Dec 19, 2014 i have read literally 100s of books on these topics. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. First used to describe the symptoms related to combat experiences in war, today a diagnosis of ptsd has been expanded to include some of the most common everyday situations. Schlundvials and sylvia shin huey chong, commemorating the 40year anniversary of the fall of saigon and examining the complex gacgacies of the vietnam war cathy j. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. I really find that era fascinating and terrible and confusing, and so many great. My top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam. Henry kissinger, the politics of deceit and the tragic fate of pows after the vietnam war. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. Anyone interested in the war should also read martin windrows the last valley. When i think back to reading either book for the first time, and other vietnam war books, the memories that come to me are of the owl coffee mug i. A history of americas involvement in and extrication from the vietnam war henry a. The turning point in the vietnam war by don oberdorfer vietnam veterans, vietnam war.
A story of rescue in wartime vietnam 9780820324159. It was a time that many people remember and a time when our county was divided by their opinions. The battle that changed the war in vietnam harold g. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans.
Nonfiction biography military biography, nonfiction history military 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. More than a decade later, he returned to his former battlegrounds and recorded his journey in goodbye vietnam. Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. Philip caputo was a marine who later became a very wellknown journalist. If you havent been yet, or dont even plan to go, they will still enrich your knowledge about a beautiful part of the world with tragic recent. Pages in category vietnam war fiction the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total.
The necessary war, michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. So much for apocalypse now, full metal jacket, the best and the. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Pages in category non fiction books about war the following 41 pages are in this category, out of 41 total. A list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. His oral history of the war, patriots, was a main selection of book of the month club and won the massachusetts book award for nonfiction. Remembering and recording the vietnam war digitalcommons. 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. Karl marlantess top 10 war stories books the guardian.
The vietnam war in american stories, songs, and poems by h. Schlundvials is associate professor of english and. Vietnam war teens, military history teens, books barnes. I really find that era fascinating and terrible and confusing, and so many great stories about so many great things came out of it. A rumor of war, philip caputo to call it the best book about vietnam is to trivialise it. I have read literally 100s of books on these topics. Feel how this story takes you back in time during carsons experiences. A few years ago when i began teaching the american literature of the vietnam war, i tried to find an anthology my students could usea book that collected all the major work in one place. Vann retired from the army in 1963 after failing to. The soldiers and journalists who wrote about the war were close to. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. 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. One part of the war that has seen little light read more. Very few aspects of the american war in vietnam have not come under the microscope in books, magazine articles, scholarly journals, blog postsor any other medium.
Today, americans look back nostalgically at the 1950s, an era when television and rock and roll revolutionized popular culture, and vietnam, race riots, drug abuse, and protest movements were still in the future. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. From the author of the pulitzer prizewinning novel the sympathizer comes a searching exploration of a. Best fictioncreative nonfiction about the vietnam war. The story of vietnam from ancient past to uncertain future. History with a human face creative nonfiction and the oral. Military 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 ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. An international history of the war for peace in vi.
Within a week, viet thanh nguyens darkly comic first novel, the sympathizer, won the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, and his nonfiction book. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. 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. 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. See more ideas about vietnam, vietnam war and books. On april 30th, 1975, saigon was overrun by north vietnamese forces, ending the vietnam war. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Vietnam war nonfiction missouri secretary of state. Schlundvials and sylvia shin huey chong, commemorating the 40year anniversary of the fall of saigon and examining the complex gacgacies of the vietnam war.
During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. Mar 02, 2015 sheehan, who covered the vietnam war for the new york times, won the pulitzer prize for chronicling the unusual story of john paul vann. Here are the key events leading up to the vietnam war, the deadly guerrilla warfare of the viet cong, the domestic antiwar movement and the fall of saigon. Tell me about the first book on your list, a rumor of war 1977. 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. If you want gripping, true action of ww2, read last battle station, if you can find it, about one of the greatest, rarely told battles of ww2, the battle of java sea, the story of the uss hous. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam.
How it got that way is the subject of stewart justmans fascinating exploration of the rise of ptsda story of a questionable diagnosis and of medicine gone astray. After graduating from high school in 1965 dean kohlers rock band landed a record deal and then he was drafted into the us army. Its been 67 years since the controversial korean war, sometimes called americas forgotten warsandwiched between wwii and vietnam, began. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. A zocalo public square favorite nonfiction book of 2016. To mark the day, heres a list of books about the war. If you are going to vietnam, these books will make your journey more meaningful.
One is literary nonfiction by a vietnam war veteran. Harry summers is perhaps the expert on the military history of the war from a western perspective. To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. This is easily one of the five best nonfiction books i have read on the american intervention in vietnam, and i suspect. What is a good recommendation for a nonfiction book on wwii. Nonfiction updated december 2006 a war story is good, but sometimes nonfiction can be more interesting, as in these true vietnam war stories, compiled by reader advisor paul mathews. Ive read all the obrien cacciato and in the lake of the woods are my favorites, so you can save those suggestions. The vietnam war was a very tragic time that was destructive and enormously violent. History in an hour is essential reading for anyone interested in postwar history. Karl marlantess top 10 war stories from homer to norman mailer, the novelist and vietnam veteran chooses books that tell the numbing, confusing, occasionally thrilling. In the novel, memories of the war follow people about as if a spy on the hunt. The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam. You may also request these titles online through our opac.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. A history of the vietnamese by keith weller taylor, hanois war. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. Mar 06, 2015 dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. Jan 01, 2015 4 however, to the forefront of this new discourse about vietnam veterans. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war.
Vietnam war at amazon vietnam war on dvd at amazon vietnam war kindle books. What is a good recommendation for a nonfiction book on. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. The korean war was short and bloody, resulting in the deaths of 5 million people, more than half were civilians. 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. Sheehan, who covered the vietnam war for the new york times, won the pulitzer prize for chronicling the unusual story of john paul vann. Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. I am yet to read a better general history of the war than michael maclears vietnam. Dec 05, 2015 a list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. Bruce franklin the first college anthology of american literature about the vietnam war brings together 16 stories, 5 songs, and 63 poems in an affordable text for literature and history courses. Dec, 2017 in this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. 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. Feb 05, 2008 a rumor of war, philip caputo to call it the best book about vietnam is to trivialise it. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in.
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