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History Books » American History » Vietnam War

Most Recommended Books

The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam

“Halberstam was a New York Times reporter, one of the first members of the American press to report in-depth from Vietnam itself. He arrived in South Vietnam during mid-1962, in the middle of the Kennedy administration. Initially, he believed in the cause, believed it important for the United States to help the South Vietnamese prevail against the insurgency. Over time, he began to doubt this belief. As problems plagued the war effort, he reported the fact, much to the annoyance of the White House, including Kennedy himself. That’s the background. It’s a sprawling, mesmerizing work. It belongs on any short shelf of essential Vietnam War books.”

Fredrik Logevall,

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The Things They Carried cover

The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien

“It’s short stories about Vietnam written by a guy who was there as a very young man. And it really is a book about what it is like to be a regular ordinary American teenager and suddenly find yourself neck-deep in a jungle fighting a war that you neither understand nor care about. Killing people that are so different from you with no opportunity to understand or appreciate their culture. He presents you with a gang of teenagers carrying 60 or 70 pounds of equipment in 40-plus centigrade temperatures with malaria, fighting insects, fighting monsoons, fighting conscience, fighting political ideology, fighting religious ideas and their own code of ethics and morals even more than they are fighting what they have been told is the common enemy. And I think the way that he does that with such humanity and such heart is outstanding. And again it is a book I have read probably three times.”

R J Ellory, Novelist

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The Vietnam War caused great social and political upheaval in South East Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. But US participation in that conflict and the increasing opposition it generated domestically had, arguably, profound effects on US society and attitudes to US involvement in overseas conflicts – at least until the first Gulf War.  We have a number of book recommendation interviews that offer insight into the causes and impact of the conflict, both in Vietnam and in the US

Karl Marlantes,  Vietnam veteran and author of Matterhorn, a novel about his experiences during the war, chooses his best books on the Vietnam War.  Other interviews on the subject put the war in its wider context.  Martin Bell chooses his best books on reportage and war and includes The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, who covered the war for The New York Times.

Stephen Glain also chooses Halberstam among his best five books on US militarism, and Lawrence Kaplan looks at US intervention, choosing books that illustrate the tension in the US between isolationism and intervention overseas.  Photograhers Thom and Beth Atkinson talk about their best books on the “myths of war” and choose some books with a Vietnam focus.

    The Best Vietnam War Books, recommended by Karl Marlantes

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    The Best Vietnam War Books - A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo

    1

    A Rumor of War
    by Philip Caputo

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    The Best Vietnam War Books - The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien

    2

    The Things They Carried
    by Tim O’ Brien

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    The Best Vietnam War Books - The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh

    3

    The Sorrow of War
    by Bao Ninh

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    The Best Vietnam War Books - Fields of Fire by James Webb

    4

    Fields of Fire
    by James Webb

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    The Best Vietnam War Books - 365 Days by Ronald J Glasser

    5

    365 Days
    by Ronald J Glasser

The Best Vietnam War Books, recommended by Karl Marlantes

In 1968 Karl Marlantes was a 22-year old Rhodes scholar and did not have to go to Vietnam. He nonetheless joined the US Marine Corps, ending up with multiple medals but also lifelong PTSD. In this interview, he recommends the best Vietnam War books, exploring its moral ambiguities, the warrior mentality and the humanity of ‘the enemy.’

    The best books on Reportage and War, recommended by Martin Bell

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    The best books on Reportage and War - Trusted Mole by Milos Stankovic

    1

    Trusted Mole
    by Milos Stankovic

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    The best books on Reportage and War - The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam

    2

    The Best and the Brightest
    by David Halberstam

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    The best books on Reportage and War - Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

    3

    Scoop
    by Evelyn Waugh

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    The best books on Reportage and War - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

    4

    Heart of Darkness
    by Joseph Conrad

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    The best books on Reportage and War - The Poems of Wilfred Owen by Wilfred Owen

    5

    The Poems of Wilfred Owen
    by Wilfred Owen

The best books on Reportage and War, recommended by Martin Bell

The former BBC war reporter picks out essential reading on the Bosnia and Vietnam wars and explains why a book of poetry speaks more to him about the reality of conflict than any other writing

    The best books on US Intervention, recommended by Lawrence Kaplan

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    The best books on US Intervention - Promised Land, Crusader State by Walter McDougall

    1

    Promised Land, Crusader State
    by Walter McDougall

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    The best books on US Intervention - Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning

    2

    Ordinary Men
    by Christopher Browning

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    The best books on US Intervention - Strategies of Containment by John Gaddis

    3

    Strategies of Containment
    by John Gaddis

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    The best books on US Intervention - Dispatches by Michael Herr

    4

    Dispatches
    by Michael Herr

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    The best books on US Intervention - American Pastoral by Philip Roth

    5

    American Pastoral
    by Philip Roth

The best books on US Intervention, recommended by Lawrence Kaplan

The foreign affairs commentator explains why US presidents have less room to manoeuvre on foreign policy than they think, and why President Obama had to set aside his “minimalist” inclinations.

    The best books on Myths of War, recommended by Thom and Beth Atkinson

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    The best books on Myths of War - The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien

    1

    The Things They Carried
    by Tim O’ Brien

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    The best books on Myths of War - Small Wars by An-My Lê

    2

    Small Wars
    by An-My Lê

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    The best books on Myths of War - The London County Council Bomb Maps by Laurence Ward

    3

    The London County Council Bomb Maps
    by Laurence Ward

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    The best books on Myths of War - Coming Up for Air by George Orwell

    4

    Coming Up for Air
    by George Orwell

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    The best books on Myths of War - Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit

    5

    Wanderlust: A History of Walking
    by Rebecca Solnit

The best books on Myths of War, recommended by Thom and Beth Atkinson

Photographers Beth and Thom Atkinson, authors of the acclaimed photobook Missing Buildings, discuss five books that explore the mythology of war.

    The best books on US Militarism, recommended by Stephen Glain

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    The best books on US Militarism - The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam

    1

    The Best and the Brightest
    by David Halberstam

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    The best books on US Militarism - House of War by James Carroll

    2

    House of War
    by James Carroll

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    The best books on US Militarism - Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

    3

    Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
    by Tim Weiner

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    The best books on US Militarism - American Rasputin by David Milne

    4

    American Rasputin
    by David Milne

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    The best books on US Militarism - Perils of Dominance by Gareth Porter

    5

    Perils of Dominance
    by Gareth Porter

The best books on US Militarism, recommended by Stephen Glain

American presidents may not want to send troops into battle or militarise foreign policy but, in the end, most of them do. The author and journalist explains how this happens, and why it’s not even the military that’s to blame. He picks the best books on American militarism.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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