Free PDF Vietnam: A History
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Vietnam: A History
Free PDF Vietnam: A History
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Review
"The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and balanced account we have." -Boston Globe"This is history writing at its best." -Chicago Sun-Times"Even those of us who think we know something about it will read with fascination." -The New York Times"A landmark work...The most complete account to date of the Vietnam tragedy." -The Washington Post Book World
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About the Author
Stanley Karnow (1925-2013) is the author of, among other books, the bestselling Vietnam: A History and the Pulitzer Prize-winning In Our Image: America and the Philippines.
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Product details
Paperback: 784 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; 2 edition (June 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140265473
ISBN-13: 978-0140265477
Product Dimensions:
6 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.4 out of 5 stars
163 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#115,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Second read. This review is of the 1997 edition.This book served my purposes well, in that I was looking for an overview history of the entire period of American involvement. Karnow delivers on that, and also provides some broader context of the ancient Vietnamese history, its history as a colony, and the French war in Indochina.Originally published in 1983, Karnow includes updates from later visits. His first-hand reportage and interviews with leading figures (such as Giap and Westmoreland) give this account some immediacy and weight. If anything, Karnow was there, living these events and connecting them with other people who lived through them. Some of these interviews must have been for a related TV series at the time, and as far as TV-associated books go, this definitely rises to the top. Too, the photographs are well chosen and underscore the narrative, bringing this period to life. Karnow certainly understands the major issues, and for the most part covers the war adequately from all perspectives. For all these reasons, it's easy to see why this book is frequently recommended as the one-volume history to read.Yet, I wanted more from this. I find the first three chapters difficult to get through, mainly because they weave backwards and forwards in time. The first chapter is sort of an update to the earlier editions, covering Vietnam since the end of the war in 1975. The next chapter goes backwards, dealing with Vietnam as a European colony. Then the third chapter goes back even further, dealing with the long Vietnamese historical struggle for independence, often against China. To be sure, all of these chapters are worth reading -- and understanding Vietnam's long conflict with China is still relevant today -- but they are not arranged chronologically.After this, though, the book gets rolling. If there's one theme that comes through loudly and clearly, it was that Vietnam was fighting for its independence for a long time, and that this will to national autonomy and unity was something the United States could not beat, as others before it had tried to do as well. This seems banal to write, because it is well known by now, but it is nevertheless important to remember and still a salient takeway from this Karnow's history.Looking at the endnotes, it appears that much of the research was based on secondary sources that were used before the original publication. There are some limitations to this approach, mainly that there's little to no obvious archival work, but also that the books used for research are themselves dated. The coverage of North Vietnam seems a little weak, for understandable reasons, more understandable in 1983 than perhaps it is today.I also would have liked a better understanding of the military aspects of events, and Karnow seems to shy away from the kind of military descriptions that Rick Atkinson or Barbara Tuchman, other journalist-historians, excel at. Instead, Karnow focuses on higher political maneuverings, as the last chapter about the Nixon era especially highlights. So, given that this is a book about a war, I can't say that in either reading I've come away with a better understanding of how it was fought day to day. Even so, it remains a good starting point for a general reader looking to understand the dynamic sweep of Vietnam throughout its history, but especially for the American involvement in that country.
This outstanding book deservedly won a Pulitzer Prize. It benefitted from the fact that Karnow was a journalist in Vietnam for several years and, in addition to being able to interview many of the key United States figures, was able to interview important Vietnamese military and political people some years after the war ended. An example of this is that a Vietnam military person admitted that the Tet Offensive, although very significant from a political standpoint, was a failure militarily and a mistake. Karnow describes in great detail the process by which the United States became embroiled in Vietnam during the Kennedy administration and became increasingly embroiled during the Johnson and Nixon administrations to their great consternation. We learn that some people, including McNamara and Clark Clifford, enthusiastically supported the War but became disenchanted as time went by to the point that Clifford worked behind the scenes to reduce our involvement.Karnow relates how U.S. military leaders consistently favored more soldiers on the ground and more bombing while Presidents Johnson and later Nixon vastly overstated our military success. We learned some key things that are still not fully appreciated:1. We need to better understand the history of any country with which we become involved militarily, including the nature of its people and their aspirations. If we had fully appreciated that, we would never have become militarily involved in Vietnam. North Vietnam wanted more than anything to have an independent nation after centuries of domination by China and decades of domination by France. Ironically, Ho Chi Minh comes across as a somewhat sympathetic person.2. Just as we learned in World War II, bombing does not win wars. More bombs were dropped by the United States in Vietnam than during the entire Second World War yet the bombing was largely unsuccessful.3. Motivation means everything. The South Vietnamese soldiers we trained were no match for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese because the latter were much more motivated.4. Our support of local governments can be counterproductive. The South Vietnam government was largely corrupt and much of the money and weapons we supplied to it was wasted.5 As great as our military is in fighting conventional wars, it is much more of a struggle when the enemy soldiers do not wear uniforms and blend with the local population. This was a constant problem in Vietnam that led to many U.S. casualties and also to the killing of innocent civilians.Krakow's narrative, as great as it, does not quite do justice to what happened in Laos. The U.S. was forbidden to send military forces into Laos but the CIA conducted a massive secret war there that included enlisting the help of Hmongs who were courageous fighters against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese as they sent supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail.I did find the last chapter was somewhat disorganized and somewhat confusing chronologically. But that s a minor criticism. I highly recommend the book and for me, the paperback edition was preferable to the Kindle edition partly because of the many photographs.
Excellent book written by a journalist who was there and has an impressive array of contacts. Karnow includes tons of pictures, an extensive chronology, a glossary of names with brief biographies, an index and the occasional map. Vietnam: A History gets called the bible of Vietnam and with good reason; the history begins in the beginning which was the 2nd century BC, continues through 1996 and goes on for 768 pages. All this complete with thorough documentation. Disappointingly, however, the paperback covers are somewhat flimsy as are the pages. I'm considering buying a hardback version. Otherwise, Karnow typifies other chroniclers in being a bit leftist politically though I believe he's taken his role as historian seriously; therefore his account combines his experiences in Vietnam with a more objective, broader view.
One of the best and most comprehensive histories on the war--I esp. liked Karnow's focus on the first Vietnamese War with the French (1946 - 1954) as setting up the conditions for the US's own involvement.
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