflation and oil shocks, effectively ending the stability of the post-World War II era.
What is the best book about the political scandals of Vietnam & the Seventies?
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward is the definitive account of the Watergate investigation. It serves as a primary text for understanding the political corruption and institutional breakdown that characterized the government during the Vietnam & the Seventies period.
How many U.S. presidents served during the Vietnam & the Seventies era?
Three U.S. presidents served during the Vietnam & the Seventies era. Their administrations navigated the transition from the height of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal through the economic crises of the late 1970s, concluding with the Iran hostage crisis.
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