Kris
I want o read about why the war started and how it progressed over the period of time and how it concluded..in short end to end story.
Which books are out there I can read ?
Answer
The Vietnam Wars by Marilyn Young (yes, "wars" is plural because the U.S. war picked up where the French war left off)
http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Wars-1945-1990-Marilyn-Young/dp/0060921072/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210754668&sr=8-2
Unfortunately, talking with a veteran of the war (or even a number of them) is not enough to give you even the barest historical context, narrative, and analysis of what was really going on. And you have to remember that this was (until the Iraq War) the most polarizing foreign war in U.S. history (and even now no one is taking to the streets against the Iraq War in the way they were during the Vietnam War). Probably the best thing to do is to read several histories so you can get several different perspectives. But I'd say Stanley Karnow's history is good, too. Neil Sheehan has also written a good book about the war....
The Vietnam Wars by Marilyn Young (yes, "wars" is plural because the U.S. war picked up where the French war left off)
http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Wars-1945-1990-Marilyn-Young/dp/0060921072/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210754668&sr=8-2
Unfortunately, talking with a veteran of the war (or even a number of them) is not enough to give you even the barest historical context, narrative, and analysis of what was really going on. And you have to remember that this was (until the Iraq War) the most polarizing foreign war in U.S. history (and even now no one is taking to the streets against the Iraq War in the way they were during the Vietnam War). Probably the best thing to do is to read several histories so you can get several different perspectives. But I'd say Stanley Karnow's history is good, too. Neil Sheehan has also written a good book about the war....
Books about the war in Vietnam?
Intergalac
What's the best book you've read about the Vietnam War? Fiction or Non-fiction.
Non-Fiction: David Halberstam's "The Best and the Brightest," OK, I had a public school education and the Vietnam War was *not* taught in my classes...so I set about educationg myself. This book was very helpful.
Fiction: Tim O'Brien is a talented writer who would be successful no matter what he wrote..."The Things They Carried" is a masterpiece as well as "If I Die in a Combat Zone..."
But my very favorite was "Keeping Watch" by, incredibly, a woman, Laurie R. King
http://www.laurierking.com/books/standalone-novels/keeping-watch-2003
Can anyone recommend any good reads for me, fiction and non-fiction?
Posting this here as opposed to Books & Authors, since no one in there reads.
Thanks everyone!
Answer
Kelly,
this answer is sort of a mixed bag of "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction" as it was a comic book put out by the DOD between 1968 -1972 that today yields a small fortune if you can find them in "good" to "excellent" condition. Totally sexist, totally for guys, and totally for field grunts. They would NEVER get away now with what they did then, and I really LOVE this stuff. http://www.ep.tc/problems/25/02.html
For Non-Fiction ~ the best book with detail and American Involvement from the Policy side is Dr. Bernard Fall's "Hell in a Very Small Place"; but would recommend you read first "Street Without Joy" as it sets the tone for "Hell...." http://bernardfall.com/ From teenage Resistance Fighter with the Françaises de l'Intérieur ~ to embedded journalist with the French Foreign Legion in French-Indochina to Syracuse University Doctorate then Professor at Howard University and embedded journalist with the 5th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division.
All the best,
Gerry
Kelly,
this answer is sort of a mixed bag of "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction" as it was a comic book put out by the DOD between 1968 -1972 that today yields a small fortune if you can find them in "good" to "excellent" condition. Totally sexist, totally for guys, and totally for field grunts. They would NEVER get away now with what they did then, and I really LOVE this stuff. http://www.ep.tc/problems/25/02.html
For Non-Fiction ~ the best book with detail and American Involvement from the Policy side is Dr. Bernard Fall's "Hell in a Very Small Place"; but would recommend you read first "Street Without Joy" as it sets the tone for "Hell...." http://bernardfall.com/ From teenage Resistance Fighter with the Françaises de l'Intérieur ~ to embedded journalist with the French Foreign Legion in French-Indochina to Syracuse University Doctorate then Professor at Howard University and embedded journalist with the 5th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division.
All the best,
Gerry
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