WAR STORIES [Hardcover]

Gary Kulik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2009

War stories are mostly innocent fables and understood as such by both the teller and the hearer. However, they have long been used for political and national purposes, and those about the war in Vietnam were no exception, as painfully evidenced in the 2004 presidential campaign. John Kerry campaigned as a war hero. His opponents cast him as a liar and a traitor and their 'war story' prevailed. "War Stories" delves into the myths associated with the Vietnam veteran's experience and looks at them through the war stories they told and continue to tell. Kulik conducts an extremely thorough review of the Vietnam literature and interviews participants wherever possible, poking holes in the war myths of people throughout the political spectrum. "War Stories" discusses how returning Vietnam vets were treated and delves into the myths that atrocities were commonplace, that all veterans of that war suffer from PTSD, and that all are guilt ridden. Kulik's research and analysis of such stories lies at the heart of this book's originality and provides a new perspective on the Vietnam War for scholars, students, and general readers. His purpose in exposing such stories is not to deny or minimize American war crimes in Vietnam but to cut through the cant of false stories so that we retain our outrage at those that are true. As we are faced with future 'war stories' from Iraq and Afghanistan and their likely exploitation, the moral stance and the lessons learned in this book will be especially important.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GARY KULIK most recently served as a deputy director of the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. Previously, he was a department head and an assistant director of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, and the editor of American Quarterly. He is also a decorated veteran of the war in Vietnam, having served as a medic in the Fourth Infantry Division and in the Sixty-first Medical Battalion. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 305 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 1 edition (October 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597973041
• ISBN-13: 978-1597973045
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,172,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 stars, November 19, 2009

By 

D. C. Carrad "augustabookman" (Augusta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: WAR STORIES (Hardcover)

Ever since my own tour of duty in Vietnam (1968-69) I have read everything published about the war in an effort to understand better what happened to me and millions of others. This book is one of the best ever written on the subject. It is thoroughly researched, even-handed and dedicated to factual accuracy. It clearly has taken the author 40 years to research and write and the care and meticulous attention to detail show on every page. He covers both the facts of the war and also how the war and Vietnam veterans were treated in the popular culture in the aftermath of the 1960's. There has been more b.s. written about the war and those of us who served there that on the next dozen topics combined and the author does an excellent job of digging down to the truth, which will surprise many people who have studied Vietnam only superficially. His critique of Lynda Van Devanter's "Home Before Morning" is particularly devastating, in many cases showing that what she wrote was physically impossible! I do not agree with everything in this book - I think the author gives John Kerry and Jane Fonda too many passes and is too hard on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and B. J. Burkett, for example - but I don't judge books by whether they agree with my views 100%. The author was a conscientious objector, follower of the Berrigans, etc. who went on to serve as a medic so paid his dues. It is clear that, like me, he has spent the decades since his service studying the war, the reaction to the war in America, the treatment of veterans and other related issues in an effort to understand these important matters. He succeeds brilliantly. The book is also well-written and a pleasure to read. Highest possible rating, and I recommend this as a good book to start with if you are interested in the Vietnam war and its aftermath since it surveys and comments on so many other works, fiction, non-fiction and movies, about Vietnam and those who fought there. Mr. Kulik has my gratitude for writing this labor of love.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shatters the Myths of the Vietnam War, April 26, 2011

By 

Jason - See all my reviews

This review is from: WAR STORIES (Hardcover)

Gary Kulik's "War Stories," successfully peels back the layers of myth that have long distorted the history of the Vietnam War, and in doing so, his book shatters several claims of gruesome war crimes and exposes them for the lies that they are. However, he also clearly proves that war crimes were actually committed by American soldiers in Vietnam and that My Lai was not the sole occurance of extreme violence against civilians. His purpose in approaching his subject in this manner is to dispel the "noise" of pervasive and supposed policy driven war crimes so that the significance of actual killings of civilians will not be lost.

Kulik also rejects the notion that all Vietnam Vets are victims of the war, as they were framed by the political left in the aftermath of the war. In tackling this issue, he challenges the belief that the war itself made Americans commit war crimes and that the Vietnam War itself was an "atrocity producing situation." This claim was laregly popularized by Phillip Caputo, author of the memoir Rumor of War, and a Vietnam Vet. In his book Caputo essentially claims that he is not personally reponsible for a war crime that took place as a result of an order he gave because such deaths were an "inevitable product of the war." Kulik argues however, that at some point perpetrators of war crimes have to stop blaming the war and the system, take some of the responsibility for their actions, and stop playing the victim card.

Kulik also tackles the issue of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attack on Senator John Kerry's war record during his Presidential campaign of 2004. In examining the veracity of their attacks, Kulik targets their claims that Kerry recieved his three purple hearts through ignominous means. In each of these cases, Kulik finds no evidence that Kerry did not rightfully deserved the award, and argues that the Swift Boat veterans attacks were baseless and quite obviously politically motivated; and that their real anger towards Kerry was based on his particiaption in the Winter Soldiers investigation and his claims of atrocities.

In examining the the various "war stories" that surround the Vietnam War, Kulik dispels myths that originate from both sides of the political spectrum, and brings the reader closer to the truth of what actually did and did not happen during the Vietnam War. Thus, it is an excellent book that should be read by all who have an interest in learing the truth about the Vietnam War.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily timely and highly recommended, November 10, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: WAR STORIES (Hardcover)

Decorated Vietnam veteran Gary Kulik presents "War Stories": False Atrocity Tales, Swift Boaters, and Winter Soldiers - What Really Happened in Vietnam, an accounting of popular myths specifically connected to the Vietnam war in general, and the experience of Vietnam veterans in particular. Kulik does not seek to dismiss, deny or minimize American war crimes in Vietnam - rather, his purpose is to expose false war crime stories, so that the stories that are true can be more accurately regarded and remembered. Of special note is the discussion of Swift Boat Veterans and the "Truth" they propagated specifically to derail Kerry's presidential ambitions. With the prospect of more false stories of American war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan (and their risk of obfuscating true stories of American misconduct), "War Stories" is extraordinarily timely and highly recommended.