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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great photo compilation; good 'Nam encyclopedia, August 19, 2004
This is a wonderful Vietnam encyclopedia that is well worth the price and the considerable space it takes up on your bookshelf. The pictures alone make a significant contribution to the study and understanding of Vietnam. The book is categorized nicely by year, so the reader can pick a year and jump right in. The text is somewhat stilted and abbreviated at times - how can Richard Nixon be adequately explained on one page of large text? But to a reader new to Vietnam study, this book is a nice start. One more word about the pictures - it's interesting to note that two of the most famous pictures of the war are absent from this text. The first one, of a naked girl running down a road, burned, after an errant U.S. napalm strike; and the second one of a helicopter on the top of a roof near the U.S. embassy shortly before the fall of Saigon, certainly belong in any book that professes to be a photographic history of Vietnam. Also missing is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a woman running to greet a returning POW after he steps off a plane. Perhaps these absences are a matter of copyright permission? But, this is a minor complaint, really. This text brings together so many startling and educational pictures about the war, it more than makes up for the absence of a few famous pictures. One additional point about the text - it's interesting to note the political bent the authors allow to creep into the text (intentionally?). On the topic of draft dodgers, the authors take several shots at President Clinton. In one instance, Daugherty and Mattson bring up a right-wing bumper sticker from 1992: "What's the difference between Jane Fonda and Clinton? Fonda went to Vietnam." In another instance the authors state as fact how Clinton tried to have incriminating documents of his "draft dodging" destroyed during the '92 election. (They offer no proof, but state it as fact.) I guess it's because this is a political year that I even noticed it, but readers could do without this kind of stuff. I wonder why the authors didn't offer any jibes at George W. Bush for having signed up for the National Guard, getting to skip over hundreds of people because of his surname, in order to avoid service in Vietnam? My point is not to defend "Hanoi Jane" for her despicable actions or for Clinton's having dodged the draft, but that there are plenty of people, millions in fact, of all political persuasions who dodged the draft to avoid going to Vietnam. This kind of debate should be presented in a non-partisan manner in a book like this, or not at all. However, this is a great book worthy of space on any history enthusiast's bookshelf, and I'm happy to own it.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent photographic work, some inaccuracies, December 26, 2002
This was an excellent read. Not something you're going to plow through in a couple of days. I'm near the end now, and have been "digesting" this book over the course of several weeks. The photographs are excellent-some of the best work I've seen in compilation form. Haven't read Larry Burrows yet, but that's on the list. The distraction comes that when you've been inundated with one photographic history, they all become somewhat similar. Carnage on a grand scale, big machines, weapons, sad people and faces, etc. Some useful maps with photo displays. I found that there were some inaccuracies, particlarly when I submitted this book to my professor of military history as a good read. He was in Vietnam, and immediately picked a couple of issues right off the bat, but overall thought it was a great book for the cost. Typos are a small issue, would have been worth the effort for an additional proofread for such a sturdy, big book, and sentence structure is sometimes off, making things confusing. While this book does a good job of detailing a photograpic illustration in format by year (e.g. 1965, 66, 67, etc.) it reads a bit dry at times due to the nature of trying to cram a ton of strategic and tactical information in as simple blow by blow. For instance, unit x came from position y, and unit w, from position z, etc. It is, however, very effective in transcribing in detail the history and some of the complications surrounding the Vietnam War. ... well worth the space it takes up in my bookshelf. Don't try toting this thing around, it's massive and heavy.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing Better...., May 10, 2010
When I saw this book at a client's house, I had to have it. It impressed me there and it has continued to impress me ever since. He paid $145.00 - I paid $20.00 for a new copy..... This is a must for history buffs..
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