Presenting new perspectives on the vietnam war, its global repercussions, and its role in modern history. The author looks at vietnam from an interesting perspective. The memoir by kissinger, henry, white house years boston. In an attempt to establish a new dialogue among vietnamese and americans. Apr 03, 2018 when elizabeth partridge began research for her new book, boots on the ground. Both the nonfiction and fictional tales on this list have a sense of chilling realism gleaned from firsthand experience and indepth research. Now in its fourth updated edition, based on new declassified information, its known to vietnam scholars. Presenting new perspectives on the vietnam war, its global repercussions, and its role in modern history, this volume reveals americas war as an international event that reverberated all over the world. Winner of the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, this debut novel could fit into half a dozen genres of vietnam war books from war narrative to immigrant story, from mystery to political, from metafiction to historical and even dark comedy. The vietnam war, as seen by the victors the atlantic. Until now, no single book on the war has included so many different american perspectives and so varied a group of vietnamese voices. From the awardwinning historian and filmmakers of the civil war, baseball, the war, the roosevelts, and others.
The involvement of the united states in the vietnam war has been the most polarizing issue within post war american history. Marine corps lieutenant who landed on the beach near da nang on march 8. American and vietnamese perspectives by hunt, michael and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book presents new perspectives on the vietnam war, its global repercussions, and the role of this war in modern history. That not only makes the book unique, it also means you can follow the war from its true beginnings.
Lewy contends that the united states actions in vietnam were neither illegal nor immoral, and that tales of american atrocities were greatly exaggerated in what he understands as a. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. His most recent book is there are no flowers in a war zone. An epic event from ken burns and lynn novick social change was coming first look the vietnam era was marked by protests, not just about war. This is history on a grand scale, and a book of overwhelming. Vietnamese leaders, and have some idea of what their political views. This volume derives from an unprecedented seminar held at columbia universitys school of international and public affairs in november 1990.
While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on vietnam. The series is also available for digital download, and can also be seen on netflix and kanopy. He reminded the subdued crowd that 160 years earlier america had. Accounts of the vietnam war from the perspective of vietnamese are often overlooked, and books by south vietnamese soldiers in particular are relatively rare. Vietnam war, conflict in southeast asia, primarily fought in south vietnam between government forces aided by the united states and guerrilla forces aided by north vietnam. What is good or bad depends on perspective and when it comes to the vietnam war, a variety of perspective ranging from positive to negative is inevitable. Sep 14, 2017 as before, ward has written a weighty companion book to the series. Bobby muller, founder, vietnam veterans of america now an amazon bestseller. How the north vietnamese remember the vietnam war, 40 years. Bringing a fresh perspective to events that still resonate half a century later, this book is especially timely, giving us the long view of a turning point in american culture and politics.
America is a crassly materialistic and innocent nation. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception. Did any good come out of the vietnam war from americas. List of books and articles about vietnam war online. The book is highly influential, although it has remained controversial even decades after its publication. Secret wars of americas commandos in vietnam by john l. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. What is the best book about vietnam war written from vietnam. Hanoi s war renders transparent the internal workings of america s most elusive enemy during the cold war and shows that the war fought during the peace negotiations was bloodier and much more wide ranging than it had been previously. Edited by stewart onan, the vietnam reader is a powerful collection covering the breadth of the vietnam war and its impact. In addition to examining the vietnam war from a postcold war perspective, one of the purposes of this book is to set the historical record straight. Nov 08, 2018 americas war in vietnam was largely defense secretary robert mcnamaras progeny.
How vietnam was americas avoidable war new statesman. He teaches courses on the civil war, world war ii, vietnam, americans in combat, and the broad sweep of american military history. Nonfiction an intimate history of killing by joanna bourke. A short, narrative history of the origins, course, and outcome of america s military involvement in vietnam by an experienced guide to the causes and conduct of war, larry h. American views on the vietnam war historical society of. Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. An intimate history tells once again the painful tale of americas protracted, divisive and most would. Apr 15, 2008 a companion to the vietnam war contains twentyfour definitive essays on america s longest and most divisive foreign conflict. Sep 05, 2018 the vietnam war continues to haunt americas conscience, as well as historians, who keep searching for the truth of how we stumbled into southeast asia and stayed for year after bloody year. The united states and vietnam, 19501975 by george herring 1979. Author shares new perspective on america s role in vietnam war on march 16, 1968, approximately 100 american troops marched on the southern vietnamese hamlets of my lai and my khe, believed by the american military to be strongholds of the viet cong insurgency, and killed 500 civilians. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict.
Grade 8 up appropriately titled, this book looks at the vietnam war from the american perspective. What is the best book about vietnam war written from. On april 30, 1975, the war came to an abrupt end when saigon transferred hands. This book covers the fighting done by special operations groups sog during the vietnam war. It aimed to destroy the american perspective on the vietnam war, which influences how most of the world sees.
