Today i want to look at the best novels, because fiction can provide fresh insights into great historical events. There she meets and begins an affair with a paraplegic vietnam vet who struggles to reconcile his experience in the warand his reintroduction to a country in which he feels unwelcome. Jun 14, 2018 covering world war i, world war ii, and the vietnam war, this book does an exceptional job illuminating the psychological aspects of wartime on those who do the killing. Mar 02, 2015 the best histories of the vietnam war. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. Discover some of the most recommended and best vietnam war books in fiction, nonfiction, and middle grade and childrens literature. Chickenhawk is robert mason s narrative of his experiences as a huey uh1 iroquois helicopter pilot during the vietnam war. Two years later, in 1975, north vietnam invaded the south and, while the last american military advisers hastily left, took control of the whole country, which became the socialist republic of vietnam.
In good faith is the first book of a highly detailed yet accessible, twovolume narrative history of americas involvement in vietnam, from the end of world war ii to the fall of saigon in 1975. The vietnam era was marked by protests, not just about war, but also for social change. Dec, 2017 this book happens to be one of the best novels about vietnam and will give you some great insight into what it was like to be in this war. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations.
Fields of fire is a brilliant book about the vietnam war. The necessary war, michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. A rumor of war, philip caputo to call it the best book about vietnam is to trivialise it. One of my favourites from this list is the beauty of humanity movement, it might be an oldie but it is a great book that tells an interesting story about key characters and their lives in old vietnam. May 26, 2016 the violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. Even the 20% of the book that isnt directly about the war is providing the framework for the war. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. 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 good, broad overview of the conflict from beginning to end. 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. Critically acclaimed since its release in 1977, dispatches was one of the first books which offered an insiders account of the vietnam war to the general public. List of books and articles about vietnam war online. Joy about the french experience in indochina, was killed in 1967 by a mine planted on the very street he used as a book title.
This rare account of the american aka vietnam war by a north vietnamese army veteran, although fiction, revealed truths to many people inside and outside vietnam. To shed new light on such a complicated and unsettled time in our history, to struggle to comprehend the special dissonance that is the vietnam war, we needed to look beyond the familiar stories. Tell me about the first book on your list, a rumor of war 1977. Some forty years after american withdrawal from vietnam, the u.
This is a great piece of writing and the guy is obviously a talented writer. It escalated from a vietnamese civil war into a limited international conflict in which the united states was deeply involved, and did not end. Covering world war i, world war ii, and the vietnam war, this book does an exceptional job illuminating the psychological aspects of wartime on those who do the killing. Every book on vietnam in the section claimed to be the best ever written on the subject.
What struck me about it is the similarity of the feeling between people who just by the grace of god, by luck, were on. This rare account of the american aka vietnam war by a north vietnamese army veteran, although fiction, revealed truths. Winner of the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, this debut novel could fit into half a dozen genres of vietnam war books from war. Despite how one may feel about the war, the universal themes bourke exposes re. Philip caputo was a marine who later became a very wellknown journalist. The vietnam war or american war, as it is called in vietnam was long and bloody. Good military history reading on the vietnam war score a book s 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. Michael herr was a war correspondent for esquire between 1967 and 1969. Writing an introduction for your vietnam war essay can be harder than you think given that the scope of. Apr 05, 2017 for just one book, i recommend the korean war by max hastings. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. 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. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The vietnam war lasted about 40 years and involved several countries. This is a story about a young man in a blue suit, white shirt, and tie who has left academia and is beginning his venture into the real world as an engineer. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. 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. Discover pick of the month escape into a good book read before you. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict.
For just one book, i recommend the korean war by max hastings. Hi, im jason aaron, writer of the other side, a new miniseries from vertigo about the vietnam war, and im here to enlighten you on some of the highlights and lowlights of that wars portrayal in comic book form. Our books experts recommends 10 authors to read on the conflict. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. The vietnam war pictures that moved them most while the vietnam war raged roughly two decades worth of bloody and worldchanging years compelling images made their way out of the combat. However, despite the good intentions, i believe that this was an unsuccessful war. In the short history of vietnam war literature, publishers would hardly touch a book on the war.
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. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. 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. A history gets called the bible of vietnam and with good reason. The companion volume to burns vietnam war documentary series on pbs, the book stands alone as a powerful summary. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on foreign. While it poses as a book on the full history of the country, its really a history of the war. The vietnam war, an intimate history, by geoffrey ward and ken burns. Marine corps lieutenant who landed on the beach near da nang on march 8. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. The violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. Essays on vietnam war examples of research paper topics. Learn about vietnam war protests, the tet offensive, the my lai massacre, the pentagon papers and more. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam.
Jan 17, 20 however, despite the good intentions, i believe that this was an unsuccessful war. Drawing on the latest research and recently declassified nsa material, sergio miller has been able to. In my mind its one of the first really wellwritten books that describe the moral ambiguities and difficulties faced by a young marine officer in this particular war. Vietnam war marked an important event in the history of the united states hence essays on vietnam war are inescapable. The book chronicles his enlistment, flight training, deployment to and experiences in vietnam, and his experiences after returning from the war. Nov 08, 2012 our books experts recommends 10 authors to read on the conflict. A lot of survivors are still alive and so you must be very sensitive when choosing a topic to avoid offending some readers. A civilian in the vietnam war is not a story about war, nor is it a story of a soldier. The top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. The casualties of the vietnam war were just too high and too senseless. How a bible may have saved a young infantrymans life in vietnam. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. 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 a printed book.
This book is a collection of fascinating short stories, photos, and documents furnished by the heroic and courageous men that served as air or ground crew members in vietnam. 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. Expendable wariors is good for the battle of khe sanh. The one and only book i own on the vietnam war is stanley karnows vietnam. The united states and vietnam is a pretty good starter. All this week, i will be marking the fiftieth anniversary of those marines going ashore at da nang by posting my favorite vietnam war books. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong. A rumor of war by philip kaputo is a story which tells more than one side of the war. Though i would highly recommend before reading anything on the vietnam war to do a bit of reading on the historiographical nature of the war. 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. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Mar 26, 2018 during the war years, americas leaders insisted that military force was necessary to defend a sovereign nation south vietnam from external communist aggression. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign relations.
1536 746 1038 159 407 845 1363 436 542 181 1469 1223 1240 1288 827 671 1300 771 1315 1353 1250 1002 1030 445 1244 537 1465 1403 650 123 1040 505 146 606 1274 226 769 697 784 1304 1020 1055 1094 212 766 831 855 1365