Reviews (7)

Revisionist, Questionable, Valuable, and a Starting Point

The ifs accumulate.
As if Lewis Sorley's paen to Abrams wasn't enough, now we have this doorstop of a tome. As if Vietnam was not bad enough as it was, now we have to wade through more "what might have been." Neither of these works are history, in that sense. The only thing new here is which demons to chastize this time around. The communist buhddists/bhuddist dupes (who had absolutely no reason to oppose Diem). The nefarious reporters, who twisted the truth to what end (as if the Americans who read the articles believed them). And of course lets elevate Diem, a political nonentity raised by the US through blatant electoral fraud, to sainthood right up there with Samoza, Pinochet, the Greek Generals, etc.
A Valuable Contribution to the Study of American Military History
It is certainly about time that a scholar trained in historical research takes a new look at the Vietnam War era and evaluates it on the basis of the wealth of new evidence which has become available. This new book by Dr. Mark Moyar, "Triumph Forsaken," offers a serious challenge to those of the so-called "orthodox school" of historians and commentators regarding the War itself, its justification, and its consequences. Self-described as a "revisionist" historian, Moyar provides a reassessment of the events from America's first intrusion into the Vietnam arena (mainly in the form of "advisors"), through the fateful assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, to the placement of U.S. ground forces into Vietnam by President Lyndon Johnson.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-1975    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: American    5. Military - Vietnam War    6. United States - 20th Century    7. Vietnam    8. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    9. Asian history: Vietnam War    10. History / United States / 20th Century    11. War & defence operations    12. c 1960 to c 1970   

Reviews (182)

amazing
This book made me want to become a marine scout sniper. However, since I'm joining the Army....hahaha...well that's impossible. But this book shows you the thought process of a particular sniper, tactics, his heroism, dedication, FOCUS, and determination to do his job so that more marines could live. An amazing book, I would say. This book also gives you a clear picture of what a marine scout sniper's job is, although there wasn't too much of the recon part of it. This book gives you a mental picture of what's going on in Vietnam, almost like watching a movie. Entertaining, yet informative. Also talked about how they created the M40 sniper rifle and how they got rid of (i'm going out on a limb here) almost all of its weaknesses/faults.

Well-Written History, But...
Well-written history of a war and those who fought in it with heroism and skill, but I shouldn't have tried to read this. It's just too bloody for me, I guess, and I couldn't finish it. But that's nota comment on the quality of the book, just its subject matter, which turned my stomach and really, deeply, got to me. For anyone interested in an ultra-realistic account of a sniper's life in Vietnam, this is the book. It's among the most visceral, lingeringly disturbing memoirs on the subject of modern war I've ever held in my hands.

Sniper book that you can't put down
This book tell the story of Carlos Hathcock tours in Vietnam, an sniper in the top of his game with not equal, the book is full of his sniping mission and is a easy read. I can't recall a moment where I felt the story was dragging.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Commando operations    5. History    6. History: American    7. Military    8. Military - United States    9. Military - Vietnam War    10. Soldiers    11. United States    12. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    13. History / Military / General    14. The Americas    15. USA    16. War fiction   

Editorial Review

In the first significant engagement between American troops and the Viet Cong, 450 U.S. soldiers found themselves surrounded and outnumbered by their enemy. This book tells the story of how they battled between October 23 and November 26, 1965. Its prose is gritty, not artful, delivering a powerful punch of here-and-now descriptions that could only have been written by people actually on the scene. In fact, they were: Harold Moore commanded the men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, who did most of the fighting, and Joseph Galloway was the only reporter present throughout the battle's 34 harrowing days. Read more

Reviews (231)

Meeting these men has been an honor!
Knowing some of the people involved with this true story and having met General Harold Moore and Joe Galloway a few years ago I felt a necessity to read the general's book "We Were Soldiers Once and Young." They wanted the truth told so Americans could learn about one particular unit and the major battle they fought in 1965.
Essential Reading For All
As a non-American living in the US for a year, I bought this book to learn more about the Vietnam war.It didn't really serve its purpose in this respect - and that was my fault - but it more than made up for it by being one of the best war books I've ever read.This stands easily alongside anything Stephen Ambrose ever wrote.The authenticity is one hundred per cent because these authors were there - their passion, emotion and commitment to their mean comes screaming through the pages.As does their frustration with military top brass and politicians.I'll never forget finishing the book on a Sunday morning, sitting up in bed, tears streaming down my face as I read of the impact of the deaths of those brave men who perished.The consequences hit generation after generation.This book is essential reading now because it highlights the futility of war and the no-win situation that America repeatedly puts itself into.

