DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: DK Eyewitness Books

Vietnam War complements the new look of the Eyewitness series by touring the major battles of the Vietnam conflict.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Like most DK books, this new entry in the Eyewitness Books series is jam-packed with detailed color photos and brief snippets of text that readers will want to return to again and again. Besides identifying major political and military figures from both sides of the conflict, photos and text also document supporters and protesters, as well as the medical workers and civilians caught in the crossfire. Pictures and descriptions of weaponry and machinery will please military buffs, while troubling descriptions of Napalm and Agent Orange expose the grim realities of warfare. Photos of memorabilia, such as patches, pins, and bracelets, add a personal dimension to the struggle. Fully illustrated end matter concludes, including factoids and FAQs, a detailed time line, and a glossary. This wide ranging resource, which holds appeal for readers well beyond the target audience, should reinforce DK's reputation for publishing visually captivating, dependable nonfiction. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (May 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756611660
• ISBN-13: 978-0756611668
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Children's Books > History > Military & Wars
  • #78 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States > 1800s

More About the Author

STUART A.P. MURRAY
Author, editor, project editor

Murray is author of more than 40 books. He is a former journalist (reporter and editor) as well as a book editor.

Many of his titles are under the name Stuart Murray, but since there are a number of authors with that name, he has been using his middle initials, A.P., since 2006 or so.

Murray wrote the series Northwest Territory (Berkley), eight historical novels, under the pseudonym Oliver Payne. He also was founding editor of Bantam's Stagecoach series of Westerns, written under the pseudonym Hank Mitchum. He wrote Virginia City, an early title in this long-running series.

Murray is a principal in Lily Book Productions, a book publisher and packager in Red Hook, New York. He can be reached at [e-mail]


AUTHOR'S VITA

Nonfiction:

The Library: An Illustrated History, by Skyhorse Publishing, 2009.

Photographer of Our Nation: Biography of Mathew B. Brady, by Sharpe Publishers, 2009.

Painter of the Revolutionary War: Biography of John Trumbull, by Sharpe Publishers, 2009.

Fact Atlas of World War II, by Hammond and Langenscheidt, 2009.

Atlas of World Religions, by Hammond and Langenscheidt, lead contributing editor and writer, 2008.

Atlas of the United States, by Hammond and Langenscheidt, lead contributing writer 2007.

Witness to the Civil War, revision of the 1895 Leslie's Illustrated History of the Civil War, with new narrative text; by Harper Collins and Smithsonian Institution, 2006.

The American Revolution -- Questions & Answers, family reference; by Harper Collins and Smithsonian Institution, 2006.

A Strong, Collected Spirit, Edward I. Gersh with Stuart A.P. Murray, by Lily Books; Gersh boxing memoir, 2005.

Eyewitness: The Vietnam War, by Dorling Kindersley, a young adult reference, 2005.

Atlas of American Military History, by Facts on File, an illustrated compendium of American military maps 16th-21st centuries; 2004.

Vietnam War Battles and Leaders, by Dorling Kindersley, young adult reference; Fall 2004.

Eyewitness: Mars, by Dorling Kindersley, young adult reference, 2004.

American Revolution Battles & Leaders, by Dorling Kindersley, young adult reference; 2004. Starred review in Booklist.

Civil War Battles & Leaders, by Dorling Kindersley, young adult reference; 2004. Starred review in Booklist.

Daily Life in the United States in the 20th Century, 1940-60 and 1960-1980 (two volumes of a five-volume set), by Greenwood Publishing, young adult reference, 2003.

Encyclopedia of War & Weaponry, by Grolier, young adult reference; 2002.

Eyewitness: The Revolutionary War, by Dorling Kindersley and Smithsonian Institution; young adult reference; 2002. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Book Award 2002; Kansas State Reading Circle 2002; Notable Social Studies Trade Books 2003 (NCSS/CBC joint committee).

Eyewitness: Wild West, by Dorling Kindersley and the Smithsonian Institution; young adult reference; 2001.

The Cornell Steamboat Company, by Purple Mountain Press; the story of a great Hudson Valley passenger boat and tugboat company based in Rondout/Kingston, New York; 2001.

A Time of War, by Berkshire House; Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in the Civil War; 2001.

