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Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina (Stackpole Military History Series) Paperback – June 10, 2005

by Bernard B. Fall (Author)

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Reprint of an all-time classic on the Vietnam War

Originally published in 1961, before the United States escalated its involvement in South Vietnam, Street without Joy offered a clear warning about what American forces would face in the jungles of Southeast Asia: a costly and protracted revolutionary war fought without fronts against a mobile enemy. In harrowing detail, Fall describes the brutality and frustrations of the Indochina War, the savage eight-year conflict-ending in 1954 after the fall of Dien Bien Phu-in which French forces suffered a staggering defeat at the hands of Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists. With its frontline perspective, vivid reporting, and careful analysis, Street without Joy was required reading for policymakers in Washington and GIs in the field and is now considered a classic.

Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina (Stackpole Military History Series)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A dramatic treatment of a historic event ... the vast panorama of the Indochina struggle emerges with graphic impact." --The New York Times Book Review

"A poignant, angry, articulate book . . ." --Newsweek --Newsweek

"A poignant, angry, articulate book . . ." --Newsweek

"...A dramatic treatment of a historic event ... the vast panorama of the Indochina struggle emerges with graphic impact." -- The New York Times Book Review<br /><br />"A poignant, angry, articulate book . . ." --Newsweek

About the Author

Bernard B. Fall was born in France and fought with the French Resistance during World War II. While traveling in Vietnam in 1967, he was killed by a Vietcong explosive. His other works include Hell in a Very Small Place (0-306-81157-X) and Last Reflections on a War (0-8117-0904-3).

Series: Stackpole Military History Series
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Stackpole Books; Revised ed. edition (June 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0811732363
ISBN-13: 978-0811732369
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 191 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #40 in Books > History > Asia > Southeast Asia
- #53 in Books > History > Europe > France
- #81 in Books > History > Military > United States > Vietnam War

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Top customer reviews

Arrived promptly and in good condition. Bernard Fall has few peers as this ...

ByKropotkinon March 28, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Arrived promptly and in good condition. Bernard Fall has few peers as this is an excellent book on Indochina. I wish he had gone into more of the situation before the Japanese invasion of the area, but few could bicker with his coverage of this period.

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A must read for any true history addict.

ByBarry M Liguson March 22, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I have been meaning to read this book for a long time. I have not been disappointed. It is a must read for those trying to understand why western powers failed to understand why Hanoi was able to prevail, and why the end result was inevitable.

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A Must Read for Student of History

ByD.H. Wayneon September 16, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A must-read to understand how the US failed to learn from the French experience in Vietnam. I have read Bernard Fall's books on the subject some years ago and the advent of the Ken Burns PBS series on Vietnam triggered me to read them again.

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Great book. Thank you

ByDavid H.on May 11, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

History is a revolving door. This book proves that we as a world do not learn from history. Time does not change human nature. Great book. Thank you!

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The same lessons forgotten again and again

ByJorge F. Duranon December 18, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book is about the war in Indochina between France and the Vietminh. Moreover, to read this book could be a worth effort to learn lesson to fight insurgencies, lessons that never are enough learned by the west.

The book is a remarkably complete account of the war in Indochina. The author combined the investigation, the history and his own experiences along its fifteen chapters. So far, in my opinion the best chapters are the "End of a Task Force" wich describes the annihilation of the "Group Mobile 100" and Diem Bien Phu where the French troops were decisively defeated in a set piece battle that the French High Command had been looking for, and finally met but under General Giap conditions.

I think the book could teach us lessons at strategic and operational level.

Al strategic level we must understand that only "put steel on target" in this kind of conflict is a nonsense if the military and politicians don't work together to solve the social problems that cause the insurgency.

At operational level, the first thing to learn in the book is that the traditional military culture is the first enemy to defeat in order to fight insurgencies. The look for a battle with division corps, armies and so on is a waste of time; this was the same misunderstanding of soviets in Afghanistan. The second cultural issue to improve the counterinsurgency skills is to realize that this war is waged at platoon or company, and the main characters are sergeants and lieutenants.

In conclusion, the lessons of this book are very important and should never be discarded by thinking they are old-fashioned

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Detailed "Blow-byBlow Account" of the French vs. Communist Fighting

ByDiving Nuton August 2, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I thought the book was very well written. The maps concerning the various conflicts between the French & the Viet Min forces allowed one to visualize where the fights were taking place with the text in the book giving a detailed account of the actions. I was amazed that there didn't seem to be any bias concerning either the French or the Communist military actions.

It was very clear to me that the French were completely unprepared for fighting a war without any clearly defined front. The human wave attacks with the seemingly unlimited amount of supplies from Russia & China lead to the downfall of the French in Viet Nam. This was vividly depicted through the book.

I enjoyed the book and the author's style made it hard to stop reading. I highly recommend this book for any military enthusiast who wants to know what happened to the French in Viet Nam.

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Viet Nam Vets, read this book

ByAmazon Customeron July 31, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An Amazing History of Viet Nam from the early fifties to early 60's. A must read for every Viet Nam Combat Vet.

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Compelling Historical Account

ByRiley Edwardson February 9, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Bernard Fall gives us a stimulating account of the 8 year disaster of the French attempting to re-establish colonialism in Vietnam and Laos. As the French politicians back home and the military command in Hanoi totally misunderstood the Vietnamese goals and their guerrilla warfare, an outcome of misery and failure was set in motion. Mr. Fall is an excellent storyteller and relates that history in an awe-inspiring manner. It is ironic that the author would suffer violent death in a military action in Vietnam upon the street without joy several years later.

"Street Without Joy" is a text that warns us again that before one goes to war: Know your enemy and know yourself.

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Most recent customer reviews

This book will always apply to current and future hostile ...

This book will always apply to current and future hostile arenas. Should be made a standard reading for anyone in the political world and military arena.

Published 16 days ago by Jeffrey A. Bevins

Good read

Really interesting read knowledge of past and current guerilla war thinking. Very informative about the way the Vietnam Minh fought

Published 18 days ago by Alcarp

Five Stars

I would recommend this book, 5 stars.

Published 1 month ago by Philip Ryan

History Lesson

Excellent history lesson. Since I served in Vietnam one must wonder how we didn't have this figured out. Of course we believed in the "Domino Affect" at the time.Read more

Published 3 months ago by Oldknight

For peolple intrested in History, one of Vietnam's pivotal wars of independence.

A book written back in the 50's and updated in the 60's. A very good telling of the French war, mainly from the French point of view.Read more

Published 4 months ago by N. S. Redford

Two Stars

The was lost in the mail,

Published 5 months ago by rich m

A classic

A classic. I re-read it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Fall's death in Vietnam. A must read for students of military history.Read more

Published 5 months ago by RMS

Read it, you deserve to know the truth.

If you choose to read this, you will wonder at the incompetency of the Presidents who put the USA in this mess, going back as far as WW2 when there was talk about letting France...Read more

Published 5 months ago by Michael L Shepherd

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