The Birth of Air Cav
This book tells the true account of the battle of Ia Drang. NO book could have captured the intense battles a well as this has. After reading some war books about vietnam and World War II, I have only one thing to say, This is possibly the greatest recration in words of the actual battles I have ever read! Read this book and understand the true horrors of battle. With the release of 'We Were Soldiers' there is no doubt that this book will become more popular than it already is. God Bless America. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Ia Drang Valley (Vietnam), Bat    4. Ia Drang Valley (Vietnam), Battle of, 1965    5. Ia Drang Valley, Battle of, Vi    6. Ia Drang Valley, Battle of, Vietnam, 1965    7. Military    8. Military - General    9. Military - Vietnam War    10. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    11. History / Military / Vietnam War   

Reviews (15)

Where We Were In Vietnam
I have had Mike's book for some time now and have found it to be of great use to me.I served in Vietnam as an infantryman in the Australian Army and he has covered many of our battle sites as well as our base areas so for that I say well done..I currently live and work in Vietnam so I can use it as a constant reference whenever I travel throughout the country visiting the old battlefields and other sites of interest. With all grid references given in the military grid system and the ready availability of military maps for most areas it is a most usefull piece of work.

Where We Were in Vietnam
I served 3 consecutive tours in Vietnam and I must tell you, as a vietnam Veteran, I find this Book PerticulerlyAluminating. I still am in the process of comeing to terms with many things dealing with Vietnam. This Book puts many of them into perspective.
Simply Outstanding!Resonates with living history!
Michael P. Kelley has exceeded all expectations with this volume. He has put his heart and soul into this resource, one that resonates with the living history of a long series of wars in 20th Century Vietnam. A primary resource for all interested in the conflict in Vietnam. A First Rate effort! Reread all those Vietnam-era works and see if those firebase names jive up to the action described. Is it fact, or else some sorry assed tale passed on down? Now we know. This is a must for any and all public libraries. We simply must have this work in the public record. HATS OFF,Mister Kelley! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Dictionaries    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Maps    6. Military    7. Military - Vietnam War    8. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    9. Military Organization And Administration    10. Military Science    11. Military bases, American    12. Vietnam    13. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    14. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975   

Reviews (8)

One of the enduring images
is the network of bicyclists -- children, women and men -- who expertly navigated the region during the American campaigns. A foot bridge blown up was instantly restored. Supplies were expertly moved about. It was their whole backyard.

Not complete, but an interesting read
Vietnam is one of the most critical and debated subjects In the History of the United States during the twentieth century.Numerous books have been written detailing the only war lost by the American military in its brief two hundred year existence.In America's Longest War George Herring examines the critical periods of American involvement Vietnam.As one reference point, the author researched the presidential libraries, first hand accounts, the official Pentagon Papers and other resources to provide a comprehensive look at the American involvement in Vietnam beginning in 1950.
Herring focuses on diplomacy
Unlike most Vitenam books, America's Longest War chooses to examine the diplomacy element of the war instead of the typical military aspects of the conflict. I was assigned this as a textbook in my Vietnam War class in college and was surprised by the lack of military coverage in it. About two chapters into ALW, I realized that Herring was concentrating on what happened behind closed doors during the warand then it became more easy to understand.Herring also introduces the reader to the movers and shakers of the war and their reasoning behind their decisions. He also starts back with Truman's administration in dealing with French Indo-China and you get the story from the very beginning. Other books typically gloss over Truman and Ike and like to start in LBJ's administration.Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Military - Vietnam War    6. U.S. History - Vietnam Conflict (1965-1973)    7. United States - 20th Century    8. United States - General    9. American history: Vietnam War    10. History / Military / Vietnam War    11. USA    12. Vietnam   

