It is the definitive history of the us civil war it gives equal treatment to both sides, and is more than one million words, but is never boring. Nonfiction biography military biography, nonfiction history military this is a hilarious tale of an air force combat fighter pilot in vietnam who goes out on patrol with a special forces team he has supported many times from the air. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. I have broken down the best books about vietnam into helpful sections.
Mar 06, 2015 dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. Their thoughtful responses, some of which are quoted herein, resulted in a long list of worthy, mustread books and a clear consensus on the 10 best, which are listed on the following pages in chronological order. An international history of the war for peace in vi. Vietnam war nonfiction books for sale in stock ebay. At once a moving account of the vietnam war and a meditation on the power of the human spirit, the things they carried has been a classic of american literature since its publication in 1990. Military this is a hilarious tale of an air force combat fighter pilot in vietnam who goes out on patrol with a special forces team he has supported many times from the air. Three are novels, two of which were written by vietnam war veterans. Nonfiction an intimate history of killing by joanna bourke. Shortlisted for canadas prestigious giller prize, this profoundly humane novel vancouver sun, wrings suspense and humor out of the everyday choices we make, revealing the delicate balance between sacrifice and selfinterest, doing good and being good.
This epic threevolume masterpiece is to war what gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire was to history. The list includes fiction and nonfiction, and books for children and younger readers. Making history come alive with the nonfiction literature. An important early study of the war and its literature. Presentation copy, long warm inscription by the author to a bookseller specializing in vietnam warrelated books, signed by the author and dated in 1991. May 26, 2016 the violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction. Not all of these books have a direct connection to any particular antiwar movement.
The ultimate 2020 list of best vietnam books to read. This is a great piece of writing and the guy is obviously a talented writer. Daniel ellsberg and the secret history of the vietnam war bccb blue ribbon nonfiction book award awards things ill never forget. We lived our relationship through letters, phone calls, violence and determination. In the fiction section, you will find the best books on vietnam war, other vietnam bestseller novels as well as novels set in vietnam. Oct 06, 2016 the pulitzer prizewinning novelist viet thanh nguyen has made the shortlist for the national book award for nonfiction, for his investigation into how the vietnam war is remembered around the world. While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on. Being the first major american military blunder to happen, more or less in the public eye, it comes as no surprise that there has been a lot of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, centered around it. Usa today s bob minzesheimer recommends books by 10 authors. In this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. The violence, tragedy, bravery, and loss of the vietnam war has been memorialized in countless novels and works of nonfiction.
Banned in vietnam, duon thu huongs powerful novel offers an entirely different perspective from what much of american literature and film about the war has brought to the forefront. The picture of the little girl and the napalm bombing is one of the most famous pictures concerning the war. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction. Tell me about the first book on your list, a rumor of war 1977. The top 30 vietnam war books from, which includes both fiction and nonfiction or the new york timess list of the best books about the vietnam war, which includes reader suggestions as well as the editors picks. The author notes that fiction and nonfiction written about the war have not yet become part of u.
Nov 08, 2012 enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. Not all of these books have a direct connection to any particular anti war movement. Winner of the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, this debut novel could fit into half a dozen genres of vietnam war books from war narrative to immigrant story, from mystery to political, from metafiction to historical and even dark comedy. Books with anti war themes have explicit anti war messages or have been described as having significant anti war themes or sentiments. What struck me about it is the similarity of the feeling between people who just by the grace of god, by luck, were on. Please check out my book happiness is a warm guna vietnam story. You may also request these titles online through our opac.
Unlike great war fiction the red and the black, the red badge of courage, war and peace, all quiet on the western front, and a farewell to arms that is read for generations, becoming part of a literary culture, the vietnam novels and memoirs. Literature and the vietnam war ebsco information services. Making history come alive with the nonfiction literature of. My top 10 fiction and nonfiction books to read on vietnam. I think this book is a great overview of vietnam era literature and reccommend it to anyone interested in vietnam lit. Vietnam, slavery and racism tackled on nba nonfiction. If you havent been yet, or dont even plan to go, they will still enrich your knowledge about a beautiful part of the world with tragic recent.
Nonfiction updated december 2006 a war story is good, but sometimes nonfiction can be more interesting, as in these true vietnam war stories, compiled by reader advisor paul mathews. Being the first major american military blunder to happen, more or less in the public eye, it comes as no surprise that there has been a lot of literature. Books with antiwar themes have explicit antiwar messages or have been described as having significant antiwar themes or sentiments. The military genre can consists, for instance, of an autobiography of a member of military personnel who did great things or made a decision that changed the tide of a war using. No 9 dispatches by michael herr 1977 a compelling sense of urgency and a unique voice make michael herrs vietnam memoir the definitive account of war in our. The literature about the vietnam war, as raw and real as it was, seems to have faded from view. Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam harold g.
Few american military conflicts of the 20th century were as controversial as the vietnam war. The selections in the book are examples of popular vietnam some are fiction. Enough books novels and nonfiction have been published about the vietnam war and its aftermath to fill a modestsized library. Herr commands one of the great voices in american literature, and is so overwhelming, so powerful, that he can, like hemingway, wreak havoc on the style of wouldbe writers who would fall under his spell. Pages in category vietnam war fiction the following 15 pages are in this category, out of 15 total. Vietnam war nonfiction missouri secretary of state. Drafted as young men, each of them would endure the hardships of a soldiers life and carry those memories long after the war ended. Of the nobler examples of the human behavior, the vietnam war of popular imagination provides. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. Military nonfiction genre complete list of book genres. Not only one of the best books about the vietnam war, but one of the best nonfiction books written by an american. The 14 best military nonfiction books of alltime americas.
The military nonfiction book genre is made up of books about military difference from country to county, strategy, personnel, uniforms, symbols, politics, and events. A vietnam war story 2002, public affairs by john laurence with over half a decade of service as a war correspondent in vietnam, john laurence earned deserved accolades for his reportage. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Friendly fire, one of the earliest 1976 notable nonfiction books about the vietnam war, is now available electronically through open road media. Next on your list of vietnam war books is one written from the perspective of the viet cong. In this article the author considers literary criticism issues arising from books written about the war in vietnam. Americas wars have inspired some of the worlds best literature, and the vietnam war is no exception. The pulitzer prizewinning novelist viet thanh nguyen has made the shortlist for the national book award for nonfiction, for his investigation into how the vietnam war is remembered around the world. Dec 05, 2015 experience what life was like for the general populace during the war. An oral history of the vietnam war by black veterans by wallace terry.
The best vietnam war books five books expert recommendations. If you are going to vietnam, these books will make your journey more meaningful. A list of interesting, insightful and above all truelife or truetolife books on vietnam. Mar 07, 2018 the military nonfiction book genre is made up of books about military difference from country to county, strategy, personnel, uniforms, symbols, politics, and events. It follows the physical and moral path of a north vietnamese soldier looking to defend the values of communism he thought he believed. Making history come alive with the nonfiction literature of the vietnam war article in the clearing house 763. To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. Discover the best vietnam war history in best sellers. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Philip caputo was a marine who later became a very wellknown journalist. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Looks at the way that the vietnam war and its textsfiction, memoir, and filmhave challenged us to reconsider the traditional american myth of the frontier hero, which has been disrupted by the war.
In my mind its one of the first really wellwritten books that describe the moral ambiguities and difficulties faced by a young marine officer in this particular war. One is literary nonfiction by a vietnam war veteran. The 1968 tet offensive and the epic battle to survive the vietnam war. And there is a sizable body of very good literature about a war which, by most accounts, was a very bad war. We polled a panel of contributors to military history for their choices of the top 10 war books of all time. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. Literary legacy of the vietnam war ken lopez bookseller. Dog soldiers won the 1975 national book award for fiction, the first vietnam war novel to do so. A history of the vietnamese by keith weller taylor, hanois war. The powerful words in these eleven books help us understand a complicated time in our recent history, and the political and personal legacy that it still carries. The th valley by john del vecchio there have been a number of excellent books about vietnam. My story is just one about a young couple in love during one of the most turbulent times in this countrys history. Dec, 2017 in this post, you will find a list of the best vietnam books to read in 2020. While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on vietnam.
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