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. You may also request these titles online through our opac. The ten best memoirs of the vietnam war council on. My top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam. Fields of fire is a brilliant book about the vietnam war. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war. A history of the vietnamese by keith weller taylor, hanois war. This is an excellent synthesis of the doctrine, strategy, leadership and internal workings of the pavn during and after the vietnam war.
The companion volume to burns vietnam war documentary series on pbs, the book stands alone as a powerful summary of the whole conflict. Sep 14, 2017 as before, ward has written a weighty companion book to the series. Best fictioncreative nonfiction about the vietnam war. It was a national book award finalist for nonfiction. Derived of the authors vietnam war experience, the thirtyseven stories in this sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious collection look back at the vietnam war from a distance of forty or more years, nearly a halfcentury, and via the perspectives of not only the soldiers themselves, but also their children, spouses, siblings, parents, friends. 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 the special test of patriotism. Memories of the lost war is the second memoir by american writer tobias wolff. This is easily one of the five best nonfiction books i have read on the american intervention in vietnam, and i suspect. Whole libraries have been written about world war i. 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. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. I really find that era fascinating and terrible and confusing, and so many great stories about so many great things came out of it. The best histories of the vietnam war council on foreign.
From an incountry reporters perspective, who was what we now would call embedded with frontline grunts including lurps. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and books. Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. All our physical stores and our online store are temporarily closed. The turning point in the vietnam war by don oberdorfer vietnam veterans, vietnam war.
Teaching the literatures of the american civil war modern. An epic account of americas involvement in vietnam by a historian who covered much of the war for the new york times langguth a noise of war, 1994, etc. Not all of these books have a direct connection to any particular anti war movement. The book looks at unformed men through a manmade hell, following along. Covering world war i, world war ii, and the vietnam war, this book does an exceptional job illuminating the psychological aspects of wartime on those who do the killing. All the strongest work is here, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry, from tim obrien to marvin gaye.
Nonfiction audiobooks matching keywords vietnam war. Dec 19, 2014 i have read literally 100s of books on these topics. What is a good recommendation for a nonfiction book on wwii. For a book he is preparing, mike burns, the author of a battalion of angels, and a vietnam war veteran, would like to hear from folks who, in his words, experienced some form of divine. Ive read all the obrien cacciato and in the lake of the woods are my favorites, so you can save those suggestions. One is literary nonfiction by a vietnam war veteran. Dec, 2017 this book is a great read if you enjoy reading books about the vietnam war. The core of the book is the lengthy analysis of the political and military dau tranh strategy which made the pavns way of waging war so different to what the us army had planned and trained for. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. Joy about the french experience in indochina, was killed in 1967 by a mine planted on the very street he used as a book title.
Im glad the book was written as eventually the vietnam war will, like others, fade from living memory and this book gives insight into the motives and mindsets of people involved which might otherwise be lost. As before, ward has written a weighty companion book to the series. Finalist, national book award for nonfiction, 2016all wars are. In the novel, memories of the war follow people about as if a spy on the hunt.
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. The violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. A story of rescue in wartime vietnam 9780820324159. Remembering the women of the vietnam war by lowell robertssen 1990 1st edition. 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. It includes interviews with 5 people involved in the war. Reviews of books both fiction and nonfiction relating to.
This was the first vietnam war book i ever read, written iirc before the war was over. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. 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. Feb 05, 2008 every book on vietnam in the section claimed to be the best ever written on the subject. This book was written by a vietnam combat veteran with d1st502nd infantry, 101st aibrone division, mike m60 kelley, who is also an accomplished artist, producing exquisite images of the vietnam war. Personal accounts of a number of young people in the us during the latter stages of the vietnam war. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times.
Jul 9, 2018 this collection of books includes both fiction and nonfiction books about the vietnam war. Nothing, certainly not our film or book, can make the tragedy of the vietnam war all right. Both the nonfiction and fictional tales on this list have a sense of chilling realism gleaned from firsthand experience and indepth research. Here are my picks for the ten best memoirs of the vietnam war. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as. Vietnam war nonfiction books for sale in stock ebay.
A zocalo public square favorite nonfiction book of 2016. A harrowing story from the vietnam war of one green berets heroic mission to rescue a special forces team caught behind enemy lines 353. The book includes some great observations and agonizing human truths about the nonstop combat of the war. The definitive collection of fiction and nonfiction on the war 1998. Books with anti war themes have explicit anti war messages or have been described as having significant anti war themes or sentiments. For subjects that loom large in history, literature, film, and nonfiction such as the vietnam war, known in vietnam as the american war it can be tough to find fresh narrative ground. Nonfiction an intimate history of killing by joanna bourke. A vietnam war combat nurses 10year fight to win women a place of honor in washington, d. Download nonfiction audiobooks matching keywords vietnam war to your device.
