The Only War We've Got: Early Days in South Vietnam (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: strategic hamlets, little cowboy, Viet Cong, The Only War We've Got, Daniel Ford (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A riveting account of the Vietnam War in its openings round.
Recommended to students, veterans, and historians." -- Annals of Vietnam, February 2002

Product Description

It's 1964, and Dan Ford has just received a publisher's advance on his first book. He spends the money on a ticket to Saigon. Here is the war as he saw it, including the mission that became the acclaimed Burt Lancaster film "Go Tell the Spartans."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595175511
• ISBN-13: 978-0595175512
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,704,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did you ever wonder how the war began?, April 15, 2001

By	Wargamer (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This is an amazing book. Before Vietnam became a household word, Ford bought a ticket to Saigon so he could see the war for himself. There were only a few Americans in Vietnam at the time, reporters and advisors and helo crews--no combat troops tho they all saw combat from time to time, including Ford. He goes on an armored invasion of a seashore town, slogs through the jungle with Vietnamese Rangers, patrols with the American Green Berets, and celebrates the Fourth of July by shooting up the Saigon River with a gang from the U.S. Navy.

Ford's Vietnam isn't the one you generally read about. He loves the country and admires the Americans he meets in his travels. They in turn love their work, at least the men in the field do. But between the lines you can see that things will go terribly wrong with America's adventure in South Vietnam.

Belongs on the shelf of every student of the Vietnam War.

Carleton Ross

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good job, January 11, 2002

By A Customer

"The Only War We,ve Got" is an important book. I read it in virtually two sittings; so, it surely held my interest. I'm surprised I have not read about it elsewhere.

Like most thoughtful Americans, my opinions, feeling and prejudices about the Vietnam War have morphed a lot over the past 36 years. Presently, this book catches me right in the middle. The War provided much to be angry over but even more to be sad about. Truly, good intentions in the hands of fools (aren't we all) can be the cobblestones for the road to Hell. I hope this book will serve the folks who take George Santayanas famous comment to heart. However, I have seen in my lifetime the "best and the brightest" can be the biggest fools of all.

Very good job.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really got caught up in this book, December 8, 2001

By	Bonnie (Laconia NH) - See all my reviews

War stories aren't usually my cup of tea, but once I picked up this book I just couldn't put it down again. Maybe it was the "journal" style. But I really got the feeling that I was there with the reporter, traveling from base to base in Vietnam. Most books about the war give you the feeling of a filthy war fought in a rotten climate by men who hated every minute of it. That's not the war that Mr. Ford saw. In fact, he loved the country, and so did most of the American soldiers he traveled with.

Good photographs too. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in how the Vietnam war came to be.

-- Bonnie