America's Song: The Story of "Yankee Doodle," 1999, by Images from the Past, Bennington, Vermont. Third-place winner in the history category of ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year for 1999; Top Ten finalist, music category, Booklist Magazine's Book of the Year, 1999; starred review in Booklist.

Washington's Farewell, 1999, by Images from the Past, Bennington, Vermont; George Washington's farewell in 1783 to his officers in New York City.

Rudyard Kipling in Vermont, the story of Kipling's four years in Brattleboro, where he wrote the Jungle Books; by Images from the Past, Bennington, Vermont, 1997. Top-five finalist, Independent Publishers biography Book of the Year in 1997; audio, Books on Tape.

The Honor of Command, General Burgoyne's Saratoga Campaign, by Images from the Past, Bennington, Vt., 1997.

Norman Rockwell at Home in Vermont, 1939-53, Images from the Past, Bennington, Vermont, 1996.

Go for the Goal! youth-soccer coaching, Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Norman Rockwell's "Four Freedoms," co-authored with James McCabe; Berkshire House, Publishers, 1993; starred review in Booklist, a Literary Guild selection, recommended by Library Journal; reprint rights to Random House: Gramercy Books.

America's Shaker Heritage, Golden Hill Press, 1993, recommended by Library Journal.

History of Hopatcong Borough, by the Hopatcong, New Jersey, Historical Society, 1975.

Fiction:

White Fire, Images from the Past, historical adventure, set in southern Africa; June 2000; Book of the Year finalist, fiction, ForeWord Magazine; 5 stars -- Southern Africa Vacation Book Review.

Judith's Dime Novel, Avalon, 1998; an idealistic young eastern woman on her way by stagecoach to meet her fiancee in San Francisco, discovers that the real Wild West is nothing like the dime novels she loves to read--or is it?

The Land of Gray Wolf, by Thomas Locker; rewrote this illustrated children's book; Dial Press, 1991. ALA Pick of the List.

As Oliver Payne: Northwest Territory Series of eight historical novels by Berkley Books, 1981-87; set in Revolutionary War America. The titles: Warpath; Conquest; Defiance; Rebellion; Conflict; Triumph; Betrayal; Honor

As Hank Mitchum: Virginia City, Western, Bantam, 1982.



Excerpts from reviews of books by Stuart A.P. Murray.

A TIME OF WAR; Berkshire House, 2001

"Murray is a prodigious researcher who uncovers the nitty gritty of what goes on during great events as well as the stories that make the headlines. His organization and brilliant storytelling give you a real feel of what it was like. . . ." The Berkshire Eagle

"A Time of War is a thoroughly engaging book that sheds light on the changing conditions of life on the home front. [It] should interest not only the people of western Massachusetts, but all who are curious about the interactions between the northern home and battle fronts." Civil War Book Review

RUDYARD KIPLING IN VERMONT -- Birthplace of the Jungle Books; Images from the Past, 1997; Top-five Book of the Year finalist, Independent Publisher, biography category.

"[A] masterful job of weaving together Kipling's writing, biographical details, and source material from the time, including newspaper articles, court records, and photographs taken without Kipling's knowledge. Part history, part biography, part literary criticism, this book reads like a novel and remains in the mind. Rudyard Kipling in Vermont: Birthplace of the Jungle Books may well begin a complete reexamination of Kipling's life and work.
Independent Publisher

"Delightful. . . . [The author] tells this bittersweet story with vigor and clarity. . . . A substantive, meaty dish flavored with juicy tidbits."
Boston Book Review

"Good use of Kipling's diaries, his poems, and family illustrations, to produce a fascinating chapter in American literary history and insight into Kipling's life and affairs." The Word (U.K.)

"As much a description of a collision of cultures, with Kipling as protagonist and observer, as it is a personal biography." The Bloomsbury Review

AMERICA'S SONG: The Story of "Yankee Doodle"; 1999, Images from the Past, Bennington, Vt.; Third-place winner, history category, ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year 1999; Top Ten finalist in music category for Booklist Magazine's Book of the Year 1999; starred review in Booklist.

