Khe Sanh: Siege In The Clouds [Paperback]

Eric Hammel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2004

A vivid oral history account of the Tet 1968 siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. This gripping - and moving - narrative flows smoothly from the woven threads by nearly a hundred American fighting men who gallantly endured the wrenching all-out struggle to hold the combat base and its vulnerable outlying positions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Early in 1968, the North Vietnamese began an artillery barrage that continued for several weeks of Khe Sanh Combat Base in the northwest corner of South Vietnam. Observers speculated that the siege might turn into "another Dienbienphu," but the defenders pulled out in April after suffering heavy casualties, and only the most hard-headed student of the affair calls it anything but a Communist victory. The story of the thankless siege is told in this vivid oral history by nearly 100 articulate survivors, mostly U.S. Marines, who convey the frustration experienced by men trained for aggressive mobile warfare, forced for the most part to huddle inside a crowded perimeter. The siege of Khe Sanh was a bad scene all around, typified by the ambush/massacre on February 25 of a platoon-size Marine patrol just outside the perimeter and the refusal of higher command to intervene for fear the rescuers would be lost as well. Hammel is a military historian. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

The 77-day siege of Khe Sanh, where U.S. Marines were surrounded and shelled by much larger enemy forces, has become one of the most controversial battles of the Vietnam War. Military historian Hammel provides another dimension with this chronological collection of brief "oral history" accounts by Marines who were there. Arranged day-by-day, these short pieces read like diary entries but by different authors, a technique which soon fragments into a muddled sequence of events, making it difficult to follow the battle narrative. Nonetheless, the gritty recollections of the Marines themselves vividly re-create the atmosphere of desperation and courage and give a chilling sense of what combat was really like. This effectively complements Robert Pisor's definitive documentary, The End of the Line: The Siege of Khe Sanh (LJ 6/15/82). Recommended for academic libraries and subject collections.
- Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: I Books (February 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074347953X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743479530
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,135,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Hammel's writing career began in the 1960s, when he was a teenager. He has had forty military history books, one novel, and more than sixty-five non-fiction articles published. Eric has worked as West Coast contributing editor for Leatherneck Magazine and as a publishing acquisitions and content editor, but he has spent most of the years since 1983 as a full-time author, editor, and publisher.

Free sample chapters from all of Eric Hammel's in-print books can be viewed at his author site, http://www.EricHammelBooks.com
All of his books are available on Amazon.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I WAS THERE, June 3, 2001

By 

Grunt68 "M_0311" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khe Sanh: Siege in the Clouds : An Oral History (Hardcover)

I was a marine at Khe Sanh for the entire siege.The Book is a good accounting of the horror of the siege. I was with the 1st battalion ninth marines at rock quarry at Khe Sanh. It provides a view of what happened to those who endured the siege and for these give their all at Khe Sanh. Semper Fi

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING PLAY BY PLAY OF WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE, May 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Khe Sanh Seige in the Clouds (Hardcover)

THIS BOOK IS SO TOUCHING IT SHOULD BE ON THE MARINE CORPS READING LIST IF YOU ARE OR WERE IN THE MARINE CORPS IT IS A MUST YOU READ THIS BOOK

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Marine Unit was there also, December 29, 2005

By 

Jim R., Sr. "Marine Vet" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khe Sanh: Siege In The Clouds (Paperback)

While I found the book to be very factual and informative and, without a doubt, from my Marine perspective, at times very painful, I was very dismayed to find no reference at all to 3rd Batallion, 4th Marines, that was also in the hills of Khe Sanh. Near the end of the seige, my unit, Lima Company, 3rd Batallion, 4th Marines, occupied and lost Marines on Hill 689. We also helped the Army on Hill 552 when they were getting hit in March, 1968. That being said, despite this oversight, it is a very good book and a must read for those who desire to have a ground level view of that major battle. I was also medevaced to the U.S.S. Repose, ending my time there before my unit returned to Dong Ha. Semper Fi Jim R., Sr.