the intervention of the United States was essential to its efforts to stop the spread of communism. Vietnam War: The war cost American lives to achieve political and military goals that few people understand. this event opens up a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding the war.
Find out how much you know about this decades-long conflict. Continue reading these best books on the vietnam war non-fiction and fiction to learn more about the war.
You are reading: Books about vietnam war
best books about the vietnam war
an intimate murder history by joanna bourke
best nonfiction books about the vietnam war
This book covers World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. does an outstanding job of illuminating the psychological aspects of war for those involved in the assassination. No matter how you feel about war, the universal themes Bourke expounds on, re: Soldiers’ attempts to deal with combat, are themes many can relate to.
a brilliant, brilliant lie by neil sheehan
A powerful and sprawling account of the brutal Vietnam War, A Bright and Brilliant Lie is a compelling story. Neil Sheeha, winner of the National Book Award and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, is an excellent account of the Vietnam War.
a brilliantly brilliant lie focuses on the experiences of lt. column. juan pablo vann. He was there in 1962 to witness the corruption, arrogance, and incompetence that would eventually define the Vietnam War and American involvement in Vietnam.
vann was against the pentagon’s strategy of indiscriminate bombing and forced relocation of peasant villages. However, his superiors ignored him, so he began leaking crucial information to Sheehan and the press corps.
vann was forced to retire and became a hero to those who were skeptical of the war. He returned to Vietnam in 1965 and participated in the controversial Phoenix program.
He was the first civilian to command regular troops in combat. Sheehan embarked on a 16-year mission to write a brilliant lie after learning more about Vann’s private life. It was a fascinating and often bitter look at the war through the eyes of a tarnished hero, representing the best and worst of the American experience in Vietnam.
the girl in the photo by denise chong
one of the most memorable images from the vietnam war is that of a nine-year-old girl fleeing her village in southern vietnam after suffering severe napalm burns. It was a sad and tragic description of the human cost that war can cause. The Girl in the Photo is a story about how the photo was created, Kim Phuc (the girl in the photo), and the devastating effects of the war on civilians in Vietnam.
the supporter of viet thang nguyen
best fiction books about the vietnam war
This debut novel, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, could be categorized into half a dozen genres, including war narrative, an immigrant story, mystery, politics, historical, and even black comedy. An anonymous North Vietnamese narrator is a soldier in South Vietnam and is sent to the United States. as an exile community. he remains in the South Vietnamese Army.
robert stone soldier dogs
soldier dogs won the national book award for fiction in 1974. it is a story about the vietnam war and drug smuggling. Stone is often compared to Ernest Hemingway and Joseph Conrad. stone’s vietnam novel is widely regarded as one of his best.
stone focuses on two characters. one of them is a sailor returning home from vietnam. one is a war correspondent. both are greatly affected throughout the novel.
we were soldiers once… and young by lt. general ha moore and joseph galloway
About 450 soldiers, under the command of Colonel Harold Moore, were thrown into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. About 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers immediately surrounded them.
The battle that followed, which was the first major battle in the history of the Vietnam War, was brutal and bloody. The remarkable story of military history is told in We Were Soldiers Once…and Young. it was also the basis for the 2002 film We Were Soldiers.
joyless street: indochina at war, 1946-54 by bernard fall
fall was an American soldier who fought on the side of the French resistance during World War II. he later joined the us uu. army. He was considered one of the most critical scholars of the Indochina War, which resulted in Vietnam becoming a French colony.
He wrote eight books on the war in France and the origins of the history of the Vietnam War before he was killed in Vietnam in 1967. military face, which unfortunately was largely true.
The book not only provides a wonderful account of an often-forgotten conflict after the US war in Vietnam, but also addresses the ongoing debate among military experts about the nature of the two Indochina Wars. And the best ways to fight them, said George Herring, author of America’s Longest War.
house before dawn: the story of an army nurse in vietnam by lynda van devanter
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van devanter is widely regarded as one of the essential books on the vietnam war. he also writes vividly about the dying and injured men she met as a nurse at the 71% evacuation hospital between 1969 and 1970.
This book covers her experiences in the war and coming home and the eventual creation of the women veterans project in Vietnam Veterans of America.
dispatches by michael herr
The dispatches were first published in 1977. It remains one of the best examples of war reporting. Written by war correspondent Michael Herr, it chronicles the horrors of war and the daily lives of soldiers in a combat zone.
