Phieu, who had fought for north vietnam in its wars against french colonialists and american forces, was elevated to general secretary of the communist party in 1997, a time of power struggles. The straightforward, taut prose evokes a clear picture of his 196768 tour as a 23yearold platoon leader in the 4th infantry division. Despite longrunning rumors that general giap wrote in his memoirs that the u. For those unaware of general giaps background he was selftaught, studied eg. That morning, as communist troops swept into the south vietnamese capital of saigon. Vo nguyen giap masterminded battle of dien bien phu, which led to france leaving indochina, and commanded norths forces in vietnam. A veteran of the vietnam war, north was a national security council staff member during the irancontra affair, a political. This book portrays the persistent and consistent policies of giap that finally led to a north vietnamese victory over the u.
There is no other account of north vietnamese general vo nguyen giaps life. The final book on your list of books about the vietnam war is 365 days. He later commanded the vietnam peoples army during the vietnam war. The book s protagonist is a second lieutenant named waino mellas and the story focuses on his struggle against the enemy and the futility of the vietnam war in general. A larger than life hero, and the most decorated veteran of. We failed to understand that the war was an invasion from north vietnam, not an insurgency in south vietnam. Oliver laurence north born october 7, 1943 is an american political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired united states marine corps lieutenant colonel. Oct 04, 20 vo nguyen giap, the celebrated general who masterminded the defeat of the french military at dien bien phu and led north vietnam s forces against the us, has died aged 102 at a military hospital.
This was a book i read before i went to vietnam and it was written by an army doctor who wasnt even there. If youre interested in really finding out how general giap masterminded the military victory in vietnam, this book isnt going to answer the question. Basically, all the book contains is a few commonsense points eg. Sep 30, 2011 general wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the president. Giap was the deputy prime minister of vietnam from 1955 to 1991. Guerrilla forces from north vietnam s vietcong movement cross a river in 1966 during the vietnam war his plan, audacious as it was, ended up working. Vo nguyen giap, vietnamese general, 191120 financial times. This book examines the history of conflict in vietnam from the rise of nationalism in vietnam in the 1930s to 1975. General pete piotrowski wrote in his book that the u. Based on the bestselling book, we were soldiers once. Mar 22, 2021 william westmoreland played a key role as general in expanding u. When david halberstam was doing his book on the korean war a few years ago he wrote that he went to a public library and he found 88 books on the vietnam war and four on the korean war, and i think that says a lot about the general lack of. Vietnam 19562002 north and south vietnam collection in.
The exact same slippery slope, sponsored by the us media, is currently well underway. William childs westmoreland march 26, 1914 july 18, 2005 was a united states army general, most notably commander of united states forces during the vietnam war from 1964 to 1968. Military commander who led vietnamese forces to victory over the us and french. Instead, giap takes the opportunity simply to reinforce the stated political positions of the vietnamese communist movement in book form in a way thats not particular original or wellwritten. Its true that retired general john pete piotrowski relayed this accusation in his book, basic airman to general. Jun 14, 2018 widely considered to be not only one of the best vietnam war books, but one of the best vietnam memoirs from a female veteran, van devanter does not shy away from vivid descriptions of the wounded and dying men she encountered as a nurse at the 71 st evacuation hospital from 1969 to 1970. The enemy, however, had been conducting their own buildup, including the infiltration into south vietnam of regular divisions of hanois army. Aaron paul leads an allstar cast in the black book audio drama. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. Diem argued that the democratic republic of vietnam drv or north vietnam wanted to take south vietnam by force. The peninsular origins of the war like several of the best books on the korean war, this one is out of print. Oct 03, 2019 vo nguyen giap august 25, 1911october 4, 20 was a vietnamese general who led the viet minh during the first indochina war. Downs, who served as an army lieutenant in vietnam, wrote three memoirs.
The ultimate 2021 list of best vietnam books to read. Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam by harold g. Sailing true north by admiral james stavridis, usn. With a record of 93 confirmed kills but an estimated body count of between 300 400 enemy soldiers, hathcock terrorized the north vietnamese army nva and the viet cong.
