Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. Anyone interested in the war should also read martin windrows the last valley. Mar 16, 2015 the tunnels of cu chi extend for about 200 miles. The tunnels at cu chi were originally built by the villagers to hide from the french in 1947. The tunnels connected homes and then eventually villages. Mark atwood lawrence and fredrik logevalls book the first vietnam war is a synthesis of events in various countries that led up to and followed the first vietnam war. Find books like the tunnels of cu chi from the worlds largest community of readers. Tunnel books or peep shows are a series of cutpaper panels placed one behind.
Memories from the underground war us news only april. The story is a journey from innocents, to the reality of the dark nature of man. Communist forces began digging a network of tunnels under the jungle terrain of south vietnam in the late 1940s, during their war of independence from french colonial authority. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. A time in american history that divided a nation and a generation. Webb, as you probably know, went on to write a few other books and still find the time to become a u. The cu chi tunnels a video during the war in vietnam, thousands of people in the vietnamese province of cu chi lived in an elaborate system of underground tunnels. However in a 600 page book less than 200 pages are on the period after 1965.
Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. Top 9 secret underground cities in the world momomdo discover. Chi district of ho chi minh city saigon, vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. I am yet to read a better general history of the war than michael maclears vietnam. Vietnam war, the definitive visual history, the by dk. Writings by activists by mary susannah robbins editor the protest movement in opposition to the vietnam war was a complex amalgam of political, social, economic, and cultural motivations, factors, and events. While the war began in 1955, the tunnels began being dug by communist forces in the mid to late 1940s, with renovations occurring to tunnels already dug in the early 1960s. Often compared to joseph conrad and ernest hemingway, and largely considered one of the best vietnam novels, stone focuses on two characters, one of whom is a sailor traveling home from vietnam. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. An oral history of the vietnam war by thirtythree american soldiers who fought it. The war stemmed from americas efforts to contain the spread of communism in southeast asia.
Compiling insightful maps, ataglance timelines, and incredible archive photography, the vietnam war is an allencompassing showcase of the story of the conflict, and a reflection on modern issues of battle such as prisoners of war and civil rights. A hunched stagger through the maze of cu chi tunnels is not for the claustrophobic even in the sections that have been enlarged for westerners. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. His coverage of the war in dispatches was groundbreaking for its presented a type of journalism that traded monotonous details for visceral descriptions. Chi are an immense network of connecting tunnels located in the c.
This intervention would become one of the most divisive decisions in u. But, for the record, heres the top 10 vietnam books. Vietnam s tunnels were dug well before the war actually started. Vietnam war resources vietnam war music, books, memorials. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans.
The tunnels of cu chi, while not a general history, is an excellent read. Its a shame, because although there are many excellent books written by american authors about the conflict, they dont give you an idea of how a vietnamese person saw the war. The title is somewhat misleading, as this is really a history of the vietnam war rather than vietnam itself. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. Against the vietnam war brings together the different facets of that movement and its various shades of opinion. Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. From deep salt mines to complex tunnels used for illicit activities, check out. Based on newly available primary sources, both in private and public archives, a fulllength history of the vietnam conflict based entirely on primary material encompasses three decades of war and paints a political and social portrait of the times.
The great vietnam war novel was not written by an american. Michael herrs frontline reporting of the vietnam war is collected in dispatches, one of the first books to capture the unique feel of life on the vietnam battlefront. Discover the best military historical fiction in best sellers. An impressive piece of work that gives a good overview of the vietnam war and the wider issues that surrounded the conflict. Underground cities are the fascinating foundations that uncover the secrets of life above. Oct 08, 2015 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.
The 11th armored cavalry regiment in vietnam and cambodia, 19661972. What is the best book providing a comprehensive history of. Full reading list explore a list of reading materials which are suggested as accompaniments to the film. Vietnam had been divided into two, with a communist regime in the north under ho chi minh and a democratic government in the south under ngo dinh diem. Heres an admittedly subjective list, posted on the military history now website, put together by mark masse, a ball state university literary journalism professor. The term popup book is often applied to any book with threedimensional pages, although. The tunnels expanded during the civil war between the communist north and the south. Museum store more than 20,000 documents, exhibits and films, in which more than 1,500 documents, artifacts, films have been applied to introduce. The constricting feeling visitors endure for only a few minutes, however, cannot compare to what life was like for the thousands of vietnamese who spent years. Since there isnt a lot of information hanging around onsite, book a guided.
Before the sympathizer won the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, many readers didnt know any authors or books written from the vietnamese perspective. The story of an extraordinary campaign in the vietnam war fought in a 200mile labyrinth of underground tunnels and chambers. Tunnels were often dug by hand, only a short distance at a time. The dance of the tunnel book smithsonian libraries. After saigon fell in 1975, vietnam preserved the cu chi tunnels as war memorial parks.