Editorial Review

For years the popular myth surrounding the Vietnam War was that the Joint Chiefs of Staff knew what it would take to win but were consistently thwarted or ignored by the politicians in power. Now H. R. McMaster shatters this and other misconceptions about the military and Vietnam in Read more

Reviews (49)

How we stumbled into the Vietnam War
H.R. McMaster's "Dereliction of Duty" is an excellent account of the Johnson Administration's run-up to - and failures preparing for - the Vietnam War.McMaster (a U.S. Army major when he wrote the book, now a colonel) details the decisions and actions of President Johnson, Secretary of Defense McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other presidential advisors from 1963 to 1965.
THE LAST STEP TOWARD WAR
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster is an exceptionally well researched and well written book.One certainly gets the impression that McMaster has studied the main decision makers of Vietnam so well that he wrote about them with the familiarity and insight that is normally only reserved for siblings. While a bit long, this book explains the blow-by-blow decision making that led to the Vietnam War.
Well Documented But Highly Slanted
McMaster has taken upon himself the task of blaming the civilian leadership in the U.S. for the disaster in Vietnam.How they misled and lied to the public and ignored the advice of the military.
Read more

Subjects:  1. (Lyndon Baines),    2. 1908-1973    3. 1963-1969    4. History    5. History & Theory - General    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. Johnson, Lyndon B    9. Johnson, Lyndon B.    10. Military - Vietnam War    11. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    12. Politics and government    13. U.S. History - Vietnam Conflict (1965-1973)    14. United States    15. United States - 20th Century    16. United States - 20th Century/60s    17. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    18. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975   

Reviews (1)

Stunning new history with chilling modern parallels
If you thought there was nothing new to say about the Vietnam War, think again.This book takes you inside the heads of the Washington policymakers who sent thousands of American boys to die in Southeast Asia and raises new questions about their motives.It focuses on JFK's National Security Advisor, the peculiarly named McGeorge Bundy, and shows how he championed a war that soon became a tragedy.Parallels with Iraq are always hanging in the background, but Andrew Preston is too good a historian to overdo them.In fact this book is a model of historical scholarship: massively researched and gracefully written, and thus a pleasure to read.As a biographical portrait of Bundy it's a masterpiece, and as a thrilling new guide to the origins of the Vietnam War it probably has no peer.I finished it in a couple of evenings by the fireside with a bottle of rye whiskey and half an eye on Arsenal's progress in the European Champions' League.That's quality. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1961-1963    2. Bundy, McGeorge    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. International Relations - General    8. Military - Vietnam War    9. Politics and government    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    13. American history: Vietnam War    14. Defence strategy, planning & research    15. History / United States / 20th Century    16. International relations    17. USA    18. c 1960 to c 1970   

Editorial Review

A great memoirist can burnish even an ordinary childhood into something bright--see, for instance, Annie Dillard's Read more

Reviews (102)

A far-above-average mix of memoir and travel narrative...
A great book in many ways - Andrew Pham succeeds in creating a seemingly straightforward memoir that is actually several subtle things skillfully weaved together:a travel narrative, a fight for personal independence, an investigation of one's ethnic roots (which partially arises from a great deal of meditation over one's own family history).Pham shifts between these eclectic elements with great skill, creating what is both a great Vietnamese story and a very classic sort of American one.
Excellent look at Vietnam
I thought this book was, for the most part, extremely well-written. There were some clunky phrases here and there, but most of the writing was vivid and a lot of difficult things expressed quite well. The honesty of much of this book was astounding.
Catfish and Mandala
Awesome book, it reflect every Vietnamese American experience, there was alot of emotion going through me as I read this book.I finish it in less than a week, I could'nt put it down. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Ethnic Cultures - General    4. General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Military - Vietnam War    8. Minority Studies - General    9. History / Southeast Asia   

Editorial Review

Horst Faas and Tim Page's Read more

Reviews (23)

Gives faces to the fallen soldiers and journalists.
Normally I am able to tell a person why I like a book or why I like a movie.However, in this case, I am really not able to say why I thought this book was excellent. Haunting . . . and a memorial to anyone killed in Vietnam
As a photographer, I can't say I own "Requiem" out of sheer joy for the greatness of the photographs within.(No one who owns this book will keep it for that reason.)In fact, this is a book that can be at times painful to open up and look at.

