An interactive modern history adventure by michael burgan. A look at our page devoted to the top ten best vietnam war books. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. The war took place in laos, cambodia, and vietnam, beginning in 1955 and continued until saigon fell in 1975. The vietnam war, an intimate history, by geoffrey ward and ken burns.
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. The vietnam war is also known in vietnam as the resistance war against america. Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. The essay why men love war also about vietnam is worth reading for similar reasons. The task triggers a flood of bad memories as the tale skips between past and present. It draws on many newly available resources and archives to tell not just what happened, but why. Stories from vietnam with mac vsog operator john stryker tilt meyer. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. When we began our interviews, we planned to organize it into a set of essays focusing on the most frequently mentioned songs, a vietnam vets top 20 if you will, harkening back to the radio countdowns that so many of us grew up listening to.
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. Go beyond ken burns documentary and discover the landmark memoirs and bestselling novels of the. His memoir about, the things men do in war and the things war does to men is one of the defining accounts of the united states defeat in vietnam. The top 10 asian books of 2016, from vivid science fiction to japanese crime, vietnam war memories and todays china. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. We polled a panel of contributors to military history for their choices of the top 10 war books of all time. But, for the record, heres the top 10 vietnam books that think theyre the. Photo by brandi redd few american military conflicts of the 20th century were as controversial as the vietnam war. The list, called the military times top 10 american war movies that should have made the afis top 100, includes only one vietnam war film, stanley kubricks masterful full metal jacket featuring the amazing lee ermey as the drill sergeant from hellabove, center. Many americans cite the vietnam war as the beginning of.
A list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. A young soldier in vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the. The companion volume to burns vietnam war documentary series on pbs, the book stands alone as a powerful summary. Our books experts recommends 10 authors to read on the conflict. It remains one of the most powerful simple statements about the futility of war and is considered one of the. Additionally, it is referred to as, the second indochina war. Agency and society in the study of the second indochina war from the journal of vietnamese studies, vol 4 is a fantastic primer on just the differences in terms of historiography. From homer to norman mailer, the novelist and vietnam veteran chooses books that tell the numbing, confusing, occasionally thrilling truth.
He had been among the child soldiers during the vietnam war. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. From the firsthand accounts of onsite doctors to novels about soldiers on the frontlines, the following ten books describe the tragedies and triumphs endured by the men and women who fought for their country.
Before he penned the screenplays for jarhead and castaway, a young william broyles enlisted to serve in the vietnam war. Michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. 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. Now that ken burns pbs documentary has concluded, were rereading the classics of the vietnam war s literary canon. Brad davis, keith carradine, michael okeefe, richard bradford. A new history is an excellent, if abridged, accounting of the greatest war that never truly took shape, except by proxy and politics. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. An authors 10 favorite books on the vietnam war todays top stories what the new, giant ll football league will look like column. Ken burnss acclaimed and powerful documentary the vietnam war, codirected by lynn novick, is currently airing in 10 parts on pbs, making it perhaps the. 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. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception.
What with this being about pop music, bradleys compiled a top 10 songs of vietnam. 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. Decades later, this war is still shrouded in myths, either from the propaganda during the war, or from the typical hollywood. According to the american government, their involvement in the vietnam war started on november 1, 1955, and lasted until the americans pulled out in early march 1973.
Two viet cong prisoners are led to an arvn command outpost at ha tien. Accompanied by gripping images from the war, oh, saigon is an indepth, compelling documentary about one refugee familys attempts to face its divided past and heal the physical and emotional wounds of the vietnam war. The best books written by vietnam war veterans offer insight into the war and first hand accounts of their experiences. That changed when the anthemic protest song war went to the top of the charts in 1970. If you are going to vietnam, these books will make your journey more meaningful. The top 10 books of war reportage books the guardian. 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 fiction the guardian. Childrens and middle grade year of the jungle by suzanne collins. 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 top 30 vietnam war books to read this winter historynet. 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. For a completely different take on the vietnam war e. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. Brave new world is a most popular novel by aldous huxley and published in. Here is a list of 10 most controversial books to have ever been released. Their thoughtful responses, some of which are quoted herein, resulted in a long list of worthy, mustread books and a clear consensus on the 10 best, which are listed on. 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. Philip caputo was a marine who later became a very wellknown journalist. After supplies and weapons were found in a viet cong tunnel network, a soldier burns a nearby hut used for rice storage by the viet cong. Some forty years after american withdrawal from vietnam, the u.
Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Edwin starr had been recording soul hit singles, including the top 10 pop hit 25 miles, since 1965, but he wasnt widely recognized as one of americas top soul singers at the end of the decade. Tell me about the first book on your list, a rumor of war 1977. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Best books on vietnam the best books about vietnam as a country, not just the vietnam war. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. If you havent been yet, or dont even plan to go, they will still enrich your knowledge about a.
The top 10 asian books of 2016, from vivid science fiction. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times. Recently were also covering the civil war, korean and vietnam war war and more recent wars. If you can get access to it, edward miller and tuong vus the vietnam war as a vietnamese war. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure.
More than a decade later, he returned to his former battlegrounds and recorded his journey in goodbye vietnam. Alibaba is the owner of the south china morning post. The memories of a us marine lieutenant in vietnam who slowly gets disillusioned as the war progresses. 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. The war, and the protest movement it created, defined the baby boomer generation. My top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam. The best vietnam war books 1 a rumor of war by philip caputo. These are certainly some of the books that have been considered some of the most controversial books ever published.
963 747 148 288 849 235 1177 670 1400 1048 269 1436 1054 405 1156 345 1415 1199 171 62 1180 381 844 1239 212 107 718 178 1257 142 1102 641 28