Customer Reviews

DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

There is an old saying that pictures tell the story more than 1000 words. It is so true with this photo/picture book with narrative, and puts faces on players/people such as Kissinger, Madame Binh, Westmoreland, Abrams, McGovern, Johnson and Nixon, Zumwalt, Ho Chi Minh, etc. You can almost feel the steamy jungles as our military went out every day on patrol searching for NVA and Cong, putting their lives on the line. Ambushes and booby traps were everywhere. We lost over 58,000 troops, and also eight nurses. It was a difficult war in that our people didn't know who-was-who, and where their allegiances were, especially when the situation could change overnight. I was in Vietnam recently and didn't feel any danger or animosity from the citizens. It's as the war is over and behind them, and they are now working every day to making a living. It is still very communist with many, many rules. In Hanoi and Saigon, the war is referred to as the American War and the Americans are called "the invaders." It was a long, divisive war, and I'm also glad that it is behind us. Semper fi.

Excellent book in keeping with the high standard of other Eyewitness Books. Lots of pictures and information on the time period.

If your a vietnam vet such as myself, this book gives you many small details that you might know, or might not know.

It is a very well laid out format that can help spur your thought process. I found it motivating and very helpful in working on my book, concerning the misadventures of my stint in Vietnam in 1968 and 1979.

Very pleased with my order and the way it was shipped.
Thank you,
John

This is to replace a book my son checked out and lost, so I can't review it very well.