EMBERS OF WAR: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam, with 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner Fredrik Logevall


Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The 18-year engagement from which the United States ultimately withdrew continues to serve as a striking representation of United States politics and wartime strategy. Today, what many remember was the backlash the war created, the tremendous devastation and circumstances of the ultimate U.S. retreat. What arguably require equal attention are the roots of the conflict and the foreshadowing to this confrontation.

Fredrik Logevall, Stephen '59 and Madeline '60 Anbinder Professor of History and Vice Provost for International Affairs at Cornell University, will speak to this topic specifically as presented in his recently released non-fiction novel and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam. Logevall will shed light on how and why the United States became engaged in war in Vietnam through an innovative historical approach. He examines the causes of U.S. entanglement through the narrative of French colonialism, communism and its opponents and interventionist thinking.

Fredrik Logevall is an award-winning, renowned historian, accomplished educator, and prolific writer on the Vietnam War. His epic and groundbreaking book, Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam won both the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in History and the prestigious Parkman Prize, which deemed it an "extraordinary work of modern history." In addition to his prolific writing career, Logevall is also the John S. Knight Professor of International Studies and professor of history at Cornell University, where he serves as director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. He is a popular speaker at lecture series, colleges and universities, and historical organizations across the country. In addition to his expertise in all aspects of the Vietnam War, his in-depth knowledge of international relations and foreign policy allows him to skillfully draw parallels between history and modern day— inspiring audiences and encouraging dialogue about the lessons the past can teach us.

Please join us for the “Embers of War: Vietnam Reconsidered” with Fredrik Logevall at Rocky 3 at 4:30 pm, April 14, 2014. This event is co-sponsored with the History Department and the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.