The Tunnels of Cu Chi (Paperback)

by Tom Mangold (Author), John Penycate (Author) "HE HEARD THE tracks of the armored personnel carriers long before the malignant clouds of dust came into view..." (more)
Key Phrases: tunnel rat squad, tunnel destruction, tunnel warfare, Viet Cong, Iron Triangle, Cedar Falls (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The authors, BBC journalists, discuss the Vietcong who lived, worked and fought in tunnelsparticularly the ones in Cu Chi, a district just north of Saigonas well as the U.S. Army "tunnel rats," who tried to explore and clear the underground cities. PW found that this book "provides a striking view of a neglected but crucial aspect of the Vietnam war."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Second edition (June 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425089517
• ISBN-13: 978-0425089514
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #276,855 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good book for the familys of "Tunnel Rats", August 2, 1999

By A Customer

As a Tunnel Rat that spent time in the tunnels in the Iron Triangle, the "Tunnels of Cu Chi" recounts many of the episodes that happened in the area.

I used this book to explain the what part of my duties in VietNam was like. It tells the tale with out embelishment nor as a typical war story. I recommend it to all "Rats" familys to give them better understanding of what being a "Tunnel Rat" was like in VietNam.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the firepower in the world couldn't kill these tunnels., July 6, 2000

By	Paul Antokolsky (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This book gives the best account I've read of the tenacity, ingenuity and willingness to sacrifice that typified hard-core Viet Cong cadre. It gives a clear and detailed account of the tunnels; but even more, it offers us the personal, often emotional, stories of the men and women who built, lived in and fought from the tunnels, as well as the Americans who struggled against them. The unflinching accounts of our tunnel rats -- soldiers who had the supremely dangerous job of crawling into these tunnels, alone and armed only with a flashlight and a pistol -- are the most rivetting stories about the war I have seen. As an infantry medic in '68-'69, I never liked going into that area. Now the Tunnels of Cu Chi are preserved as a Vietnamese National Park, celebrated as a monument to both engineering and the human spirit. This book explains why.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic book revealing much about the "enemy.", September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This is a great book which can compliment your viewing of Mickey Grant's 1 hour film shot in Vietnam titled, "The Cu Chi Tunnels." Tom's book also includes much about the "Tunnel Rats". The film deals much more with the Vietnamese side which has been so often not been revealed.