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - Southeast Asia    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Indo-China - History    7. Military - Vietnam War    8. Photo Essays    9. Photojournalism    10. Pictorial works    11. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    12. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    13. History / Military / Vietnam War   

Reviews (20)

I Felt I Was There
Again I'm embarassed to think that I didn't know about these guys until now.What a story!The courage and daring they had is unbelievable, especially after losing some of their own. I can only say "thank you" to the guys who flew these missions, and thanks to Mr. Shepard and Newman for telling us their story.

A great book about some truly great Americans
If anyone had told me that this book would be as interesting as it turned out to be, I wouldn't have believed it.After all, the Vietnam War was something of a low point in American history, what with its poor political leadership, its anti-war demonstrators, too many brave men killed, a disappointing ending, and still more brave men scorned.This is not something most Americans, particularly conservatives, would look forward to reading about.But this book surprised me. Well written...Excellent book
Provides a wide variety of personal perspectives on the conflict that are often lost in other historical books.Very engaging; well worth reading! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aerial Operations    2. Aerial observation (Military science)    3. Aerial operations, American    4. Air pilots, Military    5. History    6. History - Military / War    7. Military    8. Military - Aviation    9. Military - United States    10. Military - Vietnam War    11. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    12. United States    13. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    14. Air forces & warfare    15. American history: Vietnam War    16. Asian history: Vietnam War    17. History / Military / General    18. USA    19. Vietnam   

Reviews (17)

Realistic, hard-hitting.
One of the best books about the Vietnam war I've read.If you want to read about what Vietnam was like from a down-to-earth, honest, gritty, point of view, this is a book for you.Downs tells it like it was.

an excellent account of a soldier in NAM
This is my second book on Vietnam War and it worth it. I know that very young people fought this war, but it still surprise me the age of this lieutenant, in charged of many lives. Reading the day to day living, you realize the reasons why USA didn't win this war.
Very Interesting Read
I felt this book gave a true look at the first hand experiences of what happened throught the eyes of this person during the Vietnam War. This book was very hard to put down. There was much anticipation of what was going to happen next. It was a very interesting and compelling read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Downs, Frederick    2. History - Military / War    3. History: American    4. Military - Vietnam War    5. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    6. Military Personal Narratives    7. Personal narratives, American    8. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    9. History / Military / Vietnam War    10. Military life & institutions    11. Warfare & Defence    12. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (6)

Understanding Vietnamese writers
I bought this hoping to learn more about the Vietnamese people and their history. I got bogged down with all the poetry and prose quoted by the writer. While he brushes off the importance of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in a couple of lines; he drones on quoting (translating) obscure Vietnamese writers until the reader becomes weary. His premise seems to be that if you understand some writer (who he thinks is interesting) and attach importance to what he said then you will understand Vietnam. His annoying treatment of Yin and Yang finally caused me to put the book down and look for another way to understand Vietnam. If you like words such as "efficacy" and "entropy" you will love this writer; if such words irritate you, give this book a pass.

WOW
This book's focus on contemporary Vietnamese literary sources through the years makes it absolutely unique in the field. Its blend of straight history narrative and multiple-voice literature excerpts fleshes out Vietnamese society in a way that was sorely needed in the field. To those well-read in Asian studies: this book can almost be seen as a Vietnam analog to Patricia Ebrey's book "Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook," which is a collection of contemporary Chinese sources through history. Excellent!!! Very accurate!!! Must Read!!!!!!!!
I think this book is amazing! Jamieson accuately protrays Vietnam and Vietnamese culture through the eyes and views of the Vietnamese in a way never before written by a Westerner. He is articulate of the moods and feelings faceing the Vietnamese, well educated in the arts and literature of Vietnam, understands the importance to the core family structure, and scholarly in his research of what it means to be Vietnamese. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand the Vietnamese people who live in Vietnam, in the US, or anywhere... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. History - General History    3. History: World    4. Military - Vietnam War    5. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    6. Anthropology    7. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    8. Social Science / Anthropology / General    9. Social history    10. USA    11. Vietnam    12. Warfare & Defence   