He does it with a clear and concise prose. Dispatch was a classic that inspired many of the best Vietnam War movies, including Apocalypse Now. remains essential reading.
the things they wore by tim o’brien, 1990
tim o’brien’s book may be the most popular and widely read vietnam war fiction. it is a staple in college and high school English classes.
These interconnected stories tell the story of Tim O’Brien, who, after returning home from the war, looks back on his life and ponders its meaning. it is full of clever plots and memorable characters. the book also contains thoughtful discussions of death, truth, fiction, and nature’s war stories.
blood: an oral history of the vietnam war by black veterans by terry wallace
the obstacles faced by american soldiers in vietnam were numerous, and the difficulties faced by black american soldiers in vietnam were even more significant.
This book covers all aspects of the Vietnam War. It includes the fact that almost a quarter of all deaths in Vietnam occurred in the first three years and the discrimination they faced when it came to promotions, job assignments, decorations and other functions. This book is an oral history about what it was like to serve his country in Vietnam and how he returns home.
Fire Patches: A Story of War and Redemption by Albert French, 1997
French vividly explains his war and post-war experiences. It also provides information on the nature of the Vietnam War, the treatment of returning veterans, and the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder.
in 1963, he joined the marines and served a long combat tour with the company of the 2nd battalion, 7th marine regiment until he sustained serious injuries during operation harvest moon in chu lai, December 1965. Terrance Maitland, a New York Times book review writer, called the book a classic tale, life-affirming and updated for the modern age.
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the pain of war for bao ninh
This fictional story of Kien, a North Vietnamese infantryman, focuses on his transformation into an author, his struggle to forget his memories of combat, and the horrible mess his life has become. war pain, an official Vietnamese publication, has been a bestseller.
when heaven and earth changed places: one vietnamese woman’s journey from war to peace by le ly hayslip with jay wurts
growing up during the vietnam war, hayslip’s story is intimate, personal, and ultimately human. This is the story of Vietnam’s destruction, self-destruction told through the eyes of Hayslip, a young woman who grew up in a family and community devastated by war.
She became a refugee in Saigon as a teenager and lived among South Vietnamese and American soldiers. It’s a story of heartbreak and finding the strength to survive, and it’s one of my favorite memories of Vietnam.
the vietnam reader
the vietnam reader is the best book you could choose to study about the vietnam war. The Vietnam Reader, edited by Stewart O’nan, is an impressive collection that covers the full scope of the impact of the Vietnam War.
the vietnam reader draws on all media related to the war, including fiction, poetry, song lyrics, and movies. to present a vivid and easy-to-read description of one of the most critical events of the 20th century.
in hindsight by robert mcnamara
Nearly twenty years after the end of the Vietnam War, Looking Back offers an inside perspective on the questionable decisions and erroneous assumptions that led to the u.s. uu. to get involved in vietnam.
robert mcnamara was secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968. these candid memoirs contain his recollections of the madness and destruction that followed, backed up by declassified documents.
if i die in a combat zone: pack me up and send me home by tim o’brien, 1974
one of the first major publishers to publish if i die in a combat zone was a vietnam war memoir. o’brien writes in an impressionistic style about his childhood in minnesota, the draft, infantry training, and nine months as a rifleman in the 198th light infantry brigade. o’brien was an intelligent, sensitive, and well-educated budding poet/author when was recruited.
o’brien struggled with mental issues before deciding to submit to the draft. he philosophized through basic training and survived a brutal tour of duty. he is true to his words, and the book flows naturally with the chronology of a novel.
kill anything that moves: the real american war in vietnam by nick turse
This history of the Vietnam War is based on classified documents and first-person interviews. does not contain a single hit. turse’s vietnam war books and his thesis is that american violence against vietnamese civilians was not an accident and was not expected. they were part of a war, and the soldiers were instructed to engage in hate-based slaughter.
james webb fields of fire
fields of fire is simple, brutal and truthful. while it lacks the literary ambition of the stuff they wore and the psychedelic poetry of the dispatches (both are great), it more than makes up for it by dragging readers into the mud and heat of combat in vietnam. James Webb is a war novelist who was awarded a Navy Cross for his heroic actions in Vietnam and served a year as a member of the United States. senator.
