Customer Reviews

Reporting Vietnam Part Two: American Journalism 1969-1975

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This very valuable compilation of historically important news articles and its companion (Part One) should be on the shelf of every person who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the Vietnam War. I can't review the articles contained, but know that there are many important pieces. Some of them are the Doris Kearns article on LBJ, John McCain's article on his captivity, Michael Kinsley on Kissinger and Harvard, several on the various incursions in countries neighboring Vietnam, and several on the fall of South Vietnam.

Some of the other famous inclusions are Seymour Hersh on My Lai and James Michener on Kent State, and Stewart Alsop on how the draft was implemented expressed America's Class System. There are many more.

But as I said about Part One, you will also need to read other things. This collection really only represents one side of the debate. At the time it was not as one sided as everyone remembers now. There really was support for the war in the population. Yes, it declined as time passed, but even today many feel that we lost more because we mishandled things more than because the war was wrong. However, that is neither here nor there for this collection. It is a terrific collection. My point is that you can't know the war and how it affected America without reading these articles. But you also can't know its full effects without reading more than these articles.

Students of history must be extremely grateful to the editors of REPORTING VIETNAM for bringing together so many classic, insightful accounts of the war. Most interesting, to my mind, are the reports from Vietnam itself, but the complicated situation at home is explored, as well. One particular story, Specialist 4/C Jack P. Smith's report on battle in the Ia Drang Valley, is one of the most dramatic expositions of combat I have read. Tom Wolfe, Neil Sheehan, Stanley Karnow, David Halberstam, Homer Bigart, and Bernard Fall also stand out. These two volumes are absolutely first-rate, and are sure to add measurably to our remembrance of the war.

You guessed it: It's the same leftist b.s. we were all taught in school. Please, I'm already almost asleep...spare me these tired old lies.