The Mammoth Book of the Vietnam War

By 1969, following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, over 500,000 US troops were 'in country' in Vietnam. Before America's longest war had ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, 450,000 Vietnamese had died, along with 36,000 Americans. The Vietnam War was the first rock 'n' roll war, the first helicopter war with its doctrine of 'airmobility', and the first television war; it made napalm and the defoliant Agent Orange infamous, and gave us the New Journalism of Michael Herr and others. It also saw the establishment of the Navy SEALs and Delta Force. At home, America fractured, with the peace movement protesting against the war; at Kent State University, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students, killing four and injuring nine. Lewis's compelling selection of the best writing to come out of a war covered by some truly outstanding writers, both journalists and combatants, includes an eyewitness account of the first major battle between the US Army and the People's Army of Vietnam at Ia Drang; a selection of letters home; Nicholas Tomalin's famous 'The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong'; Robert Mason's 'R&R', Studs Terkel's account of the police breaking up an anti-war protest; John Kifner on the shootings at Kent State; Ron Kovic's 'Born on the Fourth of July'; John T. Wheeler's 'Khe Sanh: Live in the V Ring'; Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh on the massacre at My Lai; Michael Herr's 'It Made You Feel Omni'; Viet Cong Truong Nhu Tang's memoir; naval nurse Maureen Walsh's memoir, 'Burning Flesh'; John Pilger on the fall of Saigon; and Tim O'Brien's 'If I Die in a Combat Zone'.

About the author

JON E. LEWIS is an historian and author of numerous bestselling books on history and military history, including Voices from D-Day, Voices from the Holocaust, The Mammoth Book of the Vietnam War and A Brief History of the First World War. He holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in history and his work has appeared in New Statesman, the Independent, Time Out and the Guardian. He lives in Herefordshire.

Product details

• Authors: Jon E Lewis, Jon E. Lewis
• Publisher: Robinson Publishing
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2015
• EAN: 9781472116062
• ISBN: 978-1-4721-1606-2
• No. of pages: 512
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 196 mm x 31 mm
• Series: Mammoth Books; Mammoth Books
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, HISTORY / Military / General, HISTORY / Asia / Southeast Asia, HISTORY / Military / Vietnam War, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Asian History, Modern warfare, Military history: post-WW2 conflicts, Specific wars and campaigns, War and defence operations, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General