Customer Reviews

In the Combat Zone: An Oral History of American Women in Vietnam, 1966-1975

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I thought this was a good concept for a Vietnam experience book - about 20 oral interviews with women of various Vietnam backgrounds. However, I couldn't get through it. As anyone familiar with Stolen Valor by B. G. Burkett knows, there's an awful lot of lies out there which are represented as true Vietnam experiences. I got to the story from the lady who said it most disturbed her that "her general" and six other generals and aides were killed in her area. I think the history shows that only one general in total was killed in Vietnam. So, I don't believe the author/editor did any fact checking and I don't believe she had much of a knowledge base. In another story she referred to a "gunny" sergeant as a "gunship" sergeant (although she got it right in a later story).

All in all I thought this was a pretty weak effort. The concept is still good, it just needs to be better handled.

Marshall's book is a wonderful addition to the oral history scholarship on women's experiences of Vietnam. It is especially significant in that it remains, to this day, one of very few books that directly address female vets in Vietnam. Though Marshall obviously has a hand in the shape the narratives take, it is important to remember when reading this book that these are not, for the most part, Marshall's words. She is not trying to make a unifying or generalizing statement about the female experience but rather seeks to let the diverse voices speak for themselves. In doing so, she uses twenty oral histories from women who served in varying capacities: as Army nurses, Red Cross recreaton workers, as volunteers for religious organizations, and as journalists. And what these stories speak of are incredibly diverse experiences in Vietnam, filled with both pain and joy, suffering and redemption. This may not be the be-all, end-all of scholarship on the subject, but it is important in that it fills a void. The histories in Marshall's book help us remain aware that Vietnam was not only a man's war.

I recieved this book in very good condition. I am reading it now and it is almost exactly what I was looking for. I like it anyway.