While many people understand that the vietnam war was physically brutal and left many veterans traumatized, they fail to recognize the underlying psychological damage of. Apr 18, 2016 the fourpower joint military commission jmc represented each belligerent. Vo nguyen giap, the north vietnamese commander, does not have what. General dung, not giap, planned the final successful at the. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. In his acclaimed book sea power, james stavridis reckoned with the history and geopolitics of the worlds great bodies of water. Created and committed to memory, the poems were shared with fellow prisoners using a secret tap code. Ford, who made use of some north vietnamese sources for his account. A vietnam war sniper crawled for 3 days across 2000m of. From 1965 to 1967, he was instrumental in raising the level of u. Books keith taylor has spent almost his entire life studying vietnam and vietnamese history. Army campaigns of the vietnam war series buying time, 19651966, by frank l. Currey presents the vietnamese perspective of the viet minhs struggle for power.
The tet offensive, although a military defeat for the north. At the conclusion of the 60day ceasefire, this commission would in theory shed its protective outer garment u. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. May 27, 2008 hal moore served in the vietnam war from 196567. One of the most definitive works on the vietnam war, the th valley follows a company of paratroopers as they fight against the north vietnamese. And young, the film tells the story of the first battle of the vietnam war from the perspective of two participants, a u. But what he did was he interviewed the people he was treating and it was one of the great examples of breaking through the statistics. It was during the week before thanksgiving, amidst the scrub brush and stunted trees of the ia drang river valley in the western sector of pleiku province along the cambodian border, that the war changed drastically. The vietnam war was not lost in vietnam it was lost at home. North vietnamese defense minister general vo nguyen giap, left. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Nov 18, 2017 the most admirable thing about this falls pbs series on the vietnam war is the way in which it forces american audiences to confront the genius of north vietnam s strategy. Vo nguyen giap modern history personalities conde library at. It is a portion of the vietnam war as seen through the eyes of a special forces soldier assigned to b50, 5th special.
February 6, 1965 viet cong guerrillas attack the u. Tang argues that americans should have a better understanding of internal vietnamese affairsin particular, most westerners know little about conflicts. The 10 best books written by vietnam war veterans serve. Interviews with a top north vietnam army general and two former soldiers the following three interviews were conducted during the authors visit to vietnam in december 2003 and january 2004. The agreements concluded in geneva between april and july 1954 collectively called the geneva accords were signed by french and viet minh representatives and provided for a ceasefire and temporary division of the country into two military zones at latitude 17 n popularly called the 17th parallel. On october 19, 2003, the ohiobased newspaper the toledo blade launched a fourday series of investigative reports exposing a string of atrocities by an elite, volunteer, 45man tiger force unit. Because of these exploits, he was honored by having a rifle named after him the springfield armory m25 white feather, so called for the nickname that nva men gave him. The untold story of spies, saboteurs, and covert warriors in north vietnam by richard h. How the north vietnamese remember the vietnam war, 40. February 4, 1965 national security advisor mcgeorge bundy visits south vietnam for the first time. What is the best book providing a comprehensive history of. Interviews with a top north vietnam army general and two. General giap has published his memoirs and confirmed what most americans knew.
In north vietnam, soviet prime minister aleksei kosygin coincidentally arrives in hanoi. Clark met with communist officials in hanoi, the capital of north vietnam, and publicly criticized american conduct of the war. A novel of north vietnam 1990 by bao ninh another revolutionary telling of the vietnam war, bao ninhs the sorrow of war is reported to have been written against the communist partys wishes. Although his platoon suffered heavy losses due to the overwhelming number of enemy troops surrounding them, american helicopters eventually extracted the survivors from the position and ferried. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Published concurrent with the 40th anniversary of general borlings release from north vietnam, each piece is a a testament to one soldiers determination to keep his connection to country, family, and to his fellow servicemen. To be carried out in the fall of 1965 and designated the tay nguyen campaign, the enemy plan called for an offensive against the western plateau encompassing kontum. Cambodia, and north vietnam, while allowing the communists to run rampant in the said areas. The best books about vietnam as a country, not just the vietnam war. Oct 04, 20 giap was a very famous and knowledgeable general in the north vietnamese army. General vo nguyen giap obituary vietnam the guardian. He is coauthor of the book we were soldiers once and young as well as the book we are soldiers still, which will be published in august. A history of the vietnamese cambridge concise histories.