"America's Song is perhaps the best small history since John Hershey packed the bombing of Hiroshima into one hundred pages and won a Pulitzer. The two works are similar in that they concentrate on the extremely human side of history. . . . America's Song is an outstanding work in that it is extremely accessible to all that can read with a modicum of interest about our country's past.... [Murray] writes with a lyrical quality at some points, and at others like a fast-paced adventure novelist. ForeWord Magazine

"A Yankee Doodle Dandy: [America's Song] takes the reader through the many reincarnations of the tune -- it was set with new words in the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War -- right up to modern times, in which George M. Cohan's 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' is still sung. [This] delightful little book . . . reminds us of the significant, though near-forgotten, contributions of Dutch settlers to American history. America's Song is also full of fun and surprises." Yankee Magazine

"The latest proof that good things come in small packages traces the history of the song 'Yankee Doodle.' . . . Copiously illustrated, the pocketbook-size volume is terrifically entertaining and informative popular history, written with great panache." Booklist; American Library Association.

WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL; Images from the Past, 1999

"[This] compact narrative about Washington's 1783 farewell to his officers in Fraunces Tavern in New York adds excellently to popular literature of the American Revolution. Accessible for a wide range of readers. . . " Booklist

"Murray uses a writer's touch to make history come alive." ForeWord Magazine

WHITE FIRE; Images from the Past, 2000
Finalist for fiction book of the year, 2000, by ForeWord Magazine

"Skillful use of plot and characters; Murray has written another winner." Library Journal

"Murray proves his skill with useful explanations of vernacular phrases and historical background for the 1828 setting. In straightforward language, Murray also keeps an even pace and alternates easily between Dirk's racing adventures and Rachel's descriptions of the family trek." ForeWord

"Author, journalist, and editor Stuart Murray has written a superbly crafted historical novel, capturing the yesteryear feel of 1828 in southern Africa. White Fire is a stirring, very highly recommended, action-adventure oriented historical novel which is enhanced for the readers pleasure with a meticulous attention to accurate detail throughout." Midwest Book Review

"[An] historical . . . novel that will please fans of historical fiction and romances." Booklist

"Murray's portrayal of nobility and honor among each group strikes a chord. His clashes between Zulus and other African tribes, and his interdependent relationships between Boers and native servants, illustrate how the violence of South Africa never was as simple as black versus white. . . . This book becomes a wonderful adventure. . . . Librarians should eagerly add this title to their collections." Today's Librarian

THE HONOR OF COMMAND; Images from the Past, 1997

"A most handsome book [with] the best illustrations I have ever seen for the Saratoga campaign." Vermont History

"Murray possesses a keen eye for detail and a novelist's sense of pace and color. He brings this momentous campaign to life [and] captures the character of the British military leader in all his complexity." Brattleboro, Vermont, Memorial Library

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The people, places, battles, and weapons of America's Indochina struggle, March 12, 2006

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War (Hardcover)

By the time I got my draft card the Vietnam War was just about over; besides I am deaf in one ear so they were never going to take me and making any sort of decision was a moot point. Today what I find interesting that is although I basically lived through the Vietnam War, I do not have the same sense of what happened during the war that has defined all American military action ever since that I do for the Civil War or World War II. For that matter, I think I have a better understanding of the chronology of the American Revolution and Desert Storm than I do of the war in Vietnam. Fortunately, this Eyewitness Books volume devoted to the "Vietnam War" helps me move a bit beyond the sketchy understanding I had when I open the book (basically, something that happened in the Gulf of Tonkin was used as an excuse to escalate American military involvement, the corrupt government of South Vietnam fell, the Tet offensive surprised everybody, Nixon bombed enemy troops in Cambodia, there was a massacre at My Lai, and we left by helicopters).

Of course, Stuart Murray goes back a bit further, beginning with the War in French Indochina that led to the independence movement for Vietnamese independence led by Ho Chi Minh. The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Accords set the group for American advisors begin sent after the end of the First Indochina War. Once we get to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the Vietnam War begins in earnest. Murray sets up the two sides in terms of their allies, leaders, and capital cities. Operation Rolling Thunder began the bombing of North Vietnam, while the Ho Chi Minh Trail was the network of wilderness routes used to by the North to get troops and supplies to the South. The chronology of the war continues throughout the book interspersed with looks at specific elements of fighting the war.