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the senator from virginia presents a grumpy view of the war and eschews psychology and politics. all from very different backgrounds, its three protagonists are forced to set aside ill-informed expectations and learn survival skills. these young marines, who were natives at first, become battle-scarred warriors along their journey. but at what terrible price?
david halberstam’s best and brightest, 1972
halberstam was a vietnam war correspondent for the new york times and produced an interesting and well-written history of the united states’ involvement during the vietnam war.
focuses on the personalities, primarily the best and brightest of john f. the kennedy administration, including robert mcnamara, walt rostow, mcgeorge bundy, dean rusk, and general maxwell taylor, and the many mistakes made in prosecuting the war.
halberstam’s book, the best and the brightest asked the question: “what was it that allowed this tragedy? their attitudes and, above all, the country? Halberstam died in a car accident in 2007.
a rumor of war by philip caputo, 1977
A Rumor of War, one of the essential Vietnam War memoirs ever written, was immediately praised by the author, a former Marine First Lieutenant. William Styron wrote that Caputo’s “disturbing and searching musings on the love and hatred of war, the fear and ambivalent discord that war can create in the hearts of decent people, are among the most eloquent in modern literature.” “.
Caputo recounts his experiences in the Marine Corps from the time he joined until his tour of duty in March 1965, when he was drafted into the Marines. The last section of the book is a detailed account of the North Vietnamese invasion of Saigon that Caputo reported on as a journalist in April 1975.
larry brown’s dirty work, 1988
dirty work is a short fiction that presents dialogues and monologues of two seriously wounded marines in vietnam. Brown, who didn’t see Vietnam but served in the Marine Corps, sets the scene for a long night as the main characters talk to each other at a VA hospital.
a patient was injured in a shooting and has been hospitalized for 22 years. A patient, whose face was severely damaged during the war, has intermittent seizures due to a bullet lodged inside his brain.
both characters are drawn with clarity and precision. Brown weaves his thoughts and words into a compelling story. it is told through flashbacks, monologues, and conversations. brown passed away in 2004.
closed rooms by larry heinemann, 1977
Larry Heinemann’s autobiographical novel, the first piece of fiction set during the Vietnam War, is an essential and underappreciated work of fiction. This fast-paced book tells the story of the recruited Philip dossier since his induction. the dossier is sent on a memorable tour of duty in vietnam and then sent home.
close quarters has many characters that could be considered familiar goofy officers and sergeants. Still, Heinemann gives them his personality through a book of brutal prose that captures the reality of life in the trenches. Heinemann was a member of the 25th Infantry Division from 1967 to 1968.
gustav hasford’s time clips
While it’s unlikely you’ve heard of Short Timers (a book currently out of print), you may have seen the movie based on it: Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Hasford wrote this semi-autobiographical novel about his experiences in Vietnam and intended it to be a trilogy of books about the Vietnam War. his death frustrated these plans shortly after the publication of the second novel.
on the frontlines of the tv war: a legendary war cameraman in vietnam by yasutsune hirashiki
The author spent ten years in Vietnam. He started in 1966 as a freelancer and continued in Vietnam until 1975, when he was forced to leave. Memories of Vietnam contain many fascinating stories, close calls and memories of battles.
It’s mainly about the stories of the soldiers who fought and died and those who were there as reporters and photographers. hirashiki’s book is considered one of the most outstanding books on war journalism.
in pharaoh’s army: memories of the lost war by tobias wolff
in pharaoh’s army collects from wolff’s popular memoirs the life of this child. Wolff spent an entire year learning Vietnamese and became a paratrooper before being stationed in the South Vietnamese Army.
this memory contains memories of the battle of the tet offensive, as well as other events. It was one of only two Vietnam War book finalists for the National Nonfiction Book Award.
fire in the lake: the vietnamese and americans in vietnam by frances fitzgerald.
frances fitzgerald wrote this detailed account of the history of vietnam and the aftermath of the war with the united states. it was a bestseller for over ten weeks.
The book won several prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the National Book Award. It was the first major American book on the Vietnam War. It highlighted the US ignorance of the country’s leaders and culture prior to invading.
other best vietnam war books considered:
- matterhorn: a vietnam war novel (2009) by karl marlantes
- graham greene’s quiet american
conclusion
The war in Afghanistan is now America’s longest, and debate continues over whether the United States should maintain military operations there. This is the perfect time to revisit America’s second longest war, Vietnam. The best vietnam war books above will help you understand more about the vietnam war.
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