The Veteran's Bookstore: Vietnam

The Veteran's Bookstore

The Vietnam War - Early History

The Vietnam War was not only the longest war in our history, it was also the most complex. The question of "why" we were in Vietnam is often the subject of hot debate. One way to better understand the war is to learn more about the events that led up to the war, both here and in Vietnam. This section presents an offering of books that look at the history that preceded the war, particularly from the period following World War II. For pricing and additional information, click the appropriate icon.

A Dangerous Friend by Ward Just.
Ward Just, a former war correspondent, uses his intimate knowledge of Vietnam to advantage in this exploration of America's tangled relations with that small Southeast Asian country. Set in 1965, the last year that civilians were in control of foreign intervention, A Dangerous Friend chronicles the lives of a small band of aid workers who purport to administer financial and technical assistance to the Vietnamese; unknown to most, however, the Llewellyn Group is actually covertly linked to the Pentagon. Though told by a nameless narrator, the protagonist of this story is Sydney Parade, an idealistic American who abandons wife and child in order to help bring democracy to the third world. (A Novel).

Fire in the Lake Frances Fitzgerald.
In this book, Frances Fitzgerald presents an overview of U.S. - Vietnamese relations and the war, from the early 1960's through 1972. A correspondent who spent significant time in Vietnam, she writes mainly of the political struggles in Vietnam, from the Buddhist uprisings through the Theiu regime. She discusses at length the effect of U.S. - Vietnamese relations on the outcomes of the war.

Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard Fall. Without a doubt, this book is the definitive story of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the events that led up to it. Fall details this incredible battle down to the smallest detail. No one can read this book and not make parallels to the siege of Khe Sahn 14 years later.

Ho Chi Minh by William J. Duiker Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) fought for half a century to free Vietnam from foreign domination, and the story of his life illuminates the ongoing struggle between colonialism and nationalism that still shapes world history. William J. Duiker, who served in Saigon's U.S. embassy during the Vietnam War, spent 30 years delving into Vietnamese and European archives, as well as interviewing Minh's surviving colleagues, in order to write this definitive biography.

Street Without Joy by Bernard Fall. Bernard Fall served in the French Army and in the Underground during World War II. He came to the U.S. in 1951, became an American citizen, and began traveling to Indochina in 1953. He became one of the world's renowned experts on that part of the world, and the war. This book is a marvelous look at the French occupation of Vietnam, and how that ultimately led to U.S. involvement. Fall was killed in 1967 while with the U.S. Marines operating in the area north of Hue known as the Street Without Joy.

The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam. The author examines the Kennedy years, the advisors, the insiders, and the players. This is a careful look at the high-level decisions that led down the path directly to Vietnam.

The Quiet American
by Graham Greene. This novel is the story of the of U.S. involvement in the 50's and early 60's. The novel explores the relationships and misunderstandings between two vastly different cultures, and how those misunderstandings can lead to deep entanglements.

Vietnam: The Making of a Quagmire David Halberstam expands on his previous work in takes an in-depth look at the policy decisions that took us to Vietnam, and the decisions that kept us there.

The Vietnam Scholar: Bernard Fall