The struggle for the Central Highlands, battles in the Mekong Delta, and the war on inland waters are detailed. The massacre at My Lai is covered in the look at villages in wartime, followed by the siege of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive, Hamburger Hill is part of the beginning of the U.S. withdrawal, and the last air assaults, including the Christmas bombing before the Paris Peace Accords. Finally, we get to the fall of Saigon and the Aftermath both there and here. In between the history of the war there are chapters devoted to Napalm and Agent Orange as key part of chemical warfare, a look at the weapons of war on both sides, what it was like to go on patrol and be ambushed by the VC, and what medical care meant on both sides is covered as well. Other chapters are devoted to Heliborne warfare, warplanes in combat, the tunnels used by the Viet Cong, and the story of Prisoners of war. What the war was like at home is also covered, with chapters on "The Television War," and the antiwar movement.

There is additional information provided in the back of the book. The "Did you know?" section devotes a page to Fascinating Facts while another provides Questions and Answers about the "domino theory" and other topics. It might be better positioned in the front of the book, but there is a Timeline of the Vietnam War that begins with the Indochina struggle (1945-46) and ends with the final Communist offensive capturing Saigon on April 30, 1975. There are so few chapters devoted to the history (read chronological) aspects of the war that these two-pages actually provide more details. The back of books like this often come up with places you can go to Find out more, but they rarely provide the information is as interesting a way as this book does: it lists memorials around the world and other places to visit, as well as lifting useful web sites.

Of course since we are talking about an Eyewitness Book it is filed with dozens of illustrations showing the people and places, weapons and items, being talked about in each chapter. These images are culled from a dozen museums and libraries around the world, including not only the Library of Congress and the National Archives, but also the U.S. Army and the National Vietnam War Museum. Ironically, I was so into reading what Murray had written about the war that I had to go back and check out the illustrations and their informative captions on a second read through the book. Certainly, "Vietnam War" provides more than an introduction to the subject, covering the key elements. Other books can provide you with more depth on the subject, but as is usually the case the breadth here is rather impressive.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helping our children understand the Vietnam War, October 16, 2005

By 

Carol Watkins "Psychiatrist" (Parkton, Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War (Hardcover)

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I was very aware of the Vietnam War. I was not old enough to be a warrior or a peace activitst. However, I watched and read a lot about the war. Even at a young age, I knew enough to get information from different points of view.

In the first decade of the new century, few children and teenagers have much understanding of the lessons of the Vietnam War. This is a serious lack. To be informed citizens, we need to understand our own history. But how do you explain such a complex war to a 10 year old?

I gave this book to my 10 year old son in anticipation of a trip to Vietnam. He enjoyed it and was able to be quite articulate in discussing a number of things about the war.

DK does a good job of making history relevant by using a visual presentation. It would have been much more difficult to get a child or young adolescent to read a print-only book about a "parents' generation" war. Each page has several color photographs and then uses these to explain the history of the war. This particular book makes an effort to be even handed by presenting information about the American troops, the protesters, and the various Vietnamese factions. It shows the weapons used by both sides. There is a discussion of Agent Orange and Napalm. The medical sections shows how both the Americans and the Vietcomg treated their wounded. The section on "The Television War" helps explain how television shaped the American reaction to the war.

At the end of the book there is a helpful glossary of terms. There is also a "Find Out More" section that lists useful websites and has a list of museums and memorials to visit in the US.

I would recommend supplementing the book by encouraging the child or adolescent to talk to adults who served in Vietnam, or protested the war. Following these discussions, one might ask the child to consider the similarities and differences to the current war in Iraq.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Errata, August 5, 2007

By 

Susan W. Hawn (GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War (Hardcover)

These books are fun and recommended.
The following are a list of corrections to some of the captions:
1. Page 28 This is not an SKS (the fellow on page 46 is holding an SKS). This appears to be a Mosin Nagant 1891/44 missing its folding bayonet.
2. Page 30 Of course, the boots were designed to be anything BUT waterproof. Waterproof means nothing in water up to your waist. They were designed to dry quickly (2 large grommets on the instep to drain water are not seen here). Canvas was used among other reasons because (as the Japanese discovered) it rots less quickly than leather in the jungle.
3. Page 35 The ominous looking projection on the front of the Huey is in fact an FM antenna. Having a cannon projecting through the pilot would have been inconvenient.