Carlos hathcock was a genuine vietnam war hero and an undisputed legend in the u. It also tells that former secretary of state dean rusk was being interviewed by peter arnett on a cbs documentary called the ten thousand day war. Westmoreland, believed that his forces were ready for major offensives that would seize the battlefield initiative from the north vietnamese and viet cong. North vietnamese general chu huy mans western highlands field front headquarters had conceived a bold plan for operations in the central highlands of the republic of vietnam. Vo nguyen giap was the defense minister of north vietnam from 19441980. Apr 16, 2015 hanoi, vietnam forty years ago, on april 30, 1975, nguyen dang phat experienced the happiest day of his life. North vietnamese president ho chi minh and the south vietnamese. Westmoreland, said his executive officer and future fourstar general volney warner years later, quite simply didnt understand the war then, doesnt understand it now. Writings of vo nguyen giap, and books about him vo nguyen giap on britannica general history.
Vo nguyen giap, born 1912, an xa, vietnam died october 4, 20, hanoi, vietnamese military and political leader whose perfection of guerrilla as well as conventional strategy and tactics led to the viet minh victory over the french and to the end of french colonialism in southeast asia and later to the north vietnamese victory over south vietnam and the united states. The killing zone, his first, is one of the best of the genre. Dec 21, 2016 general vo nguyen giap, commander of the north vietnamese army, wrote in his memoirs that his army was on the brink of collapse, but the u. North vietnam s 1972 easter offensive hanois gamble. A vietnam war sniper crawled for 3 days across 2000m of open. Vietnam does not have a large network coverage, but does connect north and south, vietnam railway map 2021. In his 1962 book people army, peoples war giap described how he mixed. Widely considered to be not only one of the best vietnam war books, but one of the best vietnam memoirs from a female veteran, van devanter does not shy away from vivid descriptions of the wounded and dying men she encountered as a nurse at the 71 st evacuation hospital from 1969 to 1970. General nguyen duc huy nguyen duc huy was born in hungyen province in 1931. In a book published in hanoi in 1961, the vietminh commanding general. The book covers her challenges both in war and in coming home, and her eventual founding of the women veterans project at vietnam veterans of america. He is also founder of the national endowment for the public trust. Apr 09, 2008 general giap has published his memoirs and confirmed what most americans knew. Far from everyone being based in the jungle front lines, most of the.
Vietnam 19562002 north and south vietnam collection in stock book, including more imperforate stamps. But it was dien bien phu which placed giap firmly in the history books. The vietnam war crimes you never heard of history news. Robin olds, 84, fighter ace and hero of big vietnam battle. Marshall chair of military history at the command and general staff college traces the course of the vietnam war from the early advising mission through the largescale combat phase to the vietnamization and eventual collapse of the south vietnamese forces and the fall of saigon. General vo nguyen giap, commander of the north vietnamese army, wrote in his memoirs that his army was on the brink of collapse, but the u. Vo nguyen giap, the vietnamese general who masterminded the defeat of. The best books on the korean war five books expert. Dec, 2017 in this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2021. For vietnam this was a very serious problem, the basis for all the others, in conducting a campaign described by one of his generals as eighty percent ideas. Vietnamese general behind victories over french and us.
Vo nguyen giap was a viet minh and north vietnamese military commander, best known for his tactical skill and his defeat of the french in. Del vecchio writes as vividly of the landscape and jungle warfare as he does of the bonds, racial tensions, and doubts amongst the u. The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. This great read tells of the generals life in the air force. Mh without gum, mnh mint never hinged north and south vietnam collection in binders, including more imperforate series. In late 1957, with american military aid, diem began to counterattack. For a good general account of the military side, see inside the vc and the nva.
Decisionmaking leading to the tet offensive 1968 the. North vietnam shrewdly camouflaged its invasion to look like a civil war. It exposes the enormous power of a biased media to cut out the heart and will of the american public. Vo nguyen giap has been called one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. How the north vietnamese remember the vietnam war, 40 years. There were 10 air ambulance helicopters in vietnam at the end of 1965, 55 by 1966, and 140 by 1969, at which point the air ambulances had moved over 206,000 patients. The general who defeated america in vietnam by james a. The joint chiefs of staff and the war in vietnam 19601968. Now in sailing true north, he offers a much more intimate, human accounting. Army center of military history is pleased to present a new pamphlet in its u. The johnsonrobert strangerusk cabal told the north vietnam 24hours ahead the targets that we were going to hit.
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