Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. Even today, many americans still ask whether the american effort in vietnam was a sin, a. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. This authoritative book separates the facts of the war from the polemics that engulfed them, and takes a fascinating look at the people, places, events, and ideasboth on the battlefield and the home frontof this. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. But his experience in the vietnam war made a reasonable choice. 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. Against the vietnam war brings together the different facets of that movement and its various shades of opinion. To mark the day, heres a list of books about the war. Huong, one of vietnams leading writers and a wellknown dissident there, presents a view of postwar vietnam that is both barren of joy and rich. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. Vietnam war in literature a vast body of literature has been dedicated to the vietnam war 195475, including scientific research volumes, fiction stories, autobiographical accounts and poetry.
For many veterans, it can be difficult to talk about what they have seen and done in war. New book explores history of the vietnamese cornell. After graduating from high school in 1965 dean kohlers rock band landed a record deal and then he was drafted into the us army. The 696page book covers 2,000 years of vietnamese government, culture and life, from the qin empire in 221 b. Are there any nonfiction books written about vietnam from. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. One popular interpretation is that american leaders feared direct chinese entry into the war and that this concern precluded fullscale use of u. It really helped me in my paragraph in which i describe that approval of. This vietnam war summary is an excerpt from lee edwards and elizabeth edwards spaldings book a brief history of the cold war.
There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. 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. Essential vietnam war reading vietnam veterans of america. The vietnam war this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as. 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. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. In the early 1900s, nationalist movements emerged in vietnam, demanding more selfgovernance and less french influence. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. I only used the poll for the vietnam war, as it was the only poll that mattered. Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. 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.
Vietnam was the longest war in american history and the most unpopular american war of the 20th century. Apparently the lrrps reputation far exceeded their actual accomplishnents. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. It resulted in nearly 60,000 american deaths and in an estimated 2 million vietnamese deaths. Pages in category vietnam war books the following 42 pages are in this category, out of 42 total. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Every book on vietnam in the section claimed to be the best ever written on the subject. In vietnam, all us forces were ordered to cease fighting and that included air assets as well as the ground troops.
The work also included a damning warning about what the u. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. Vann retired from the army in 1963 after failing to. Generally considered the top memoir by a female vietnam veteran, this brutally frank book is written with many detailed descriptions of the wounded and dying men van devanter saw as a nurse at the 71st evacuation hospital in pleiku during her 196970 tour. List of books and articles about vietnam war in literature. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong. Xiaoming zhang \1 thy did the united states lose the vietnam war. An impressive piece of work that gives a good overview of the vietnam war and the wider issues that surrounded the conflict. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as norman mailers the naked and the dead. Taylor is the author of the new book, a history of the vietnamese cambridge concise histories. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. This is a poll about the iraq war and how people compared the iraq war to the vietnam war and the korean war.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. From his encounters with exvietnamese soldiers to interviews with victims of his own violence, broyles memoir is a reminder of how the brotherhood of man can. Excellent study of the vietnam war looking at a far wider range of topics than in most books on this war, and with contributions from american, north vietnamese and south vietnamese authors and participants in the war. The september issue of armchair general magazine contains an article, 10 essential vietnam war books by james h. This literature, although dealing mostly with the participation of the united states in the war and the consequences of this, is not solely of american. Before he penned the screenplays for jarhead and castaway, a young william broyles enlisted to serve in the vietnam war. Overview of the vietnam war digital history id 2925.
On april 30th, 1975, saigon was overrun by north vietnamese forces, ending the vietnam war. A very brief history is a fastpaced narrative giving all the essential details of the worlds most important cold warera conflict. Wellwritten and deeply researched, this history covers virtually every aspect of the french and american wars in vietnam from 1945 to 1975, focusing mainly on military, diplomatic, and political. While the writing and research of this book are as good as stantons other books on the vietnam war, this one has very little to work with. For others, however, writing about their experiences can be cathartic, and help educate others on what really happens during war.
This is a great piece of writing and the guy is obviously a talented writer. The early years of the united states army in vietnam, 19411960 1985 ronald h. Willbanks, a retired army colonel, who has written widely about the war, in which the author recommends ten essential books that should be on every historians bookshelf. It is only now, fifteen years after its end, that the full impact of the vietnam war on the united states can begin to be measured. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. The vietnam war was americas longest conflict, outlasting u. Compiled by dana sachs heres a list of great books about vietnam, many focused on the country and the culture and a few about the war. Citizens north and south understood that while the rich and powerful had concluded only war could settle their differences, the poor among them would do most of the killing and dying that decided the contest. See more ideas about books, good books and my books. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. Vietnam war summaryoverview of the conflict history. More than a decade later, he returned to his former battlegrounds and recorded his journey in goodbye vietnam. Detailing both the identifiable costs and the economic benefits, campagna examines the increasing influence the war. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations.