The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. A true history of love, family, and the war in vietnam 300 pp. Tony frolicked with the nymphs, swam with the fairies and floated on clouds of marijuana while manfred was crashing and bashing his way through the jungles in vietnam, in the mud, and the rain, being bitten by mozzies and sucked on by leeches. He is the son of north vietnam immigrants who moved to the south in the year 1954.
The author has provided the gritty authenticity that only truth can provide. In order to combat bettersupplied american and south vietnamese forces during the vietnam war, communist guerrilla troops known as viet cong dug tens of. Often working with the north vietnamese army, they were a constant factor amid the rice paddies and battlefields throughout the war. The viet cong attacked under the cover of mortars and machine guns, and vietnamese families living. For readers, writing is a process of emotional osmosis the author viet thanh nguyen discusses how his novel the sympathizer is the product of decades of enjoying other works. Viet cong fighters american experience official site pbs. A viet cong is a man, woman, or childa tough fighter, with words or weapons, for what he is taught to call.
An enemy in the shadows, the viet cong was the military arm of the national liberation front, the communist party of the republic of vietnam. Viet cong do many things, and they do it all very well. From carriers and land bases, 49 jets struck back at staging areas just across the. Despite fighting an enemy with overwhelming firepower and resources, they ingeniously made use of the local environment. Incendiaries army technical manual book tm 312011 1966. I refer to the book frequently in my discussions of various aspects of the second indochina war.
Prior to reading a vietcong memoir, i read several books on vietnam. Where can i find a north vietnamese perspective on the vietnam war. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench systems, individual fighting positions, crewserved weapon positions, bunkers. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections. Truong nhu tang tang was the exminister of justice for the provisional revolutionary government of the republic of south. For readers, writing is a process of emotional osmosis. This is a moving if rather nsive account of life as a vietnamese revolutionary, written by one of the vietcongs highestranking leaders who is now in exile in the west. Stone, who served in the navy during the 1950s, focuses the story on ray hicks, a sailor on the way home from vietnam, and john converse, a hapless war correspondent. A reporters war ranks with some of the best expository prose of recent years in this or any other country. Original vietnam war 1967 viet cong boobytraps, mines and mine warfare handbook.
It seems everything ive been able to find has been from the us or south vietnamese perspective. Trung grew up in the river byways of the mekong delta, a fertile land home to many poor farmers, many of whom saw the viet cong, guerilla fighters who supported communist north vietnam as their. As explained in the responses here, the north vietnamese nva or pavn were the formal army of north vietnam while the viet cong short for vietnamese communist was the guerrilla army of south vietnam. Reagan doctrine, viet cong and pavn strategy, organization and structure, viet cong and vietnam peoples army logistics and equipment, history of guerrilla warfare, insurgency, splan, liberation of paris, northern campaign, leaderless resistance. The release site was loc ninh, located north of an loc, 10 miles south of cambodia. Vietnam bibliography edwin moise, clemson university vietnam war bibliography richard jensen, professor of history emeritus, u of illinois chicago vietnamese perspectives on the war in vietnam. Some books om the vietcong viet cong fighter warrior by gordon rottman the nva and viet cong elite by kenneth conboy. The first album from this mutated collective is heavier than past projects, driven by dark sunshine hooks and jarring midsong maneuvering. An annotated bibliography john schafer, humbolt state university books about the vietnam war. Using letters he saved from family and friendsalong with remembrances from his war buddies. Luckily, mr haughey escaped injury and returned home to the u. Viet cong and nva tunnels and fortifications of the. The messages of secrets of the viet cong are certsainly too chilling to be ignored. The pentagon papers, the sacred willow four generations in the life of vietnamese family, and a.
He has written his book with a narrative pace that rivals the very best thrillers. He stalked the viet cong behind enemy lineson their own ground. The pentagon papers, the sacred willow four generations in the life of vietnamese family, and a history book that began in the 5th century. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Ten vietnam war novels to read council on foreign relations.
Buy a vietcong memoir 1st vintage books ed by nhu tang, troung isbn. An inside account of the vietnam war and its aftermath tang, truong nhu on. The back matter includes a glossary of names, a list of prg officials, a 10page index, and copies of the nlf manifesto and program december 1960, the political program of the vietnam alliance july 1968, and the action program of the prg june 1969. At the start of 1967, some 280,000 viet cong opposed 385,000 americans, and in the previous year more than ten times as many viet cong had died. A vietcong memoir by cipactli of united struggle from within september 2011 permalink. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. The viet cong 19651967 part 1 and the viet cong 19651967 part 2. Lots of space is devoted to tonys very different life at home as a hippie antiwar protester. Viet was born in buon me thuot, vietnam in the year 1971.
An inside account of the vietnam war and its aftermath. An excellent history of what may well have been the most savage, sustained combat the marine corps saw in vietnam. And each time, he emerged from the jungle having done his duty. The book is filled with personal vignettes and covers his experiences from boot camp to combat and home again. The sunken ship is the eastern mariner which was sunk by a v. An inside account of the vietnam war and its aftermath by truong nhu tang and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. His record is one of the finest in military history, with ninetythree confirmed kills. Interspersed in viet cong memoir are 4 maps and 46 photographs. This is pleiku, 250 miles north of saigon, the air base that was ripped by vietnamese communist guerillas. Neverbeforeseen images of the vietnam war through the. Viet cong is a new project made up of four distinct voices. The viet cong department of defense literally translated, the phrase viet cong vc means vietnamese communist, and those who are viet cong employ the whole communist arsenal of deceit and violence.
One of our boats salvaged the ships bell, which was then mounted outside of the officers quarters on the base. Seizing the opportunity, the communists organised a vietnamese independence league, the viet minh, whose armed forces became known as the pavn more commonly known to the west as the vietcong, or nva and prepared to launch an uprising against the french at the wars. Eight americans died in the attack that brought swift retaliation by u. The nha be naval support activity base of the brownwater. Both sides recruited children into the war effort, including the author who worked for the viet cong. Viet thanh nguyen is a vietnamborn american pulitzer novelist. It may seem a long way from there to a clandestine life with the. Are there any nonfiction books written about vietnam from. What is the difference between the nva and viet cong. Truong nhu tangs a vietcong memoir is an easy read if youre familiar with vietnam s lengthy colonial history. Get the best deals on original vietnam war books when you shop the largest online selection at. This is the story of a simple man who endured incredible.
To mark the day, heres a list of books about the war. During the vietnam war, the viet cong vc main forces and north vietnamese army nva were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive us firepower. Thoroughly disillusioned, the author describes how hanoi used southern. This was to be the first release of american pows held by the viet cong in south vietnam. Huong, one of vietnams leading writers and a wellknown dissident there, presents a view of postwar vietnam that is both barren of joy and rich. Ospreys study of the viet cong fighters of the vietnam war 19551975. It was a really good version of dark entries, but theres kind of two ways to take that. Todays books usa best reads 2002 powerful, firsthand evocation. Countless nonexplosive booby traps are used by charlie, as they serve for the same purpose as antipersonnelmines or antitank mines. An inside account of the vietnam war and its aftermath by truong nhu tang vintage books, 340 pgs. Where can i find a north vietnamese perspective on the. Compiled by dana sachs heres a list of great books about vietnam, many focused on the country and the culture and a few about the war. In 1940 japan placed vietnam under military occupation, restricting the local french administration to a figurehead authority.