Embers of war is a mustread for anyone interested in the vietnam war on a broad perspective. In addition to jayne werner and luu doan huynh, the contributors are mark bradley, william duiker, david elliott, kristin pelzer, george vickers, james harrison, george herring, ronald spector, paul joseph, jeffrey clarke, ngo vinh long, benedict kiernan, marilyn young, david hung, keith taylor, and tran van tra. In this book, sandra scanlon shifts attention to those americans who supported the war and explores the war s impact on the burgeoning conservative political movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. American views on the vietnam war the vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u.
The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Winner of the 1974 national book award for fiction, dog soldiers is a story of the vietnam war and of drug smuggling. Four recent books examining the africanamerican experience during the vietnam war represent some of the matured product of that new military history. The vietnam war was released on bluray and dvd on september 19, 2017. This volume presents new perspectives on the vietnam war, its global repercussions, and the role of. In the early 1900s, nationalist movements emerged in vietnam, demanding more selfgovernance and less french. How comics captured americas opinions about the vietnam war. This book presents perspectives on the vietnam war, its global repercussions, and the role of this war in modern history. The vietnam war ended in 1975 after 20 years of fighting and more than.
The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. The best books about the vietnam war the vietnam reader. America, the vietnam war, and the world edited by andreas. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war. So i got my information from books like fire in the lake and films. He begins with a history of vietnam before and after french occupation, the cold war origins of american involvement, the domestic impact of american policies. The amount of actual footage is virtually nil, the sparsely available stock images used to illustrate something that the narrator is saying are shown only briefly, and in their place the vast majority of this film are what appear to me to be 3d screensaver art, and the occasional picture of a. I have broken down the best books about vietnam the best vietnam books. Apr 26, 2019 the chinese perspective on the vietnam is often neglected. This book, easily one of the best pieces of war fiction, is definitely one of the best books written by vietnam war veterans. The definitive collection of fiction and nonfiction on the war 1998 by stewart onan diving into a book about the vietnam war can be a daunting task. America in vietnam is a book by guenter lewy about america s role in the vietnam war.
The essays address political, military, and diplomatic issues and the cultural and intellectual consequences of vietnam. His pathbreaking book the face of battle became an instant classic and almost singlehandedly opened a whole new era in military history, and that was a good thing. At the heart of the disputes has always been the question of failure why was the united states unable to achieve its objectives. Dec 15, 2017 the panel was brought together to discuss hirashikis new book, on the frontlines of the television war. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 by michael h. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. But what he did was he interviewed the people he was treating and it was one of the great examples of breaking through the statistics. Scofflaw international law and americas deadly weapons in. The final book on your list of books about the vietnam war is 365 days. Us and vietnamese soldiers and their families, highlevel officials in america and vietnam, antiwar protestors, pows, and many more.
The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. It represents the best current scholarship on this controversial and influential episode in modern american history. Both are huge, doorstopping books covering the full arc of american involvement, from its very. The producers of the pbs series appear oblivious to the revisionist views of writers such as. The prowar movement university of massachusetts press. Little, brown and company, 1979 and his more recent ending the vietnam war. On may 25, 2012, president obama announced that the united states would spend the next thirteen yearsthrough november 11, 2025commemorating the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war, and the american soldiers, more than 58,000 patriots, who died in vietnam.
Comparative and international perspectives publications of the german historical institute daum, andreas w. These groups secretly worked within laos and cambodia and sought to disrupt the ho chi minh trail that brought north vietnamese army supplies to south vietnam. The vietnam war was the secondlongest war in united states history, after the war in afghanistan promises and commitments to the people and government of south vietnam to keep communist forces from overtaking them reached back into the truman administration. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read embers of war. Now, continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed collaborations, the authors draw on dozens and dozens of interviews in america and vietnam to give us the perspectives of people involved at all levels of the war. This documentary is more of an audio book than it is a video documentary of the vietnam conflict. A history of americas involvement in and extrication from the vietnam war new york. In 1975, when north vietnamese forces entered saigon and the south vietnamese government collapsed, the last americans fled vietnam in helicopters. How comics captured americas opinions about the vietnam war more than any other medium, comics closely followed the narrative arc. Much of the war was fought in a nontraditional guerilla style, and there were many casualties on both sides. That morning, as communist troops swept into the south vietnamese capital of saigon and forced the u. The definitive collection of fiction and nonfiction on the war 1998.
A vietnam war reader american and vietnamese perspectives. Nothing, certainly not our film or book, can make the tragedy of the vietnam war all right. The memories, nightmares and flashbacks of a vietnam war survivor gnosis press 2019. By the early 1960s, his office had become a dynamo room for waging and escalating the cold war. This controversial and timely book about the american experience in vietnam provides the first full exploration of the perspectives of the north vietnamese. Using neverbeforeseen archival materials from the vietnam ministry of foreign affairs, as well as materials.
