Customer Reviews

The Wound Within: America in the Vietnam Years, 1945-1974

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Kendrick uses Vietnam to focus a look at the US during the period leading up to and during the Vietnam years. He traces the effect that the engagement had on the country as a whole. At the same time, he looks at how what was happening in the country affected the decision to get and stay involved. He does a nice job of managing these parallel tracks without confusion or obvious bias. I particularly liked the way that he established the links and connections between the civil rights movement and Vietnam resistance. We see those two subjects treated separately so often that it is easy to forget that they were happening at the same time.

The Wound Within includes a helpful bibliography (although not annotated) and index.

Particularly in the treatment of Nixon, the book may feel a little bit dated-- so much has changed in our perception of him since the release date of 1974. At the same time, this difference may be useful to see. The book addresses Watergate and Vietnam from a time when the wound was still fresh and the country still very raw from the consequences.