Feel how this story takes you back in time during carsons experiences. The korean war was short and bloody, resulting in the deaths of 5 million people, more than half were civilians. I am yet to read a better general history of the war than michael maclears vietnam. Feb 05, 2008 a rumor of war, philip caputo to call it the best book about vietnam is to trivialise it. Schlundvials is associate professor of english and. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Mar 06, 2015 dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. History with a human face creative nonfiction and the oral. To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. A history of the vietnamese by keith weller taylor, hanois war.
The story of vietnam from ancient past to uncertain future. 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. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in. 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. Remembering and recording the vietnam war digitalcommons. Philip caputo was a marine who later became a very wellknown journalist. 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.
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. Pages in category non fiction books about war the following 41 pages are in this category, out of 41 total. It was a time that many people remember and a time when our county was divided by their opinions. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. Vietnam war teens, military history teens, books barnes. 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. Harry summers is perhaps the expert on the military history of the war from a western perspective.
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 turning point in the vietnam war by don oberdorfer vietnam veterans, vietnam war. One part of the war that has seen little light read more. Vietnam war nonfiction missouri secretary of state. 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. 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. Its been 67 years since the controversial korean war, sometimes called americas forgotten warsandwiched between wwii and vietnam, began.
A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. Karl marlantess top 10 war stories books the guardian. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. You may also request these titles online through our opac. 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. From the author of the pulitzer prizewinning novel the sympathizer comes a searching exploration of a. 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. 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. To mark the day, heres a list of books about the war. Vietnam war at amazon vietnam war on dvd at amazon vietnam war kindle books. 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. 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. After graduating from high school in 1965 dean kohlers rock band landed a record deal and then he was drafted into the us army. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam.
On april 30th, 1975, saigon was overrun by north vietnamese forces, ending the vietnam war. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. Vann retired from the army in 1963 after failing to. 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. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. Best fictioncreative nonfiction about the vietnam war. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. 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. Tell me about the first book on your list, a rumor of war 1977. Beyond that, on the fiction front, we quickly traipse into forgettable territory. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war. 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 soldiers and journalists who wrote about the war were close to. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. History in an hour is essential reading for anyone interested in postwar history. 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. If you are going to vietnam, these books will make your journey more meaningful. Anyone interested in the war should also read martin windrows the last valley. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. 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. Dec, 2017 in this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. My top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam.
Schlundvials and sylvia shin huey chong, commemorating the 40year anniversary of the fall of saigon and examining the complex gacgacies of the vietnam war. 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. An international history of the war for peace in vi. Pages in category vietnam war fiction the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total. The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. I really find that era fascinating and terrible and confusing, and so many great stories about so many great things came out of it. Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so.
Henry kissinger, the politics of deceit and the tragic fate of pows after the vietnam war. The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam. Dec 05, 2015 a list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. I really find that era fascinating and terrible and confusing, and so many great. What is a good recommendation for a nonfiction book on wwii. Within a week, viet thanh nguyens darkly comic first novel, the sympathizer, won the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, and his nonfiction book. One is literary nonfiction by a vietnam war veteran. 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. Jan 01, 2015 4 however, to the forefront of this new discourse about vietnam veterans. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed.
More than a decade later, he returned to his former battlegrounds and recorded his journey in goodbye 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. The battle that changed the war in vietnam harold g. I have read literally 100s of books on these topics. Ive read all the obrien cacciato and in the lake of the woods are my favorites, so you can save those suggestions.
Before he penned the screenplays for jarhead and castaway, a young william broyles enlisted to serve in the vietnam war. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. A history of americas involvement in and extrication from the vietnam war henry a. In the novel, memories of the war follow people about as if a spy on the hunt. 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. The necessary war, michael lind if you only read one book on the vietnam war, this is it. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. The vietnam war was a very tragic time that was destructive and enormously violent. Sheehan, who covered the vietnam war for the new york times, won the pulitzer prize for chronicling the unusual story of john paul vann. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020.
So much for apocalypse now, full metal jacket, the best and the. A rumor of war, philip caputo to call it the best book about vietnam is to trivialise it. A list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. See more ideas about vietnam, vietnam war and books. A story of rescue in wartime vietnam 9780820324159. 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. 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. What is a good recommendation for a nonfiction book on. Unlike great war fictionthe red and the black, the red badge of courage, war and peace, all quiet on the western front, and a farewell to armsthat is read for generations, becoming part of a literary culture, the vietnam novels and memoirs are specific to a time and place. This is easily one of the five best nonfiction books i have read on the american intervention in vietnam, and i suspect. The work also included a damning warning about what the u. Dec 19, 2014 i have read literally 100s of books on these topics. A zocalo public square favorite nonfiction book of 2016. The vietnam war in american stories, songs, and poems by h.