Here are two very different accounts of that same extraordinary day. If you think the war in vietnam ended in 1975, you need to read this book. Author shares new perspective on americas role in vietnam war. Journalists share vietnam experiences national archives. The contest tells the story of that contentious election and that remarkable year. Vietnam was destined to be a quagmire, and america was destined to lose there. Covering world war i, world war ii, and the vietnam war, this book does an exceptional job illuminating the psychological aspects of wartime on those who do the killing. The volume reveals america s war as an international event that reverberated all over the world. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war.
Reexamining the vietnam war, four decades after americas defeat. America s combat role in vietnam came to an official end with the peace agreement signed in early 1973. Unfortunately, as an assessment of the vietnam war it is wrong, and to the extent that it influences u. The book s central theme is that america s leaders, prompted as much by domestic politics as by global ambitions, carried the united states into southeast asia with little regard for the realities of the region. Boots on the ground explains vietnam war to young people. In this comprehensive history, stanley karnow demystifies the tragic ordeal of america s war in vietnam. The book is not only a splendid account of a conflict often forgotten in the aftermath of americas war in vietnam, but it also speaks to the debate that continues to rage among military experts on the nature of the two wars in indochina and the proper ways to fight them, wrote george herring, the author of americas longest war. This was a book i read before i went to vietnam and it was written by an army doctor who wasnt even there. Additionally, vietnam and china have conflicts of their own, as such. But alongside the civil war interpretation, a more radical critique developed the view that americas enemy in vietnam was engaged in a longterm war. The fall of an empire and the making of america s vietnam, by fredrik logevall fredrik logevalls book focuses on the french conflict in vietnam at the end of world war ii and the beginning of the american one in 1959. The fall of an empire and the making of americas vietnam ebook written by fredrik logevall. He is a former marine corps officer, vietnam veteran, longtime activist for peace and social justice, and the coordinator of the long island chapter of veterans for peace.
New york times oped by scofflaw author ariel garfinkel, the vietnam war is over. Page v the united states and all other countries respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of vietnam as recognized by the 1954 geneva agreements on vietnam. In the vast literature on the vietnam war, much has been written about the antiwar movement and its influence on u. At the seminar, leading western diplomatic and military historians and vietnam scholars met with prominent vietnamese communists to reflect on the vietnam war. Taking a global perspective, the vietnam war remembers the people who served and features full spreads about prisoners of war, anti war protest movements, and the significance of the war for black americans as they struggled for civil rights. Halberstam, who was a vietnam war correspondent for the new york times. This 480page book covering some 100 military actions is an outgrowth of vfws awardwinning magazine series called vietnams deadliest battles. Ray greiner, an american war veteran who returned to vietnam in 2011 to teach.
The vietnam war has roots in vietnam s centuries of domination by imperial and colonial powersfirst china, which ruled ancient vietnam, and then france, which took control of vietnam in the late 1800s and established french indochina. How young vietnamese view the vietnam war the atlantic. Sorrow of war offers the north vietnamese perspective by tracing. Robert miller is the publisher of enigma books, and the executive director of the new york military affairs symposium, nymas. Hirashiki, who worked for more than 40 years as an abc news cameraman, originally wrote and published the book in japanesehis native languageto share his perspective on the war he covered for. Hanois war renders transparent the internal workings of america s most elusive enemy during the cold war and shows that the war fought during the peace negotiations was bloodier and much more wide ranging than it had been previously. The fall of an empire and the making of americas vietnam. It draws from the entire spectrum of media concerning the war fiction, nonfiction, poetry, song lyrics, film, photography, etc. It was divisive at the time, both domestically and internationally, and debates continue to the present day.
If you were to read only one book on the vietnam war, the vietnam reader should be it. Honoring those who served in the war at home or abroad, the inside covers of this book feature images of. Hastings and ward move back and forth from the perspective of an american marine to. Sep 15, 2017 whats your favorite book about the vietnam war.
The vietnam war created in association with the smithsonian institution, this authoritative guide chronicles america s fight against communism in southeast asia during the 1960s and 1970s, and comprehensively explores the people, politics, events, and lasting effects of the vietnam war. The vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u. Providing a useful background on vietnamese history, with periods of domination from and resistance to, outsiders, the book helps the reader understand the depth of the nationalism which the united states found itself pitted against. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times. Jan 01, 2006 a companion to the vietnam war contains twentyfour definitive essays on america s longest and most divisive foreign conflict. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. America and the vietnam war and millions of other books are available for. Winning the pulitzer changed the value of my book and myself. Others called it the american war, but i saw it as a civil war between the north and south of vietnam. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. A vietnamese perspective on the wars war is boring medium. Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Often compared to joseph conrad and ernest hemingway, and largely considered one of the best vietnam novels, stone focuses on two characters, one of whom is a sailor traveling home from vietnam. Americas deadliest days, 19651972 is vfws contribution to the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war.
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