Offering a unique and impressively informed and informative perspective, vietnam s american war. While most historians of the vietnam war focus on the origins of u. Apr 19, 2011 the vietnam war, as we americans call it, looms large in american history. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. A new york times notable book the national bestseller that tells the truth about the vietnam war from the black soldiers perspective. Much of the war was fought in a nontraditional guerilla style, and there were many casualties on both sides. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Sinovietnamese war reeducation camp vietnam boat people vietnam war casualties opposition to the vietnam war opposition to the u.
The conflict inspired an avalanche of volumes and they all claim to be the last word. Of the 33,000 books about the vietnam war, all but a few eagerly sidestep the atrocious carnage inflicted on hundreds of thousands of civilians. Complete organized chaos for the new guys would begin as we landed in vietnam. 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. His streamofconscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense of war from the perspective. From the awardwinning historian and filmmakers of the civil war, baseball, the war, the roosevelts, and others. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 michael h. Organized chaos, seemed like a contradiction in terms, but after a few weeks in vietnam, it seemed plausible. One of the most controversial wars in modern history, we pick ten of the best texts.
Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam by harold g. 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. I have broken down the best books about vietnam the best vietnam books. Diving into a book about the vietnam war can be a daunting task. Oct 08, 2015 perhaps the only decent thing to emerge from the vietnam war is a body of literature unsurpassed by the writing thats come out of any other war. Conflict raged for soldiers, both within the boundaries of war and within the nations boundaries, in the vietnam war era. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed.
Here are two very different accounts of that same extraordinary day. I will be marking the fiftieth anniversary of those marines going ashore at da nang by posting my favorite vietnam war books, memoirs, novels, movies. What is the best book about vietnam war written from vietnam. Therefore, the war in south vietnam was not an isolated, local conflict, irrelevant to american national security, but rather one that was inseparable from the nations highest priority the. Vietnam had a profound impact on american foreign policy for years before actual involvement in. 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. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong.
This was a book i read before i went to vietnam and it was written by an army doctor who wasnt even there. The quiet american of the title is alden pyle, who tries to forge an american solution to the communist insurgency. Michael herrs frontline reporting of the vietnam war is collected in dispatches, one of the first books to capture the unique feel of life on the vietnam battlefront his streamofconscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense of war from the perspective of a sold. Shortlisted for canadas prestigious giller prize, this profoundly humane novel vancouver sun, wrings suspense and humor out of the everyday choices we make, revealing the delicate balance between sacrifice and selfinterest, doing good and being good. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. Since then i have gathered up quite a collection of books and dvds on the vietnam war or as the vietnamese say the american war.
The top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. Nguyen examines the international context in which north vietnamese leaders pursued the war and american intervention ended. It is an in depth analysis of its history and people through literature and poetry. We would be organized militarily, but we would have to break the bad habit, of trying to fight a conventional war in a guerrilla warfare environment. American views on the vietnam war historical society of. At the seminar, leading western diplomatic and military historians and vietnam scholars met with prominent vietnamese communists to reflect on the vietnam war. Tin bui answers questions about the war from the perspective of a north vietnamese officer. Michael herrs frontline reporting of the vietnam war is collected in dispatches, one of the first books to capture the unique feel of life on the vietnam battlefront. Vietnamese and american perspectives jayne werner, luu doan huynh on. In the early 1900s, nationalist movements emerged in vietnam, demanding more selfgovernance and less french influence. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. War story author jim morris ponders the hated nickname baby killers given to vietnam war soldiers, and then explains the extraordinary lengths u. American art and the vietnam war, 19651975 is organized by melissa ho, curator of twentiethcentury art at the smithsonian american art museum.
Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. He draws a clear distinction between the goals and actions of the american government and the. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. Its one of the best stories ive ever experienced through any medium in. Writings by activists by mary susannah robbins editor the protest movement in opposition to the vietnam war was a complex amalgam of political, social, economic, and cultural motivations, factors, and events. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. This volume derives from an unprecedented seminar held at columbia universitys school of international and public affairs in november 1990. The best books about the vietnam war the vietnam reader. 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. Drafted as young men, each of them would endure the hardships of a soldiers life and carry those memories long after the war ended. Ready to read the most celebrated and best vietnam war books. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception. The vietnamese revolution and politicalmilitary strategy. Choose from used and new textbooks or get instant access with etextbooks and digital materials.
In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. Drawing on a vast variety of sources that range from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and. Another character, cynical british journalist thomas fowler. 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. The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam.
One key reason, say doug bradley and craig werner, authors of the book we gotta get out of this place. Some forty years after american withdrawal from vietnam, the u. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. Huynh, luu doan and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. An oral history unlike any other, bloods features twenty black men who tell the story of how members of their race were sent off to vietnam in disproportionate numbers, and of. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as norman mailers the naked and the dead.
