I love to read a few novels or autobiographies before i visit a place. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. Greenes book is widely regarded as a classic, prophetic literary tale that examines the start of american engagement in vietnam. 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.
The vietnam experience was published as a 25volume illustrated history of the vietnam war. Three moons in vietnam by mariah coffey a true story and of. The final book on your list of books about the vietnam war is 365 days. The acclaimed english novelist and journalist, who covered the french war in vietnam from 1951 to 54, set the book in 1954 saigon. Dec, 2017 in the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. A new york times notable book the national bestseller that tells the truth about the vietnam war from the black soldiers perspective. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. 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. Complete organized chaos for the new guys would begin as we landed in vietnam. Sep 21, 2017 the 10 best movies about the vietnam war here are the ten best films to tackle the complicated subject matter in realistic, brutal, and honest ways. The author was a government engineer and became involved in the corruption common at that time.
The events of the book are set in hong kong during the vietnam war. A special collection about the vietnam war is presented in both print books and ebook formats by the naval history and heritage command, plus you will also find other narrative monographs and commemorative resources published by the us department of army center of military history, joint chiefs of staff, and more. The commanding general for the combined armed support command cascom presents future sustainment trends to conclude the book. But phillip jennings is here to set the record straight, about one of the bright spots in u. Add these 12 incredible novels set during world war ii to your reading list. The quiet american of the title is alden pyle, who tries to forge an american solution to the communist insurgency. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. George grinnell was one of six young men who set off on the 1955. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times.
The following 27 pages are in this category, out of 27 total. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. 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. 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. The fall of an empire and the making of americas vietnam, by fredrik logevall fredrik logevalls book focuses on the french conflict in vietnam at the end of world war ii and the beginning of the american one in 1959. I was seven when pol pot was toppled a few years later, and the ghastly images of. Vietnam 1972 us navy fighter weapons school topgun f14 f4 phantom manual book. Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. Another character, cynical british journalist thomas fowler.
The book was memorable because it is so unusual set in the late 1700s, before french colonization, long before the french and american wars. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. For germany, the same had happened more than thirty years earlier during wwi. It is not conquest, it is not empire, it is not foreign bases, it is not domination. List of books and articles about vietnam war online. Books set in vietnam showing of 140 the sympathizer by. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners.
Base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Thought id start a thread where everyone can offer suggestions of books they have read that are set in vietnam or even about vietnam. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. This was a book i read before i went to vietnam and it was written by an army doctor who wasnt even there. Vietnam war, 19611975 examinations, questions, etc. Jan 09, 2018 many americans cite the vietnam war as the beginning of their disillusionment with military and federal leadership. It strikes me that this is the way our memories work. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. Unfollow vietnam war books to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Considered one of the definitive memoirs of the vietnam war, it is, simply a story about war, about the things men do in war and the things war does to them. Novel set in vietnam war, cia history win national book. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict.
The war began soon after the geneva conference provisionally divided 1954 vietnam at 17 n lat. 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. Pastiching the spy novels of the time and lampooning the british and american. In 1968 karl marlantes was a 22year old rhodes scholar and did not have to go to vietnam. He did agree to proposals for withdrawal from vietnam, because he knew the war was very unpopular there, but. When i think back to reading either book for the first time, and other vietnam war books, the. Written more than 2,000 years ago, this book still contains the best description of why countries go to war, the best funeral oration and the best depiction of political realism ever set down in print.
Choose from used and new textbooks or get instant access with etextbooks and digital materials. Online shopping for vietnam war history books in the books store. In the short history of vietnam war literature, publishers would hardly touch a. Organized chaos, seemed like a contradiction in terms, but after a few weeks in vietnam, it seemed plausible. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction. Surplus chinese military drum mag pouch vietnam war period. The essay why men love war also about vietnam is worth reading for similar reasons. Set in the remote arctic region of northern canada, this book takes readers on a harrowing canoe voyage that results in tragedy, redemption, and, ultimately, transformation.
Vietnam war, conflict in southeast asia, primarily fought in south vietnam between government forces aided by the united states and guerrilla forces aided by north vietnam. Daniel ellsberg and the secret history of the vietnam war bccb blue ribbon nonfiction book award awards by steve sheinkin. Matterhorn by karl marlantes, the things they carried by tim obrien, the th valley by john m. More than 700,000 people subscribed to the series during its run, and collectively, more than 11 million copies of the books were sold. For those of you interested in books about vietnam, heres a list, along. Army signal corps in hue, south vietnam, through the rise and fall of the buddhist democracy movement. My challenge, though, is that i have only read three novels about vietnam. The first volume, setting the stage, was published in 1981, and the final volume, war in the shadows, was published in 1988. In this interview, he recommends the best vietnam war books, exploring its moral ambiguities, the warrior mentality and the humanity of the enemy. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections.
Few novels better capture the sense of hopelessness and loss that inhabited the trenches of that first world war than erich maria remarques novel. 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. The first great book on war in all its aspects, and still one of the best. The mainstream media and history books would have you believe that the vietnam war was tragic and a dismal failure. Tim obrien shelved 281 times as vietnamwar avg rating 4. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. Vietnam war, book, mac v sog by jason hardy, volume iv, 1st edition, exc. An oral history unlike any other, bloods features twenty black men who tell the story of how members of their race were sent off to vietnam in disproportionate numbers, and of. He was an eyewitness to the coverups that followed the machinegun attack.
New york denis johnsons tree of smoke, a 600page journey through the physical, moral, and spiritual extremes of the vietnam war and its aftermath, won the national book. The book describes the expatriate life and relations with the local chinese population. Vietnam war teens, military history teens, books barnes. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war.
Heres an admittedly subjective list, posted on the military history now website, put together by mark masse, a ball state university literary journalism professor. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Pages in category vietnam war novels the following 45 pages are in this category, out of 45 total. 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. Many americans cite the vietnam war as the beginning of their disillusionment with military and federal leadership. Popular vietnam war books showing 150 of 2,546 the things they carried paperback by.
Swartzel was a witness to the main events outlined in his novel. The quiet american 1955 by graham greene, the ugly american 1958 by eugene burdick and william j. 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. Our man in havana, is a black comedy set in cuba during the cold war.
The list of the vietnam experience titles, in the order they were published. Saigon by anthony grey is an excellent novel set in vietnam from the 1930s to the end of the american war. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. The top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam. The book is organized chronologically, specifically including world wars i and ii, the korean war, the vietnam war, the falklands war, operation desert storm, and operation iraqi freedom. Winner of the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, this debut novel could fit into half a dozen genres of. He nonetheless joined the us marine corps, ending up with multiple medals but also lifelong ptsd. Our purpose in vietnam is to prevent the success of aggression. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. Ken burns and lynn novicks tenpart, 18hour documentary series, the vietnam war, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in american history as it has never before been told on film. I was two years old and had been born into the anti vietnam war movement. All week i have been blogging on the best histories, memoirs, films, and songs to mark sundays fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the first. The new york times, calling the series the definitive source on the vietnam war, said, how is one to avoid recriminations about the past without looking the past in the eye.