Amazon.com: Vietnam (9780394919430): Dorothy Hoobler: Books

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this lucid and eloquent overview of American involvement in Vietnam, the Hooblers ( The Trenches: Fighting on the Western Front in World War I ) encourage readers to question and learn from history. Explaining the origins of the conflict, the authors report on Vietnamese subjugation by the French and Japanese, point out that Ho Chi Minh aided the U.S. during WW II, and analyze the series of tragic mistakes made by U.S. presidents, generals, intelligence agents and diplomats that eventually led to the long war. The valor of U.S. combat troops is cited; the My Lai massacre, too, is documented. The context and the influence of the domestic peace movement are also clearly presented. Occasionally, an oversimplification invades the otherwise excellent text (describing how the McCarthyism of the 1950s left a legacy of fear, the authors conclude: "The main reason why American presidents of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s sent military aid to South Vietnam was that they did not want to face the question, 'Who lost Vietnam?' "). Well-chosen photographs, generously interspersed throughout, heighten the immediacy and force of the authors' arguments. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

This examination of the Viet nam conflict opens with a good synop sis of Vietnam's history, with an em phasis on the country's 1000-year struggle for independence. It then moves into the modern era and de scribes how the U. S. grew increasing ly involved as the French left, and com pares that involvement to a tunnel with no end. With the exception of a chapter on the antiwar movement in the U. S., most of the book concentrates on how and why the war was fought as it was in Vietnam. The Hooblers describe the entire war as a mistake and portray the U. S. as the aggressor, although they are in general sympathetic to U. S. sol diers. They view the war as a struggle for Vietnamese unification and inde pendence and spend little time on North Vietnam's aggression during the war and repression of the South after it. The book is well written and thought- provoking. The text moves smoothly, providing backgound information and a clear outline of events. Sidebars de scribe various people and events. Both this book and Warren's Portrait of a Tragedy (Lothrop, 1990) view the war as a tragedy, but they differ in their treatment of North Vietnamese and U. S. motivations, and in their place ment of blame. Since they are both strong books, they should be purchased as companions to show young readers that the Vietnam conflict remains a complex subject that continues to di vide much of the U. S.

Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO