'Vietnam': A Portrait of its People at War (Paperback)

by David Chanoff (Author), Doan Van Toai (Author) "BEFORE THE AMERICANS CAME THERE WERE THE FRENCH..." (more)
Key Phrases: North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Vung Tau (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
"The psychological landscape of Vietnam, like the political landscape, was full of features unsuspected by Americans when they entered the war," write Brandeis professor Chanoff and journalist Van Toai. These features included the endless war, sentiment against the French and the Americans, patriotism, ideologies, family, Buddhist-Catholic conflict, and charismatic leadership. The authors allow the country its expression through refugee accounts: central testimonials by Xuan Vu, the propaganda chief and award-winning author; Nguyen Cong Hoan, assemblyman in both Hanoi and Saigon; and Trinh Duc, soldier and leader, are supplemented with other eye-witness reports. Readers of Al Santoli's Everything We Had (1985) or Wallace Terry's Bloods (1985) will appreciate the information on the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the terror it held for Vietnamese soldiers as well as on camouflage, propaganda, bombings, purges, and ethnicity. The work resonates with a special understanding of Vietnamese institutions. Highly recommended.?Margaret W. Norton, Morton West H.S., Berwyn, Ill.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"More than two decades after it was first published, Vietnam: A Portrait of Its People at War stands out as one of the most penetrating and valuable studies of the conflict that consumed the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. David Chanoff and Doan Van Toai capture the extraordinary variety of Vietnamese motives and experiences by letting Vietnamese soldiers, officials, and peasants speak for themselves. The overall effect is to bring the "other side" to life with unrivalled richness and complexity. This book remains essential reading for anyone hoping to understand the Vietnam War." --Mark Lawrence, University of Texas at Austin

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: I. B. Tauris (August 15, 1996) Language: English ISBN-10: 1860640761 ISBN-13: 978-1860640766 Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #637,160 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
BEFORE THE AMERICANS CAME THERE WERE THE FRENCH. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Vung Tau, Quang Duc, United States, Nha Trang, Ben Tre, Phu Yen, Tri Quang, Communist Party, Long Khanh, Thai Binh, Tuy Hoa, Bao Binh, Dong Xoai, Ngo Dinh Diem, Truong Son, Con Son, Geneva Agreement, Phu Loi, Phuoc Giang, Tam Chau, Bay Khanh, National Liberation Front, Tay Ninh

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 5 books:

• A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath by Truong Nhu Tang on page 34, and Back Matter
• Americal Division by Turner Publishing Company on page 163
• Everything We Had by Al Santoli in Front Matter
• Special Operations by Turner Publishing Company on page 166
• Silence Was a Weapon: The Vietnam War in the Villages by Stuart A. Herrington on page 166

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Ho Chi Minh by William J. Duiker

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Argument Without End by Robert S. McNamara

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Why The North Won The Vietnam War by Marc Jason Gilbert

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Ho Chi Minh by William J. Duiker Discusses: nhan dan van dong Ngo Dinh Diem Vietnam 1945 by David G. Marr Discusses: nhan dan van dong Phu Yen Argument Without End by Robert S. McNamara Discusses: nhan dan North Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem Why The North Won The Vietnam War by Marc Jason Gilbert Discusses: nhan dan North Vietnam South Vietnam Loading...

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Major Contribution Which Fills Many Gaps, May 26, 1998 By  Dr. Samuel Popkin ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews This is that rare book on Vietnam which contributes new information which is essential to understanding the war and the country. Chanoff and Toai have assembled an extraordinary set of new interviews, published reminiscences, and war-time interrogation reports with northern and southern Vietnamese participants in the decades long struggle to build a unified communist country. These are as frank and revealing a set of eyewitness interviews as anyone is ever likely to assemble. They deal honestly and painfully with the hardships of war, the combination of idealism and brutality that pervade daily life during war, and the shattered dreams of many participants during land reform, ideological purges and power grabs. I consider this one of the 15 or 20 books that belongs on everyone's list of the ten most important books written on the war. Along with books by David Marr, Hue-Tam Ho Tai and Le Ly Hayslip, I consider it one of the essential sources on Vietnam itself. There is not just the insight of personal memoirs from well-known events, there are also many major revelations about critical events in the war -- such as the Buddhist struggles and the building of the Ho Chi Minh trail. I have been teaching courses on the contry and the war for over 20 years at the University of California at San Diego. I expect to be using this book in class for many years. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating to hear the other perspective., January 13, 2004 By  "politicalnut" (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews This was quite interesting and I will use a few of the interviews for my teaching of the Vietnam War in my US History class. Nice to expose my students to the "enemy".		Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (August 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860640761
• ISBN-13: 978-1860640766
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #637,160 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Major Contribution Which Fills Many Gaps, May 26, 1998

By	Dr. Samuel Popkin ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This is that rare book on Vietnam which contributes new information which is essential to understanding the war and the country. Chanoff and Toai have assembled an extraordinary set of new interviews, published reminiscences, and war-time interrogation reports with northern and southern Vietnamese participants in the decades long struggle to build a unified communist country.

These are as frank and revealing a set of eyewitness interviews as anyone is ever likely to assemble. They deal honestly and painfully with the hardships of war, the combination of idealism and brutality that pervade daily life during war, and the shattered dreams of many participants during land reform, ideological purges and power grabs.

I consider this one of the 15 or 20 books that belongs on everyone's list of the ten most important books written on the war. Along with books by David Marr, Hue-Tam Ho Tai and Le Ly Hayslip, I consider it one of the essential sources on Vietnam itself. There is not just the insight of personal memoirs from well-known events, there are also many major revelations about critical events in the war -- such as the Buddhist struggles and the building of the Ho Chi Minh trail.

I have been teaching courses on the contry and the war for over 20 years at the University of California at San Diego. I expect to be using this book in class for many years.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating to hear the other perspective., January 13, 2004

By	"politicalnut" (Naperville, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This was quite interesting and I will use a few of the interviews for my teaching of the Vietnam War in my US History class. Nice to expose my students to the "enemy".