That is done well in this book, as the veterans from all nationalities talk about their. Jamieson, has been critical in helping me understand the country i visit every summer. Many thought the united states involvement in vietnams affairs was a mistake, and the opposition to the war defined a generation. 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. The early years of the united states army in vietnam, 19411960 1985 ronald h. Ray greiner, an american war veteran who returned to vietnam in. Appyauthor of patriots, the widely praised oral history of the vietnam war examines the war s realities and myths and its lasting impact on our national selfperception.
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. This book is widely viewed as the best concise history of the vietnam war. It follows the physical and moral path of a north vietnamese soldier looking to defend the values of communism he thought he believed. The prowar movement university of massachusetts press. 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 final book on your list of books about the vietnam war is 365 days. The best books about vietnam as a country, not just the vietnam war. Lis book offers, for the first time in english, the direct testimony of russian and. 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. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 by michael h. The necessary war, michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. The thesis of turse, and of his vietnam war books, is that american acts of violence against vietnamese civilians werent accidental and they werent rarethey were a systematic part of the war and soldiers were trained for and ordered to take part in hatebased slaughter. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times. Wehrle page images at hathitrust personalities of the liberation movement of south vietnam 1965, by u.
Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign relations. What is the best book about vietnam war written from. The work is one of the very few books on the vietnam war written from the perspective of an australian army officer serving in a u. The acclaimed english novelist and journalist, who covered the french war in vietnam from 1951 to 54, set the book in 1954 saigon. American and vietnamese perspectives by hunt, michael isbn. 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.
Believing the vietnam war to be a just and necessary cause, the pro war movement pushed for more direct american military intervention in southeast asia throughout the kennedy administration, lobbied for intensified bombing during the johnson years, and offered coherent, if divided, endorsements of nixons policies of phased withdrawal. Nov 08, 2012 enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Committee to aid the national liberation front of south vietnam multiple formats at. Academy professor, department of history, us military academy, west point. His role with the vietnamese communists began when he met ho chi minh while in france.
The first area to be discussed is the impact the vietnam war had on foreign policy before, during, and after the war. Sorrow of war offers the north vietnamese perspective by tracing the. Vietnamerica is one of the best books about the vietnam war. Vietnam war, 19611975 personal narratives, american. To protect the artwork, visitors may only enter wally hedricks war room fridaysunday from noon to 5 p. At once a moving account of the vietnam war and a meditation on the power of the human spirit, the things they carried has been a classic of american literature since its publication in 1990.
Fitzgerald won the pulitzer prize and the national book award by highlighting american misconceptions about vietnam and arguing that the u. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. The war began soon after the geneva conference provisionally divided 1954 vietnam at 17 n lat. Vietnamese and american perspectives 9781563240577 by werner, jayne. This book that complements the tv series is just epic and deserves its place along with stanley karnow vietnam and neil sheehan a bright shining lie. Provides a vivid ground view account of the vietnam war explaining why the americans went in, why the vietnamese fought until the end, and what the legacy has been for both sides in the decades since. The author was the highest ranking member of the communist party to defect after the war. When truong nhu tang returned to vietnam to fight for national liberation, he rose to become the minister of justice for the vietcong. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations.
Feb 05, 2008 books blog publishing catch of the day. List of books and articles about vietnam war online. On april 30, 1975, the war came to an abrupt end when saigon transferred hands. Banned in vietnam, duon thu huongs powerful novel offers an entirely different perspective from what much of american literature and film about the war has brought to the forefront. Heres an admittedly subjective list, posted on the military history now website, put together by mark masse, a ball state university literary journalism professor.
A history is an extraordinary study of exceptional scholarship and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library vietnam war collections and supplemental studies lists. The vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u. 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. Vietnam war books the quiet american graham greene cover. In this book, he generally does not praise the american soldier who. So i got my information from books like fire in the lake and films. The vietnam wars influence on politics, foreign policy, and subsequent.
The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Vietnams american war by pierre asselin cambridge core. Mar 15, 2015 vietnamerica is one of the best books about the vietnam war. How young vietnamese view the vietnam war the atlantic. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war. A vietnam war reader american and vietnamese perspectives. American and vietnamese perspectives by hunt, michael and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Webb, as you probably know, went on to write a few other books and still find the time to become a u. A short history of the american war from the point of view of the peasants and gis who fought it. They believed that the united states, which in their view had failed in korea and taiwan in the 1950s, was now expanding the war against china into vietnam.
1124 1325 542 900 1491 1142 168 51 269 160 107 599 1000 1226 1461 608 991 33 1182 204 1010 1092 78 180 1133 1397 802 1494 491 1051 525 1155 95 543 889 544 1421 78 1382 266 1311 1318 601 81 314 1295