Customer Reviews

Cruel April: The Fall of Saigon

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Our nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when The Paris Peace Accord was signed in 1973. It was supposed to be the end of the Vietnam War. As we would learn 2 years later, it was not. Olivier Todd originally covered the war from 1965-1973. After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, he decided it was time to summarize the final days of the conflict. His book covers the infamous 4-month period from January to April in 1975 and the total collapse of South Vietnam. In reading this book, it is quite obvious he invested a great deal of time into interviews and research. The book not only reviews the final days but also raises many questions about the events surrounding them. The reader will find himself mixing memories with those questions in every chapter.

The book is mostly about the political circumstances surrounding the fall of Saigon (and political events well before April 1975). If you're interested in the military and social aspect of the defeat (as I was), this probably won't be for you. Very dry reading.

Greetings,

This book, by Oliver Todd is a classic right up there with or near equal to Stanley Karnow's Vietnam: A History. Spending nearly ten years in the wartorn country I can appreciate the research and effort Todd when through, not to mention the personal experience of actually being there in compiling the work. The tome is the most accurate, and truthful depiction of events during the period I have ever read, and I have read quiet a few.