Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. A small group of the literary elite read unofficial translations of some. Kien is a survivor of the viet nam war, a north vietnamese survivor. Us soldiers, communist leaders, saigon loyalists, vietnamese peasants and even nixon himself. Ninh, a north vietnamese veteran, telegraphs the theme of his novel in the title. Fall an account of the french war in vietnam, laos, and cambodia from 1946 which claimed the lives of over 90,000 french soldiers, and which should have been an apt tutorial for the us policy makers who instead ignored the lessons already hard learned by their french counterparts about the ways and wiles of the viet cong. It was easy to carry because of its lightweight, stable nature, and had a potent explosive power. Originaly published against government wishes in vietnam because of its nonheroic, nonideological tone, the sorrow of war has won worldwide acclaim and become an international bestseller. After a brutal firefight in vietnam paul reed had collected some war trophies, including stamps, envelopes, photographs and a small book.
French armed forces in indochina, 194554 the core of the french armed forces in indochina was the expeditionary force. Marge garner of missouri brought the diary to history detectives for her friend and vietnam war veteran, bob frazure. The novel was ninhs graduation project at the nguyen du writing school in hanoi. That soldier is vincent dennis polisano, who was nicknamed polly by an army sergeant at his first roll call. In 1966, after the battle operation indiana, bob came upon the body of a north vietnamese soldier. It gives us all food for thought as to how the traumatic experiences as a soldier can influence a persons life. Malleable with a texture similar to play dough, it could be formed into a shaped charge of infinite configuration. The great vietnam war novel was not written by an american. After japan surrendered in august 1945, the british army, under the command of majorgeneral sir douglas david gracey, disarmed the japanese soldiers stationed in vietnam who then needed to be transported to japan. Best book i have ever read about the war was a higher call. Viet cong vc, in full viet nam cong san, english vietnamese communists, the guerrilla force that, with the support of the north vietnamese army, fought against south vietnam late 1950s1975 and the united states early 1960s1973.
It tells the story of a soldier who is collecting dead bodies after a battle and then begins to think about his past. Rape in the vietnam war, finds that rape of vietnamese women by american. Bao ninh, a former north vietnamese soldier, provides a striking. The majority of these soldiers knew little more about vietnam than what their government had told them. Bao ninh had read phan thanh haos vietnamese translation of ridding the devils and. Dubbed the ho chi minh trail by the americans, after the viet minh leader, this trade route. My brother and the lost dreams of americas veterans da capo press, 9780306817885, whitney, who has coauthored and ghostwritten more than thirty books, reveals how her. Chronicles the wrecked lives of north vietnamese soldiers who enter the war. Downs, who served as an army lieutenant in vietnam, wrote three memoirs. The military in iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins. Ready to read the most celebrated and best vietnam war books.
Vo anh khanhanother vietnam national geographic books. You are extraordinarily important and life has meaning, in the sense that your. Perhaps more targeted at the scholarly minded, this book collects official documents and private letters from a sea of sources. Republic of vietnam rvn, thereby enhancing american prestige and power during the cold war. Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. Whether youre planning to visit vietnam or youre already a resident, language. If youve only read vietnam war books by american authors, come check.
The forgotten history of a prison uprising in vietnam. C4 was a plastic explosive popular among soldiers in vietnam because of its various properties. History of the term winter soldier ahead of captain. To the soldiers of the north, the ho chi minh trail was known as the truong son road.
During the vietnam war 19651975 as well as the earlier first indochina war, which pitted vietnamese nationalist troops against french imperial forces, the truong son strategic supply route ensured that war material and manpower could flow northsouth between different embattled sections of vietnam. Ode to soldiers young and old by stephen hobbs remembrance by elsa beattie a vietnam vet at the wall and he was a vietnam vet by susan raye white a soldier s pledge by lynn hughes bob by lt. A wartime diary touches vietnamese the publication of a wartime diary written by an idealistic young vietnamese doctor has captured the imagination of readers, and. Sgt mackenzie we were soldiers soundtrack with lyrics. An incredible true story of combat and chivalry in the wartorn skies of world war ii if i could only own one book about the war it would be that one. The straightforward, taut prose evokes a clear picture of his. The killing zone, his first, is one of the best of the genre. The translation is quite good as well, except a few typos and in the kindle. Annmargret entertained american servicemen in vietnam as part of bob hopes traveling troupe in the 1960s, and she participated in a number of signings at book. Hunts a vietnam war reader is a very different text to onans. Chronicles the wrecked lives of north vietnamese soldiers who enter the war with blazing. Our battery operated only with american military units and never worked a combined operation with the vietnamese, so we did not learn much about their soldiers. Fatherless and abandoned, vietnameseamericans search for. The officers were almost entirely french, as were the majority of troops in the elite parachute and armor and commando units.
