I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. One popular interpretation is that american leaders feared direct chinese entry into the war and that this concern precluded fullscale use of u. 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 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. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. Essential vietnam war reading vietnam veterans of america.
But his experience in the vietnam war made a reasonable choice. The vietnam war was americas longest conflict, outlasting u. This is a great piece of writing and the guy is obviously a talented writer. Before being killed in vietnam in 1967, he wrote eight books that many claim are some of the best history books about the french war and the beginnings of the vietnam war. More than a decade later, he returned to his former battlegrounds and recorded his journey in goodbye vietnam. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong. 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. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. 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. See more ideas about books, good books and my books.
In the early 1900s, nationalist movements emerged in vietnam, demanding more selfgovernance and less french influence. List of books and articles about vietnam war in literature. 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. 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. A very brief history is a fastpaced narrative giving all the essential details of the worlds most important cold warera conflict. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. Xiaoming zhang \1 thy did the united states lose the vietnam war.
The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Pages in category vietnam war books the following 42 pages are in this category, out of 42 total. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Sheehan, who covered the vietnam war for the new york times, won the pulitzer prize for chronicling the unusual story of john paul vann. Even today, many americans still ask whether the american effort in vietnam was a sin, a. 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. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h.
After graduating from high school in 1965 dean kohlers rock band landed a record deal and then he was drafted into the us army. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. The work also included a damning warning about what the u. It resulted in nearly 60,000 american deaths and in an estimated 2 million vietnamese deaths. New book explores history of the vietnamese cornell. 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. 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. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war.
Overview of the vietnam war digital history id 2925. 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. Detailing both the identifiable costs and the economic benefits, campagna examines the increasing influence the war. 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. Every book on vietnam in the section claimed to be the best ever written on the subject. This vietnam war summary is an excerpt from lee edwards and elizabeth edwards spaldings book a brief history of the cold war. Vann retired from the army in 1963 after failing to. For many veterans, it can be difficult to talk about what they have seen and done in war. The early years of the united states army in vietnam, 19411960 1985 ronald h. I only used the poll for the vietnam war, as it was the only poll that mattered. Vietnam war summaryoverview of the conflict history. For others, however, writing about their experiences can be cathartic, and help educate others on what really happens during war. An impressive piece of work that gives a good overview of the vietnam war and the wider issues that surrounded the conflict.
To mark the day, heres a list of books about the war. Before he penned the screenplays for jarhead and castaway, a young william broyles enlisted to serve in the vietnam war. On april 30th, 1975, saigon was overrun by north vietnamese forces, ending the vietnam war. 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. 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. In vietnam, all us forces were ordered to cease fighting and that included air assets as well as the ground troops. 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. 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. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Against the vietnam war brings together the different facets of that movement and its various shades of opinion. This is a poll about the iraq war and how people compared the iraq war to the vietnam war and the korean war. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug.
Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. Are there any nonfiction books written about vietnam from. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. In this work, anthony campagna focuses on one aspect of the wars consequences. Apparently the lrrps reputation far exceeded their actual accomplishnents. The 696page book covers 2,000 years of vietnamese government, culture and life, from the qin empire in 221 b. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as norman mailers the naked and the dead. Vietnam was the longest war in american history and the most unpopular american war of the 20th century. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. 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. Taylor is the author of the new book, a history of the vietnamese cambridge concise histories.
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. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign.