Overview
Young Americans went to South Vietnam and fought in a fierce war they barely understood. For a year they experienced an exotic land, strove to learn how to fight-and survive-looking eagerly ahead to their return from The Nam. Their searing experiences varied by where they were assigned and at what point in the war they served. The Vietnamese adversaries, North and South, were defending their homes, fighting with no hope of ending the war other than by winning it. Too often the ordeals of those on both sides have been told by others-journalists, historians, even generals. In an invaluable corrective, John Prados, one of our leading interpreters of the Vietnam War, opens a window into the visceral reality of those on the ground in Vietnam. His carefully chosen and thoughtfully introduced anthology gathers the voices-in narrative and poetry-of men and women; Americans and Vietnamese (both of the North and South); officers, enlisted men, and civilians. All the selections feature individuals' experiences of war or witnessing specific events and the realities of being caught up in them. Bridging the chasm between history and memory, together they offer an intense, even blazing, testimonial to the human condition in war.
Full Product Details
Author: John Prados
Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc
Imprint: Ivan R Dee, Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 16.20cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 24.00cm
Weight: 0.581kg
ISBN: 9781566638685
ISBN 10: 1566638682
Pages: 344
Publication Date: 16 February 2012
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Nothing illuminates the true nature of war as well as the voices of those who experienced it first hand. In this valuable volume, John Prados has gathered together an impressive array of first-person testimony from a wide range of individuals who took part in America's long, controversial war in Vietnam. This book provides readers with page after page of insights on the complex nature of that conflict. Highly recommended.--Marc Leepson
Author Information
John Prados is widely recognized as one of the foremost historians of the Vietnam War and of national security affairs. A Columbia University Ph.D., he is a senior fellow at the National Security Archives. His widely reviewed and award-winning books include Presidents' Secret Wars, Pentagon Games, Keepers of the Keys, Inside the Pentagon Papers, The Blood Road, Valley of Decision, The Hidden History of the Vietnam War, Combined Fleet Decoded, and Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe. Mr. Prados lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
