What are your favorite books on the Vietnam War?
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 949
I'll lead with:
The Real War, Jonathan Schell
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 368
Dispatches by Michael Herr.
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 5,154
You beat me to Schell.
Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie is awesome for its depth and readability.
Kolko, Anatomy of a War is strong on the insurgents.
Specter, After Tet is a traditional military history arguing against the claim that the US was on the verge of winning after Tet.
Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American is stunningly prescient. Written in 1954, he predicted the whole debacle. Short and gripping.
Gardner, Pay Any Price argues that LBJ's New Deal liberal ideology explains much about the American invasion of Vietnam.
Young, The Vietnam Wars is one of the very best overviews.
Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July, very moving veteran's memoir.
Tang, A Viet Cong Memoir is an interesting account from the other side. He was a non-communist member of the NLF government in exile. Lived and organized beneath the B-52 bombs. Eventually fled liberated Vietnam with the boat people.
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 309
The Best and the Brightest
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,072
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 474
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason
Story of a helicopter pilot, a very good read.
