Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Vietnam: A History
Book Review: Great History
Summary: 5 Stars
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 number of reporting trips back to Vietnam to interview community leaders, produced a great history of that ultimately tragic war for both Vietnam and the US. Karnow traces US involvement in Vietnam from before the end of the Second World War. Cold War politics drove the US to stay involved in the internal politics of Vietnam. Misguided ideas about the domino theory, or that the fall of one Asian county to communism would lead to the whole continent to succumb, led political leadership of both the Republican and Democratic parties to increase troop levels. The numbers of troops escalated sharply during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.
Karnow covers in depth the reaction of US military and political leadership to the Tet Offensive in 1968 and the impact Richard Nixon had on the conflict. Nixon increased the bombing campaign, but also began peace talks (with a shove from the Democratically controlled Congress).
A great read, this is the go to source for those looking for the story of the Vietnam War. I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Great Insight into Vietnam and Why America Ended Up There
Summary: 5 Stars
Especially at a time when it seems every political or military book is filled with overblown hyperbole, Stanley Karnow's "Vietnam: A History" is a refreshingly down-to-earth, on-the-ground reporter's description of a country that generations of Americans have an opinion of, yet so few really know much about. Unlike most of them, however, Karnow was there during and after the war, and has the intellectual honesty to share both sides of the story even-handedly.
The result, then, is an opportunity for you to discover how several apparently unconnected pieces of world and American history came together to change the lives of tens of thousands of American families, and millions of Vietnamese. Karnow takes you into the average American soldier's experience, and balances it with stories from after the war told by the other side. He explains how a political movement can be twisted and skewed by the help it accepts, even when what its leaders really want is independence. He details how military decisions are almost NEVER purely military in nature when political power is at risk. And he does ALL that in a very human, in-your-face factual reporting style that loses nothing to nuance or insinuation. It's a style that you'll be glad, as a reader, to have on your side.
I was a kid during the Vietnam War, but I knew several who served there, and a couple who died there. In America back then, it was hard not to. No matter who I asked about the war, though, I never got a straight answer as to why we were in a war over there except, "they're commies" and we were fighting communism. That wasn't a bad answer, I guess, but after reading this book, I finally actually had some real answers.
That said, I can't say this book has ALL the answers about Vietnam, and you shouldn't accept it as if it does. Part of what I like about the book, though, is that Karnow doesn't WANT you to accept his own book as the all-knowing source on Vietnam. It's only a part of the puzzle, but it is a significant and helpful part.
In short, if you want to learn about Vietnam and America's involvement in it -- for better or worse -- I strongly recommend that you read this book. You'll be the wiser (if not always happier) for it.
Book Review: Had to read it in college
Summary: 4 Stars
Man, when I was college I had to read this book and considering the size and the manner in which it is written it's no wonder the only other people I meet who read it read because they had to in order to get a grade from history class. And the topic of Vietnam seems so distant to those of my generation, that's why I was so surprised to read a book called "The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War". If you want to get the whole story of Vietnam, and not just the war as long as we were directly involved, then I suggest getting this book and "The Bamboo Chest" and you'll get the WHOLE story, and not just the stuff that has been regurgitated by journalists and history professors over and over! Read my review on "The Bamboo Chest" and see why: how many Americans (non-Vietnamese-Americans) under 40 years old can say they were held hostage for eleven months in a Vietnamese re-education camp and lived to tell about it??
Like I've told my friends, read the Vietnam: A History and then read "The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War" and you'll get the WHOLE story about what happened over there, including the missing part that isn't in "Vietnam: A History", what really happened when we left. . .
Book Review: History Thoroughly Researched
Summary: 5 Stars
A great work. This is a cogent presentation of the history of the Vietnamese people. Well worth reading if you want to attempt understanding our American predicament there.Book Review: Hysterical bombast masquerading as history
Summary: 1 Stars
I've read everything about the Vietnam War I could get my hands on for the last 20 years and this shrill book stands out as the worst. I sorely regret having spent money on it. If you seek understanding of the conflict check out Sheehan's Bright Shining Lie instead.