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Vietnam: A History (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: southern comrades, insurgent generals, bombing halt, United States, South Vietnamese, North Vietnamese (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Provides a comprehensive look at both sides of the Vietnam War through a collection of personal tales and delves into the political and military events in the United States and elsewhere that originally caused the war and the brought it to an end. Reprint. TV tie-in."

Product Details

Paperback: 784 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 2 edition (June 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140265473
ISBN-13: 978-0140265477
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,936 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#11 in Books > History > Asia > Southeast Asia
#22 in Books > History > Military > Vietnam War
#29 in Books > History > Asia > Vietnam

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
southern comrades, insurgent generals, bombing halt, international control commission

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, South Vietnamese, North Vietnamese, Southeast Asia, White House, Bao Dai, World War, Soviet Union, New York, Lyndon Johnson, State Department, Pham Van Dong, President Johnson, Ngo Dinh Diem, Tonkin Gulf, Tri Quang, Vietnamese Communists, Bui Tin, Capitol Hill, Lon Nol, Mao Zedong, Madame Nhu, Binh Xuyen, General Westmoreland, Khmer Rouge

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	89% buy the item featured on this page: Vietnam: A History 4.3 out of 5 stars (67) $14.28
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Customer Reviews

67 Reviews

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (67 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful history of Americas most regrettable war., July 1, 2000

By	Mike Powers "mkp51" (Boothbay, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"Vietnam: A History" is a masterfully written history of America's involvement in Vietnam - certainly one of the two best single-volume histories (along with "A Bright Shining Lie," by Neil Sheehan) of America's most regrettable war that I've read. Written by Stanley Karnow, a former Southeast Asian correspondent for "Time" and "Life" magazines, and "The Washington Post," this book is a comprehensive and fascinating look at the Vietnam war, from its underlying causes at the end of World War II, to the final takeover of South Vietnam by its Communist neighbor, North Vietnam, in April 1975.

Karnow delivers with crisp and precise prose an account of the Vietnam War which is both fair and objective. He analyzes the conflict from both the political and military standpoint, and is unsparing in his criticism of errors made by political and military leaders on all sides of the conflict. Three areas of this book were especially interesting to me: first, the author's account of the conflict between the French and Viet Minh, and how the French were defeated at Dienbienphu in 1954; second, how the U.S. government formulated its Vietnam policy under the Kennedy administration, and how that policy ultimately failed; and third, how Richard Nixon, upon becoming President in 1969, changed America's Vietnam policy and began the process of "Vietnamizing" the war. (Karnow's candid description of how the Kennedy administration initially supported South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, then tacitly approved of the 1963 coup d'etat which resulted in Diem's murder is fascinating.)

"Vietnam: A History" is an essential book for the reader interested in gaining a good understanding of the war and its causes. Highly recommendable reading!

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157 of 187 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Op-Ed History, September 10, 2002

By	Scott Carpenter (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has many merits: It is comprehensive, it attempts to explain Vietnamese history, and it is full of on the spot interviews and remembrances. This remains the basic history text of record on American involvement in Vietnam. There is a breadth of perspective here that is lacking in many accounts of this most up-close and personal of wars.

Despite these advantages, the book has some real limitations. The writing is pedestrian, the characterizations (if one can say that about history) tend to be thin, and Karnow fails to convey a sense of wholeness in many chapters. The book at times feels more like a collection of dispatches from a reporter in the field (which Karnow was in Vietnam) rather than the work of a historian who has integrated fact and theory based on deep understanding and research. As comprehensive as the book tries to be, Karow's reach may have exeeded his grasp with his project.

The book also suffers from a real bias against American involvement and the American establishment, Republican and Democratic. When "Uncle Ho" commits murders in the thousands the book makes one feel like this is a natural outpouring of exuburant nationalism rather than good old fashioned absolutism. But when the admittedly corrupt and inept Diem regime or confused ARVN or American soldiers commit atrocities, the condemnation is acid and biting. Communists are presented as "golden," or "tough," while Southerners or Amercians are usually charactured as "greedy," or "arrogant."

There is also an irony in the book's approach. Karnow should be complemented for attempting to fit American involvement in Vietnam into the wider context of Vietnam's history. However, Vietnam's history is presented mostly through lense of Western or Colonial contact. There is little sense of Vietnam as a nation, and its people, religion and history are merely players on the stage of American Imperialism. In suggesting that the policy of containment as expressed in the Vietnam war was a misjudgment of Vietnamese Nationalism (which is now common wisdom), Karnow ironically describes that nation as through an American TV camera, rather than a Vietnamese watercolor.

Now, almost 20 years after it was written, the Vietnam: A History still has valuable perspective and information. But be forewarned: This is a myopic document of American journalistic self-analysis.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AVERAGE OF 5 AND 1 IS 3!!!, December 5, 2001

By	Chad R. Reihm (Miami Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Should you buy this book???

It depends what you are looking for...Karnow was in 'Nam as a reporter for 25 years and is probably the most qualified writer alive to write about it. He met with all of the top officials in the south and north Vietnamese Govts and had informants in our own govt to help with details. So if you are looking for a Political history of the war, 'the why we were there and what kept us there' kind of topics, then this is a five star must read. But if you are looking for details on the fighting and on individual battles then look elsewhere because this book has little to none of that. You will find out why and when soldiers were first sent to nam but you will not find out what they did or felt once they were there.

Political history = 5 stars
Military history = 1 star

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Civil War...
...at least the one in the 20th Century, was fought over this country, and the ramifications reverberate today. There were those who saw, and those who will never see. Read more

Published 5 days ago by John P. Jones III

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History
There is a reason this is considered the best single volume history of the Vietnam War. Karnow, who was a reporter in Vietnam before and during the war, and had also made a... Read more

Published 1 month ago by David W. Southworth

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of Vietnam
Stanley Karnow is an excellent author who reports the history of Vietnam through multiple perspectives. If you ever had a question about Vietnam, READ THIS BOOK!

Published 7 months ago by Michael M. Witsil

5.0 out of 5 stars Study this history to avoid repeating it
A very detailed study of not just the military dimension but the underlying political motivations and manoeuvers which created and sustained the 'Vietnam war'. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Red Fox

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive but covered elsewhere
This book is written in a clear style, and it covers the history of Vietnam comprehensively from the earliest beginnings through the end of the war and a bit beyond the war... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Richard Thompsn

5.0 out of 5 stars George Ball had it right
This is an excellent choice for those wanting to know how the US got involved in Vietnam, why we stayed so long, and how the end game played out. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Calochortus

5.0 out of 5 stars Fully Referenced
Of all the books on the subject of what the people of Vn call The American War, this book stands out. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Gary L. Green

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Ancient History
This very large and very detailed book spends WAY TOO MUCH time discussing ancient Vietnamese history. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Justin T. Hagan

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but lacking and lopsided
For a so-called "complete" history of Vietnam, this book was decidedly lopsided in some areas. For example, he spends hundreds of pages with useful and interesting pre-1965... Read more

Published 16 months ago by D. J. Nardi

1.0 out of 5 stars poorly researched and providing little insight into the war
This book has given an authority that its contents and research in no way deserves. A more appopriate title would be "Vietnam: An American mythology" because facts be damned,... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Mark bennett

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