Fred rosenblum went to vietnam in 1968 as a nineteenyearold marine. Conflict raged for soldiers, both within the boundaries of war and within the nations boundaries, in the vietnam war era. Fascinating facts and interesting vietnam war stories trivia war books volume 2. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, i often heard the expression rich mans war, poor mans fight in the context of the vietnam war but gave little thought to the expressions origins. Its as if the books have to be exceptional, in order to have a chance of measuring up to the task of outweighing or counterbalancing the war. The viet nam war was, unquestionably, americas longest war and a war that deeply divided america in the sixties and seventies. One of the most controversial wars in modern history, we pick ten of the best texts which offer illuminating perspectives on the vietnam war, its context and its.
Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. Ten vietnam war books worth owning i began collecting vietnam war books before the united states bugged out in 1973 two years before the war ended, a fact always unmentioned by those who claim we were defeated there. 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. It is a good question, but one to which his book provides a resounding answer. We feel no guilt about those wars, and earlier war literature deals with a history to which we have no direct connection. The best books to come out of conflict zones over the past hundred years, from world war one to iraq. The war has ended and the protagonist, kien, is part of a detail. While those books all provide excellent analyses of the war, another way to understand u.
Feb 05, 2008 books blog publishing catch of the day. List of books and articles about vietnam war in literature. Ninh, a north vietnamese veteran, telegraphs the theme of his novel in the title. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. The events of the book are set in hong kong during the vietnam war.
However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Ward introduction by ken burns and lynn novick illustrated. His stream of conscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense of war from the perspective of a soldier. In the vietnam war, mark atwood lawrence draws upon the latest research in archives around the world to offer readers a superb account of a key moment in u. Online shopping for vietnam war history books in the books store. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war. 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. He served with the 1st marines in i corps from the triple canopies in the annamese cordillera to the sunbleached savannahs that stretched and. The decade following the american defeat in vietnam has been filled with doubts about american politics and values, confusion over the lessons of the war, and anger about the physical and psychological suffering that occurred during the war as well as thereafter. Find below a collection of the best books on the vietnam war. 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. Fifty books about the vietnam war vietnam war veterans. The recon company that earned five medals of honor and included americas most decorated green beret. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction.
The early years of the united states army in vietnam, 19411960 1985 ronald h. Choose from used and new textbooks or get instant access with etextbooks and digital materials. 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. This is a hilarious tale of an air force combat fighter pilot in vietnam who goes out on patrol with a special forces team he has supported many times from the air.
My story is just one about a young couple in love during one of the most turbulent times in this countrys history. Below is a sampling of the lc subject headings used for the vietnam war notice that the word conflict is sometimes used rather than war this is a subtle but important distinction that in itself could serve as a research topic and for author tim obrien and his work. The vietnam war remains a topic of extraordinary interest, not least because of striking parallels between that conflict and more recent fighting in the middle east. We lived our relationship through letters, phone calls, violence and determination. Heres an admittedly subjective list, posted on the military history now website, put together by mark masse, a ball state university literary journalism professor. 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. Whilst some of these books are a bit older, they are still brilliant to read and give you great insight into the war. Not all of these books have a direct connection to any particular anti war movement. And there is a sizable body of very good literature about a war which, by most accounts, was a very bad war. Seeing the pilot is having a hard time keeping up, one of the chinese mercenaries called nungs, says to the team leader, lets kill the dai uy. Please check out my book happiness is a warm guna vietnam story. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. The powerful words in these eleven books help us understand a complicated time in our recent history, and the political and personal legacy that it still carries. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Some forty years after american withdrawal from vietnam, the u. During the vietnam war, hundreds of american prisoners of war faced years of brutal conditions and horrific torture at the hands of north vietnamese guards and interrogators who ruthlessly plied them for military intelligence and propaganda. Vietnam war teens, military history teens, books barnes. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. Wehrle page images at hathitrust personalities of the liberation movement of south vietnam 1965, by u. Literature and the vietnam war literature and the vietnam war judith b. Pages in category vietnam war books the following 42 pages are in this category, out of 42 total. He appears in the vietnam documentary by ken burns and lynn novick. Joint chiefs of staff history of the vietnam war, 19651967 my lai collection douglas pike collection. 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.
The book describes the expatriate life and relations with the local chinese population. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. To help on your search for knowledge we provide the following bibliographies book lists. The author was a government engineer and became involved in the corruption common at that time. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on foreign. Welcome to alpha historys selection of vietnam war books. 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. Includes some books and pamphlets published in vietnam, books published by the u.
Tim obrien, american novelist noted for his writings about american soldiers in the vietnam war. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. The conflict inspired an avalanche of volumes and they all claim to be the last word. It has incited many authors, historians and scholars, military and civilian alike, to analyze and write about this complex war. 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. Fifty books about the vietnam war this list is a part of the the frequently asked questions faq from the usenet newsgroup soc. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers.
The vietnam literature has no escape hatchesfew moments of romance, virtually no comic relief, and scant emphasis on comingofage energy even where that is relevant. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. The sentiment was given voice in numerous protest songs, perhaps most poignantly by credence clearwater revival in fortunate son.
Chester cooper unlike the majority of men in either the johnson or nixon administrations, cooper constantly encouraged a political solution over a military solution to the conflict in vietnam. Determined to maintain their code of conduct, the pows developed a powerful underground resistance. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. Vietnam war poetry book vietnam veterans of america. 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. 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. Bibliography of the vietnam war clemson university. Philip caputo his acclaimed memoir of vietnam, a rumor of war, is widely regarded as a classic in the literature of war.
Committee to aid the national liberation front of south vietnam multiple formats at. Literary legacy of the vietnam war ken lopez bookseller. 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. Vietnamerica is one of the best books about the vietnam war. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Webb, as you probably know, went on to write a few other books and still find the time to become a u. Mar 02, 2015 the best histories of the vietnam war.
Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. The vietnam literature has no escape hatchesfew moments of romance, virtually no comic relief, and scant emphasis on comingofage energy even where that is. Last week we asked readers for their favorite books on vietnam and the vietnam war. Buy the vietnam war in history, literature, and film 2nd ed. The war still consumes obrien, who fought in it and then wrote searing books about it. Vietnam war literature is a prolific canon of literature that consists primarily of works by american authors, but it is global in scope in its inclusion of texts from writers of other nationalities like australia, france, japan, korea, and vietnam. Organized chaos, seemed like a contradiction in terms, but after a few weeks in vietnam, it seemed plausible. Hastings himself says that the literature of the vietnam war is immense. Considered americas first long war, the vietnam war, which spanned the mid1950s to the mid1970s, has always been a topic of interest, not only to the american people, who lost over 58,000 loved ones, but also to writers of literature, historians, sociologists, psychologists, politicians, and filmmakers. An impressive piece of work that gives a good overview of the vietnam war and the wider issues that surrounded the conflict.
Vietnam war in american literature oxford research. One is literary nonfiction by a vietnam war veteran. His streamofconscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense of war from the perspective of a soldier. Purchasing these books through the book depository is a great way for you to save money, while supporting alpha history.
Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. The list includes fiction and nonfiction, and books for children and younger readers. Some of these are fiction books about vietnam war based on factual information, whilst others include some of the best books on vietnam history of the war. The violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. 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. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. 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. Army, transcripts of congressional committee hearings, and other materials. The united states and vietnam, 19501975 george herring widely recognized as a major contribution to the study of american involvement in vietnam, this comprehensive and balanced account analyzes the ultimate failure of the war, and the impact of the war on us foreign policy.
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