The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Vietnam War [Mass Market Paperback]

Ph.D. Timothy P. Maga (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2000 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

If you are too young to remember the Vietnam War, this book will give you a comprehensive view of the thirty-year conflict, a more complete story than you might get in your history textbook. It will satisfy the curiosity of those who want to know more about the history and culture of the United States during the sixites and seventies, and it will give older readers an unbiased reminder of their youth.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

If you are too young to remember the Vietnam War, this book will give you a comprehensive view of the thirty-year conflict, a more complete story than you might get in your history textbook. It will satisfy the curiosity of those who want to know more about the history and culture of the United States during the sixites and seventies, and it will give older readers an unbiased reminder of their youth.

About the Author

Timothy P. Maga, PhD, is the Oglesby Professor American Heritage at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. He teaches U.S. diplomatic history, modern Japanese history, U.S.-Asian/Pacific relations, the Vietnam War and the U.S. Constitution. In 1994, he was named Scholar of the Year by Bentley College; in 1983 he received the Best Lecturer award in recognition of teaching excellence in history from the University of Maryland. He has held several senior political appointments in the Clinton administration. The author of many books, articles and scholarly papers, Dr. Maga was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in history for his book, John F. Kennedy and the New Pacific Community, published in 1990.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha Books (October 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028639499
• ISBN-13: 978-0028639499
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start, February 4, 2002

By 

michael fessler (Yakima, wa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Vietnam War (Mass Market Paperback)

Having gained an interest in the war nobody seems willing to discuss, I started reading about the Vietnam war about a year ago. During this time I've read some pretty heavy books and some very moving personal accounts, yet found it difficult to recieve an overall picture of the war. This book does a great job of giving that background story and very general sort of history from which to build on. I must admit that I find the comments that the book may not be entirely accurate somewhat unsettling, but I still think that the book has great value. In High School and even college I recieved virtually no instruction on the Vietnam war, and having to start from scratch I found this book very valuable. In the end, it may not be the definative history of the Vietnam war, but if you take it for what it is it doesn't have to be.

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Weird and bad, January 14, 2001

By 

D. C. Carrad "augustabookman" (Augusta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Vietnam War (Mass Market Paperback)

The other books in this series are quite good -- this is a bizarre disappointment. I am not sure what the author is getting at -- 8 pages of coverage of Indonesia, including the downing of CIA pilot Allen Pope? This is an interesting story but has about as much to do with Vietnam as whether Margaret Thatcher prefers martinis to manhattans. The author completely mangles the significance of the Tet offensive -- a military rout but a propaganda victory for the North -- and actually claims the North Vietnamese were not interested in domestic American political reaction!! (It's how they won the war, as they are currently the first to tell you). The leftist bias shows too -- lots of coverage of the "antiwar" movement but one searches in vain for any stories about GIs. Can't even find any mention of General Hershey or the draft, or the building of the Wall (one tiny mention on p. 4 in the context of discussing how many women served in Nam!), downplaying of the NVA/VC massacre in Hue of 3-5,000 innocent people and their families but lots of discussion of My Lai, etc., etc. Not a good introduction to the subject. Not good at all. Almost any other book on Vietnam is a better place to start, including Stewart O'Nan's college anthology or his novel The Names of the Dead, or COL Harry Summers Atlas of the Vietnam War.

And, yes, I know whereof I speak -- served in Vietnam in the US Army in 1968-69.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars should be an idiots guide to the politics of vietnam, May 15, 2005

By 

american war buff (new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Vietnam War (Mass Market Paperback)

overall, i was a little disappointed when i finished this book. I wanted a book on the vietman war itself. Of course, the history and the background of the country will be involved. but the book rarely goes into detail of actual combat in vietnam. it mostly discussed the decision making among gov't officials, lies, deceit and the presidential elections. Vietnamization was covered well, but didn't talk about how the troop withdrawls were being conducted. No major or lesser known battles were discussed except the tet offensive. Then, it jumps to watergate, president ford and normalization. There is a chapter on vietnam movies. it was a nice but-not-needed chapter. I agree with the other reviewers that are 3 stars or less. I'll need to but a better book on actual battles there. For being a political war, I understand that Maga covered the politial topics, but cover more battles, too.!! If you want a book that covers what i talked about, then this book is for you. If you want actual Vietnam battles and strategies look elsewhere.