Strange Ground: An Oral History of Americans in Vietnam 1945-1975 [Paperback]

Harry Maurer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1990

From a covert 1945 OSS mission to enlist the aid of Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese to the frenzied evacuation of Saigon in 1975, this book gathers the narratives of over sixty U.S. citizens—medics, diplomats, clerks, housewives, spies, grunts, and generals—who lived, worked, and fought in Southeast Asia during America's thirty-year involvement in Vietnam. The result is a work of visceral immediacy and tragic sweep.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Journalist Harry Maurer is the author of Not Working: An Oral History of the Unemployed, Webs of Power: International Cartels and the World Economy, and Sex: An Oral History. He lives in New York City.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books (P) (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380709317
• ISBN-13: 978-0380709311
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,601,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange Ground, July 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Ground: An Oral History Of Americans In Vietnam, 1945-1975 (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of fascinating accounts of Vietnam from the people who experienced it. Maurer covers it all-from the grunt in the jungle to the men making policy, the civilians, families, medics, sailors, pilots, and government workers. The accounts of government workers and policy makers are a refreshing change from the usual RAMBO-type accounts that seem to fill the movie screens and popular fiction. Maurer doesn't interfere with their stories and admits upfront his role in Vietnam-- none whatsoever! This does not detract from the feeling of authenticity of this book. One feels pride for the Americans who fought, but also helplessness, sadness, and anger- the "strange ground" of the Vietnam conflict

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many Intriguing Interviews, August 20, 2000

By 

brazos49 "brazos49" (Sugar Land, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Strange Ground: An Oral History Of Americans In Vietnam, 1945-1975 (Paperback)

I thought this was a well conceived selection of interviews with people who brought perspectives on Vietnam from lots of different angles. Other books I've read do a better and more thorough job of covering combat aspects, but this one excels by covering the experiences of other participants - particularly the agriculture/education/medical volunteers and the diplomatic/intelligence people.

If you don't read the whole book, at least read the interviews with John Ameroso (the International Voluntary Services agricultural advisor) and Alan Carter (the U.S. Information Service officer in the embassy). Ameroso's story is inspiring in terms of how much grass roots good could be done with a practical approach to aid. Carter's story is maddening in terms of how bad things were in the embassy.

I notice that another reviewer of this book takes the author to task for including an interview by a reported fraud. If that's true, the author deserves strong criticism. If you're only compiling interviews to construct a book, you owe it to the readers to at least do a little checking up on those you include. Still, there is enough excellent material in this book for me to give it highest marks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Unique Perspectives on the Vietnam War, March 6, 2006

By 

Christoph P. O'connell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strange Ground: An Oral History Of Americans In Vietnam, 1945-1975 (Paperback)

After you read a few books on the Vietnam War you begin to see the same information being stated over and over again. It gets a little old after a while.

This book focuses on the people on the ground in Vietnam from the very beginning in 1945. It also gives you not only what the people interviewed WERE like, but what has happened to them since and what they are currently doing. It offers a very personal insight into how the war affected the course of their lives.

The topics range from an administrator living in Saigon talking about his own, and other Americans involvement in the Vietnamese sex industry, to pacification of the countryside from people with tremendously differing points of view.

The only perspective lacking in this book is that of the Vietnamese people. To get that I recommend "Major Problems in the Vietnam War" by Robert McMahon, which offers some insight, interviews and official documents from the Vietnamese most directly influenced by the ravages of war.