This book is written by a north vietnamese writer and clearly evokes much of his experience in what was a much longer war for the vietnamese than it was for americans. The story spans this soldier s life from his beginning to now. They find the books main vietnamese character, the beautiful phuong. Civil unrest by the vietnamese who later became known as the viet. Suicide is now as threatening to soldiers as bombs and guns. A list with some of the most terrifying sounds o the vietnam war. It was a diary written by a north vietnamese soldier. Support vietnamese skills for dual language or bilingual learners with a large collection of engaging, translated books at a variety of reading levels. Subscribe one of the lessons learned during the vietnam war was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. In 1969, some infantry companies went on combined operations, and the stories they told were mostly negative. A novel of north vietnam bao ninh, frank palmos, phan thanh. The most terrifying sounds of the vietnam war youtube. The name is said to have first been used by south vietnamese pres.
The 1960s was a tumultuous time in the united states, but these love stories during the vietnam war prove that love conquered all even then. A soldiers journal by jack durish is a personal memoir of the authors tour of duty in vietnam during the war that tore americas heart in half. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. This book is a translated diary of a young vietnamese doctor who came.
That changed when john steinbeck iv, a vietnam soldier and son of the nobelprize winning author, wrote an article for washingtonian magazine in. What are some good books of world war 2 from a german. Code switch long binh jail was a prison for american soldiers on the outskirts of saigon with notoriously harsh conditions. A soldier with 150 days or less remaining on his active duty commitment when he derosed from vietnam also etsed from the army under the early out program. The term winter soldier is a play on words of thomas paine in 1776 when he spoke of the sunshine patriot and summertime soldiers who deserted at valley forge because the going was rough. Moki, tan and jannies were babies at the close of the american war in vietnam in the 1970s. Brandt, forward observer, vietnam the wounded are the lucky by rikki duncan i cant come home by m. Sometimes when you read a book in translation, its hard to tell who to congratulate on a job. For the north vietnamese soldiers in this novel, life in the mountains and jungles. The translation is quite good as well, except a few typos and in the kindle edition. It can be the most poignant thing about a soldiers death a little object that. This classic is a book about a north vietnamese soldier who outlived his. Pacos story won the 1987 national book award for fiction. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations.
This telling of the vietnam story is not politically correct, just true. Graduated levels of difficulty help emerging bilinguals build confidence while increasing their comprehension and fluency in the target language. It tells the story of a soldier who is collecting dead bodies after a battle and. The best vietnam war stories by vietnamese authors culture trip. Comparing testimony from vietnamese women and american soldiers, gina marie weaver, in her book ideologies of forgetting. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. This book is not just a north vietnamese war classic it is a classic war novel of any time and any place. The similarities between the affects of war on all sides are clear, but this tale is uniquely home grown. The sorrow of war is a 1990 novel by the vietnamese writer b. It is a tale of his adventures and misadventures while serving in the rear echelons of the 9th infantry division. A us soldier inspects the body of a vietnamese soldier killed during operation prairie, just south of the demilitarized zone in 1966.
Despite south vietnam s fall to the communists in 1975, he said, south vietnamese soldiers did what they could with what little they had. Veterans frustrated with ken burns film on vietnam war. This list is not ranked in in a way like the higher the more terrifying. Bao ninh, a former north vietnamese soldier, provides a strikingly honest look at how the vietnam war forever changed his life, his country, and the people who live there. The best vietnam war books, as recommended by vietnam war vet karl marlantes. Us army captain robert bacon leads a patrol during the early years of the vietnam war in 1964.
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