Editorial Review

There was a moment when the United States had the Vietnam War wrapped up, writes military historian Lewis Sorley (biographer of two Vietnam-era U.S. Army generals,Creighton Abrams andHarold Johnson). "The fighting wasn't over, but the war was won," he says in this convention-shaking book. "This achievement can probably best be dated in late 1970." South Vietnam was ready to carry on the battle without American ground troops and only logistical and financial support. Sorley says that replacing General Westmoreland with Abrams in 1968 was the key. "The tactics changed within fifteen minutes of Abrams's taking command," remarked one officer. Abrams switched the war aims from destruction to control; he was less interested in counting enemy body bags than in securing South Vietnam's villages.Read more

Reviews (52)

A "Better" War Deserved "Better" Support
(When) "Creighton Abrams assumed command in Vietnam in early June, (1968). . . The tactics changed within fifteen minutes. . .,"stated General Fred Weyand, Commander of the II Field Force.Lewis Sorley details the changes made by Gen. Creighton Abrams as Commander of U.S. Forces in Vietnam and asserts we won the war with them, only to have Congress throw it away.He backs his assertions with detailed, well researched and effectively presented data.The question remains, is he right?
Good But Overrated
I noted from the book's jacket that: "There was a moment when the United States had the Vietnam War wrapped up, writes military historian Lewis Sorley (biographer of two Vietnam-era U.S. Army generals, Creighton Abrams and Harold Johnson). 'The fighting wasn't over, but the war was won'." But I couldn't find such a clear cut conclusion as this or other reviewers claim.
Old wine in a new bottle
Using new evidence from the Abrams papers, but failing to examine massive recent declassifications of Nixon's and others' papers and tapes, including Soviet, Chinese, and Vietnamese documents and accounts, Sorley essentially restates the mythical stab-in-the-back theory; namely, that the antiwar movement and the politicians betrayed a victorious army.Readers need to read Kimball's Nixon's Vietnam War and The Vietnam War Files; David Elliott's The Vietnamese War; Kenton Clymer's The United States and Cambodia; Luu Van Loi and Nguyen Anh Vu's Le Duc Tho-Kissinger Negotiations; and Ang Chen Guan's Ending the Vietnam War. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. Military    5. Military - General    6. Military - United States    7. Military - Vietnam War   

Reviews (49)

a daughter's view
The book is one huge fallacy. I agree that the small inaccuracies easily channel an observation of multiple errors and misleading information. What I find so disturbing is the number of people who have and will read this book with a predisposed opinion that it's factual. Their biased ignorance have clouded their mind and pushed this issue into a classic witch hunt. I am sickened of how perverse the media can be. I believe much of the information was based on a collection of very few facts, but these facts have undergone so much scrutiny that they have been stretched and stained by people's hunger for sensation. I wish that a greater crowd would become more objective before judging the lives of strangers whom they act so obsessed of condemning. It is pitiful to see Americans pitted against the men and women who have given their lives in order for the rest of us to sit in our ignorance, surrounded by our sinful indulgences and fat pockets. Who here, has killed a man to save one's life? Better yet, who here is willing to give their own life to protect the ignorance of a thousand strangers? The author of this book has only one opinion of a complicated and immense story... and his account of one of the men's childhood is so inaccurate it makes me feel sorry for the people that believe everything they read. I wish more of the truth was exposed so people could make better judgments, although, part of me feels it is irrational to even care. These authors cheapen the Pulitzer Prize. Regardless, they have done an amazing job at writing a believable lie.

A Sobering Look at War, Officers, Politics and Injustice
This book is thoroughly interesting.It is very well-written.I find it amazing that the information revealed in this book is still unknown to most Americans.

Good Book With Flaws
I enjoyed reading this book, however I noticed some inaccuracies just as others have already noticed. I will not go over them again. I also question some other facts pointed out in the book such as the B-52's sighted landing and taking off at an air base in Viet Nam. I was not in Viet Nam in the 60's, but I believe the B-52 bases in the Southeast Asia arena were located in Thailand, Guam, and possibly the Phillipines. These errors, however small, point out the fact that the finished book was not proofread carefully before print and/or researched with impeccable care. If you miss the little facts, which big facts were wrong? I don't doubt there were atrocities committed by at least a few persons in the unit, but if the authors are making publi