A turning point of the american war in vietnam, by mark bowden economist books economist books. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception. Three best nonfiction books ever the washington post. Every book on vietnam in the section claimed to be the best ever written on the subject. Mcmaster, at the time a major in the united states army he subsequently became national security advisor in 2017 after having risen in rank to lieutenant general. 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. 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. An intimate history tells once again the painful tale of americas protracted, divisive and most would. Some made high falutin claims to be as good a war novel as norman mailers the naked and the dead. Lyndon johnson, robert mcnamara, the joint chiefs of staff, and the lies that led to vietnam is a 1997 book written by h. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library.
The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. In january of 1973 we in the defense attache office in the american embassy, phnom penh, cambodia, found ourselves in an unusual situation. Im not a huge fan of nonfiction, but since the vietnam war is a subject i know. Within a week, viet thanh nguyens darkly comic first novel, the sympathizer, won the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, and his nonfiction book.
Schlundvials and sylvia shin huey chong, commemorating the 40year anniversary of the fall of saigon and examining the complex gacgacies of the vietnam war. The best books about the vietnam war the vietnam reader. See more ideas about vietnam, vietnam war and books. Clocking in at 18 hours, the vietnam war is burnss most anticipated work since that magisterial feat. The definitive expose on why america lost the war, won the pulitzer prize for non fiction in 1989. A history of the war by russell freedman goodreads. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. Dec 05, 2015 my top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam.
The book chronicles the authors experiences as an us army officer in the vietnam war. In vietnam, all us forces were ordered to cease fighting and that included air assets as well as the ground troops. There is catch22, and slaughterhouse five, and these are classics to be sure. Mar 02, 2015 the best histories of the vietnam war. An international history of the war for peace in vi. The book includes some great observations and agonizing. History with a human face creative nonfiction and the oral. Oct, 2017 its been 67 years since the controversial korean war, sometimes called americas forgotten warsandwiched between wwii and vietnam, began. In a fight to reunify their divided country under communist rule, the north vietnamese rebelled against the anticommunist southwhich included their longtime enemies, the french.
These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. The powerful words in these eleven books help us understand a complicated time in our recent history, and the political and personal legacy that it still carries. Audible provides the highest quality audio and narration. 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 explore a list of reading. Friendly fire, one of the earliest 1976 notable nonfiction books about the vietnam war, is now available electronically through open road media. Just click on the picture of the book for more information or to purchase it. If you want gripping, true action of ww2, read last battle station, if you can find it, about one of the greatest, rarely told battles of ww2, the battle of java sea, the story of the uss hous. A new york times notable book the national bestseller that tells the truth about the vietnam war from the black soldiers perspective. He chooses the best books on the vietnam war, exploring its moral ambiguities, the warrior mentality, the humanity of the enemy, and more. Subtitled a revolution, a crime, a remarkable boy, a honeymoon, a war a generation revealed 19701979. List of books and articles about vietnam antiwar movement. The korean war was short and bloody, resulting in the deaths of 5 million people, more than half were civilians.
This book, easily one of the best pieces of war fiction, is definitely one of the best books written by vietnam war veterans. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. The book was originally published on october 4, 1994. If you are doing research on the vietnam war this book is a musthave. Pages in category vietnam war fiction the following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. American and vietnamese perspectives 2010 by michael h. Online shopping for vietnam war from a great selection at books store. This book stands as an implicit refutation of whitmans famous claim that the real wars will never get into the books and of daniel aarons more recent description of the unwritten war.
Booktopia buy vietnam war books online from australias leading online bookstore. During the four years following passage of the tonkin gulf resolution aug. From the author of the pulitzer prizewinning novel the sympathizer comes a searching exploration of a. The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of the vietnam warbased on the celebrated pbs television series by ken burns and lynn novick more than forty years have passed since the end of the vietnam war, but its memory continues to loom large in the national psyche. The girl in the picture 2001, penguin, reissue by denise chong one of the most enduring photos from the vietnam war was of kim phuc as a little girl running. To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. Vietnam war nonfiction missouri secretary of state. History with a human face creative nonfiction and the oral histories of the vietnam war. The list includes fiction and nonfiction, and books for children and younger readers. Sep 15, 2017 whats your favorite book about the vietnam war. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations. 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.
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