The top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. 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. Complete organized chaos for the new guys would begin as we landed in vietnam. Its one of the best stories ive ever experienced through any medium in. Michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. 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. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong. Pages in category vietnam war books the following 42 pages are in this category, out of 42 total. Vietnam war, 19611975 personal narratives, american. Ready to read the most celebrated and best vietnam war books. The vietnamese revolution and politicalmilitary strategy. The early years of the united states army in vietnam, 19411960 1985 ronald h.
Wehrle page images at hathitrust personalities of the liberation movement of south vietnam 1965, by u. 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. 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. The vietnam wars influence on politics, foreign policy, and subsequent. 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 ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. 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, but also. Feb 05, 2008 books blog publishing catch of the day.
This was a book i read before i went to vietnam and it was written by an army doctor who wasnt even there. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as norman mailers the naked and the dead. What is the best book about vietnam war written from vietnam. Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam by harold g. American and vietnamese perspectives by hunt, michael and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war.
A short history of the american war from the point of view of the peasants and gis who fought it. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. 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. This book is widely viewed as the best concise history of the vietnam war. Sinovietnamese war reeducation camp vietnam boat people vietnam war casualties opposition to the vietnam war opposition to the u. Mar 02, 2015 the best histories of the vietnam war. Huynh, luu doan and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The first area to be discussed is the impact the vietnam war had on foreign policy before, during, and after the war. In the early 1900s, nationalist movements emerged in vietnam, demanding more selfgovernance and less french influence. Nov 08, 2012 enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. 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.
Mar 15, 2015 vietnamerica is one of the best books about the vietnam war. Drawing on a vast variety of sources that range from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and. It is an in depth analysis of its history and people through literature and poetry. The conflict inspired an avalanche of volumes and they all claim to be the last word. The author was the highest ranking member of the communist party to defect after the war.
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. Drafted as young men, each of them would endure the hardships of a soldiers life and carry those memories long after the war ended. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. 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. Webb, as you probably know, went on to write a few other books and still find the time to become a u. Thousands and thousands died in the war on all sides. To protect the artwork, visitors may only enter wally hedricks war room fridaysunday from noon to 5 p. The definitive collection of fiction and nonfiction on the war 1998. 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.
Here are two very different accounts of that same extraordinary day. One of the most controversial wars in modern history, we pick ten of the best texts. Another character, cynical british journalist thomas fowler. 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. 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. He teaches courses on the civil war, world war ii, vietnam, americans in combat, and the broad sweep of american military history. What is the best book about vietnam war written from.
Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. Nguyen examines the international context in which north vietnamese leaders pursued the war and american intervention ended. Many thought the united states involvement in vietnams affairs was a mistake, and the opposition to the war defined a generation. 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. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. Vietnams american war by pierre asselin cambridge core.
After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war. 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. Apr 19, 2011 the vietnam war, as we americans call it, looms large in american history. Jamieson, has been critical in helping me understand the country i visit every summer. Organized chaos, seemed like a contradiction in terms, but after a few weeks in vietnam, it seemed plausible. The vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u. The acclaimed english novelist and journalist, who covered the french war in vietnam from 1951 to 54, set the book in 1954 saigon. When truong nhu tang returned to vietnam to fight for national liberation, he rose to become the minister of justice for the vietcong. 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. 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. American art and the vietnam war, 19651975 is organized by melissa ho, curator of twentiethcentury art at the smithsonian american art museum. His streamofconscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense of war from the perspective.
A new york times notable book the national bestseller that tells the truth about the vietnam war from the black soldiers perspective. Conflict raged for soldiers, both within the boundaries of war and within the nations boundaries, in the vietnam war era. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. 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. American views on the vietnam war historical society of. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times. While most historians of the vietnam war focus on the origins of u.
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. From the awardwinning historian and filmmakers of the civil war, baseball, the war, the roosevelts, and others. Ray greiner, an american war veteran who returned to vietnam in. Sorrow of war offers the north vietnamese perspective by tracing the.
The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam. 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. In this book, he generally does not praise the american soldier who. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. List of books and articles about vietnam war online. 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. Some forty years after american withdrawal from vietnam, the u. 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. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. Vietnamerica is one of the best books about the vietnam war. The best books about the vietnam war the vietnam reader. Heres an admittedly subjective list, posted on the military history now website, put together by mark masse, a ball state university literary journalism professor. 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.
Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. At the seminar, leading western diplomatic and military historians and vietnam scholars met with prominent vietnamese communists to reflect on the vietnam war. Committee to aid the national liberation front of south vietnam multiple formats at. It follows the physical and moral path of a north vietnamese soldier looking to defend the values of communism he thought he believed. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. 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.
A vietnam war reader american and vietnamese perspectives. Much of the war was fought in a nontraditional guerilla style, and there were many casualties on both sides. Lis book offers, for the first time in english, the direct testimony of russian and. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign relations. The final book on your list of books about the vietnam war is 365 days. How young vietnamese view the vietnam war the atlantic. 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. The prowar movement university of massachusetts press. 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. The war began soon after the geneva conference provisionally divided 1954 vietnam at 17 n lat. That is done well in this book, as the veterans from all nationalities talk about their. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception. On april 30, 1975, the war came to an abrupt end when saigon transferred hands.
These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. So i got my information from books like fire in the lake and films. Vietnam had a profound impact on american foreign policy for years before actual involvement in. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. One key reason, say doug bradley and craig werner, authors of the book we gotta get out of this place. His role with the vietnamese communists began when he met ho chi minh while in france. 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. Vietnam war books the quiet american graham greene cover.
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. 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. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 michael h. 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. 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. He draws a clear distinction between the goals and actions of the american government and the.
The best books about vietnam as a country, not just the vietnam war. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 by michael h. This volume derives from an unprecedented seminar held at columbia universitys school of international and public affairs in november 1990. Academy professor, department of history, us military academy, west point. Vietnamese and american perspectives 9781563240577 by werner, jayne. 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. Vietnamese and american perspectives jayne werner, luu doan huynh on. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. 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.
American and vietnamese perspectives by hunt, michael isbn. Tin bui answers questions about the war from the perspective of a north vietnamese officer. War story author jim morris ponders the hated nickname baby killers given to vietnam war soldiers, and then explains the extraordinary lengths u. 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. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict.