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An American Amnesia: How the US Congress Forced the Surrenders of South Vietnam and Cambodia [Kindle Edition]

Bruce Herschensohn
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 27th, 1973: the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong sign the Paris Peace Accords, guaranteeing the right of self-determination to the South Vietnamese people.April 30th, 1975: President Duong Van Minh of South Vietnam announces the nation's unconditional surrender to the North, ending the decade-long conflict and enabling the merger of both countries into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.What happened in two short years to cause such a dramatic reversal?In An American Amnesia, respected political commentator Bruce Herschensohn re-examines the incredible actions taken by the 94th Congress and by many American citizens which forced South Vietnam's surrender, an event that brought about immense tragedy for Southeast Asians and haunts our political landscape to this day. Drawing on notes, speeches, and writings from his own experiences in Southeast Asia, as well as in the United States Information Agency and in the White House, Herschensohn fills in important facts in that period of history and warns against the danger of succumbing to a similar voluntary amnesia in the future.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Herschensohn is a fixture in American politics. He has received the Distinguished Service Medal, served as Deputy Special Assistant to President Nixon, and was appointed to the Reagan Transition Team. Since 1998 he has taught at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University where he has been Chairman of the Board, and is currently a Senior Fellow.

Product Details

  • File Size: 1496 KB
  • Print Length: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Beaufort Books; 1 edition (August 15, 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0043D2CF6
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Not Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,610 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
151 of 167 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I was there: no question we won the Vietnam war March 26, 2010
Format:Hardcover
As a psychological operations officer who studied Vietnamese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey California prior to my tour in Vietnam from July 1969 to July 1970, I can say with some confidence that we did indeed win this war. Our area of operations extended from Da Nang, Vietnam northward to the DMZ, so called "I Corps".

During that year, I was attached to the 3rd Marine division in Dong Ha, the 101st Airborne in Phu Bai just outside of Hue City, and the 1st of the 5th infantry division in Quang Tri. As most readers know, the Tet Offensive of 1968 was heavily fought in the cities of Hue and northward. Vietcong had dominated these areas. Hamlets throughout were intimidated by the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese regular army occupied the jungles.

While combat raged in those jungles for the infantry units I mentioned above, the hamlets had become quite peaceful after Tet. We had three man teams consisting of an officer like myself, and enlisted man usually a specialist, and a Vietnamese interpreter. In the early evenings before we would venture out to the hamlets in our truck and interact with the people in the hamlets. For fear of ambushes or mines we spent the night in the hamlets. Amongst the three of us we had two M-16 rifles and a .45 pistol. Rarely, we would check out M-79 grenade launcher when we had heard there had been some activity in the area. I preferred to spend the night on top of the truck, gazing at the stars above unless it was the rainy season.

During that entire year, sometimes no more than 7 miles from the DMZ where combat was raging, the hamlets were peaceful and friendly. The elders were very polite and often fed us; the children adored us. Not once were we ever harassed or injured.
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74 of 86 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, unvarnished truth March 25, 2010
Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase
I am so very grateful for this book. My late husband was awarded a silver star as a platoon leader in Vietnam in 1965-66, and was always so frustrated to hear the standard line that the US lost the war.

I am a school librarian and have looked in vain for suitable material that acknowledges that we won the war, and that then the Democratic majority in the US Congress reneged on the peace terms allowing Southeast Asia to fall to the communists two years later, resulting in more deaths in that first year of communist rule than in the 10 years of our engagement in Vietnam.

I have even found Vietnam veterans who were surprised when I have said we won the war and then Congress gave it away. They have heard for 30 years about the war that we "lost." But when they hear just a few of the facts, they acknowledge that that is truly the case. President Nixon won incredible concessions from the communists that would have given South Vietnam self-rule. Democratic Congressmen gave it away in 1975 and American press "credited" the military. A third of the population of Cambodia paid with their lives and Southeast Asia lost their opportunity for self-rule.

Everyone should read this book that finally lays out the facts of just what damaged American credibility and gave encouragement and power to the tyrants of the world.
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67 of 79 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars How not to trust the US Congress February 25, 2010
Format:Hardcover
Having lived through the terrible time of Pol Pot, I cannot help but to think how many lives (including those of my brothers') were lost due to the insensitivity of the US Congress and their supporters. The author does an excellent job in showing us how the presidency of the US can be crippled by the Congress. The US has lost credibility over the years because of the lack of consistency in its foreign policy.
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth Is Downright Painful April 24, 2010
Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase
Bruce Herschensohn is to be commended for his very fine work on a time period few Americans have made the effort to seriously study. An American Amnesia must not be called revisionist history. It is simply the truth, and it will infuritate those on the Left who refuse to accept that their perfidious actions had consequences which directly led to the deaths of American and South Vietnamese fighting men and an even greater number of South Vietnamese civilians. Herschensohn's well documented story will likewise raise the ire and blood pressure of those who believe the war was a just cause as he chronicles example after example--in a very readable style without being the least bit ponderous-- of media and congressional undermining of ours and our allies efforts to defeat the communists.
The interpretation of the lessons of the Vietnam War are still very much up for grabs. Herschensohn does yeoman's work connecting the dots for the reader to see how our actions and lack of resolve then still have deleterious impact and consequences in 2010. This book should be required reading for anyone who is serious about understanding the war's unfortunate outcome, why it ended as it did, and why that matters today.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good look back!! May 17, 2010
By T. Sapp
Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase
I highly recommend this book to anyone who followed the Vietnam War. Some may not agree with all of the book, but their are many highly documented facts that are 180 degrees out of what is considered common knowledge about the war and the era. If you have evered uttered the phrase, "this ______ is another Vietnam", I believe you have a moral obligation to read this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars This should be required reading for all high school and college...
This is a very accurate book as to what really happened. I know I lived it. .
Published 3 days ago by L.S. Brilliant
5.0 out of 5 stars check the facts... and read this book... they are the same.
Poignant and informed. The danger of selective memory. People die when a nation forgets. I was impressed by the brevity and insightfulness of this report.
Published 24 days ago by Scott Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars *****
Good deal thanks
Published 1 month ago by Irving Boozalini
4.0 out of 5 stars Another loss of of US credibilty.
Tells the real story of why the US 'lost' the Viet Nam war and how we did not comply with the terms of the peace treaty signed in Paris that allowed the US to pull out of the war.
Published 3 months ago by julola
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
A must read for the present generation.
Published 4 months ago by audiophile
4.0 out of 5 stars History needs to be reviewed more often
Important events are easily overlooked by many. It is necessary fort books like this to bring clarity and a better understanding.
Published 5 months ago by Barbara Sobotka
5.0 out of 5 stars "An American amnesia" is an excellent source of information. Amazon...
An American amnesia, is an excellent source of information from the because I in fact lived through many of those experiences. Thanks Amazon
Published 9 months ago by Don Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book but very sad
Bruce Herschensohn does a very fine job laying out the actions of the 94th Congress, our government's bureaucracy, and the media which basically tossed South Vietnam under the bus... Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars Part of the Vietnam Experience
I haven't finished reading this yet because of other personal distractions. However in the pages I read I learned several facts I had not known before. Read more
Published 13 months ago by albert ratzlaff
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading
Bravo! I have researched this matter for years and lived through this time of our history. He could not be more correct and this country could not be more derelict in how that... Read more
Published 14 months ago by darryl mills
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