Choose from both fiction and nonfiction titles below, or browse back to the list of. Vietnam war history, part 2 vietnam war history, part 3 vietnam war history, part 4 vietnamwar. Tunnels were dug anywhere and everywhere in south vietnam. Pages in category vietnam war books the following 42 pages are in this category, out of 42 total. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. A history is a clearly written and accessible history of the vietnam war, starting with the early days of french colonialisation all the way through to the fall of saigon. 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.
Feb 05, 2008 personally, alongside herr, id recommend philip caputos a rumor of war and, for an exhaustive history, the 10,000 day war by michael maclear. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. War remnants museum, cu chi tunnels tour from ho chi minh. Fields of fire is a brilliant book about the vietnam war. Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the vietnam war, and were the viet congs base of operations for the t. The outrageously inventive followup to by the blood of heroesinglourious basterds meets dawn of the dead in this steampunk alternate history world war i zombie novel. The vietnam war first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the geneva accords.
Tunnel books also called peepshow books consist of a set of pages bound. At the close of 1917, the germans introduced a new type of gas, tleichecorpse gasa. Excellent study of the vietnam war looking at a far wider range of topics than in most books on this war, and with contributions from american, north vietnamese and south vietnamese authors and participants in the war. The campaign in the tunnels of cu chi was fought with cunning and savagery between viet cong guerrillas and special teams of us infantrymen called tunnel rats. Winner of the 1974 national book award for fiction, dog soldiers is a story of the vietnam war and of drug smuggling.
Duong thanh phong, a saigonbased photographer, recorded the war from inside the tunnels for five years, said that at least once, he was mortified to find himself above ground, unable to find his. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. Follow along on a journey with corporal roger sanchez united states marine corps, a combat infantry marine during the vietnam war. A look into the vietnam tunnels war history online. Nov 08, 2012 enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. Burns is a known leftist revisionist historian, and now he.
The vietnam war is the definitive illustrated history of the worlds first televised war. This companion volume to the tenpart film series airing on pbs this september will enlighten readers to the events that led up to the war, the combat itself, and its aftermath. Goodreads members who liked the tunnels of cu chi also liked. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. The tunnel rats were american, south vietnamese, new zealand, and australian soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the vietnam war. This book is a great read if you enjoy reading books about the vietnam war. See more ideas about vietnam, vietnam war and vietnam history. Mar 02, 2015 the best histories of the vietnam war.
Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. The start of the book about the vietnam war covers the history of vietnam. Michael herr was a war correspondent for esquire between 1967 and 1969. During the peak of the vietnam war during the 60s and 70s, 12,000 people were hiding underground. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. There is virtually no new history here, however, and a number of the personal stories included here can be readily found in memoirs and other books. Vietnam became split into a communist north and prowest south.
I had to do a serious research due to my limited knowledge about this topic. Perhaps the most surprising development of the recent war between israel and gaza was the discovery of the sophisticated network of tunnels. 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. Very good for the lead up to the war and the history of vietnam, sets the context of the war nicely. Personally, alongside herr, id recommend philip caputos a rumor of war and, for an exhaustive history, the 10,000 day war by michael maclear. The war remnants museum, the museum of thematic research, collection, storage, preservation and display of the material, photographs, artifacts on the evidence of the crime and the consequences of the war that the invasion force has caused to vietnam.
The images on each page work together to form a threedimensional scene inside the book that helps to tell the story. 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 author spent more than 20 years as an officer in the army of the republic of vietnam arvn, but. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. An illustrated history, burns and ward present the details of the vietnam war november 1, 1955april 30, 1975. In 1959, ho commenced a guerilla campaign in south vietnam, led by viet cong units, with the goal of reuniting the country under a communist.
Although the tragedy of the vietnam war is promoted as a memoir, it is mostly a political history of the war. Ten feet underground the tunnel is so narrow it brushes your sides, so low you are bent double. Of the tens of thousands of books written about the vietnam war, less than half of one percent are personal narratives by vietnamese. Vietnam drowned, body found in the neisse river on. His streamofconscious descriptions are chaotic, choppy, dark, and intense, giving the reader an honest sense. The more i read, the more i am amazed by what the previous vietnamese generations did during the war. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Today, tourists can crawl through parts of the tunnels that are regarded as safe, eat a meal that would have been familiar to a viet cong soldier, see the booby traps, and fire an ak47 on a firing range. Pages in category vietnam war novels the following 45 pages are in this category, out of 45 total. 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. Later, similar teams were used by the soviet army during the soviet afghan war and by the israel defense forces in campaigns in the middle east. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners.
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