david halberstam
There’s a Book for That: The Vietnam War
September 20, 2017
This week PBS viewers have been captivated by Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s 10-episode, 18-hour, documentary series, “The Vietnam War” which concludes on September 28th. Six years in the making, written by Geoffrey C. Ward and narrated by Peter Coyote, the series tells the epic story of one of the most controversial and divisive events in American history like never before and “explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides.” (PBS.com). The official companion book and audiobook to “The Vietnam War” are now available from Penguin Random House along with other excellent titles – including reportage and reporters featured in the series – all of which broaden our understanding of this seminal event in our history.
FEATURED TITLES:
THE VIETNAM WAR: AN INTIMATE HISTORY by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, The War, The Roosevelts, and others: a vivid, uniquely powerful history of the conflict that tore America apart–the companion volume to the major, multipart PBS film to be aired in September 2017. THE VIETNAM WAR audiobook is narrated by Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan and Fred Sanders.
THE VIETNAM WAR: THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY (DK)
Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, this authoritative guide chronicles America’s fight against Communism in southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s, and comprehensively explores the people, politics, events, and lasting effects of the Vietnam War.
EMBERS OF WAR: THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA’S VIETNAM by Fredrik Logevall
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
Written with the style of a great novelist and the intrigue of a Cold War thriller, Fredrik Logevall traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
MARINE SNIPER by Charles Henderson
The explosive true story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, a legendary Marine sniper in the Vietnam War.
THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE: THE STORY OF KIM PHUC, THE PHOTOGRAPH, AND THE VIETNAM WAR by Denise Chong
On June 8, 1972, nine-year-old Kim Phuc, severely burned by napalm, ran from her blazing village in South Vietnam and into the eye of history. Her photograph-one of the most unforgettable images of the twentieth century-was seen around the world and helped turn public opinion against the Vietnam War. This book is the story of how that photograph came to be-and the story of what happened to that girl after the camera shutter closed.
THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST by David Halberstam
“[The] most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. It is also the Iliad of the American empire and the Odyssey of this nation’s search for its idealistic soul.”– The Boston Globe
VIETNAM: A HISTORY by Stanley Karnow
“A landmark work.” -The Washington Post Book World
This monumental narrative clarifies, analyzes, and demystifies the tragic ordeal of the Vietnam war. Free of ideological bias, profound in its understanding, and compassionate in its human portrayals, it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with participants.
LAST NIGHT I DREAMED OF PEACE by Dan Thuy Tram
Brutally honest and rich in detail, this posthumously published diary of a twenty-seven-year-old Vietcong woman doctor, saved from destruction by an American soldier, gives us fresh insight into the lives of those fighting on the other side of the Vietnam War.
A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND AMERICA IN VIETNAM by Neil Sheehan
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterprise riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way.
WHEN HEAVEN AND EARTH CHANGED PLACES by Le Ly Hayslip
Le Ly Hayslip’s searing account of the Vietnam War: just twelve years old when fighting broke out in her village, Le Ly was recruited as by the Viet Cong as a lookout, enduring years at the brutal heart of the conflict before undertaking a courageous path to recovery and triumph. With a new afterword by the author.
THE VIETNAM READER: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION OF FICTION AND NONFICTION ON THE WAR by Stewart O’Nan
An extraordinary selection of the finest and best-known art from the American war in Vietnam, from Tim O’Brien to Marvin Gaye, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry.
VINTAGE SHORTS ON VIETNAM
The Vintage Shorts series presents timely reading from enduring classics as well as exciting original works from contemporary voices—exclusively available as eBooks. The Vietnam series features 10 e-titles from authors such as Bao Ninh and Tobias Wolff.
FOR YOUNGER READERS
DK EYEWITNESS BOOKS: VIETNAM WAR; Ages 8 to 12
A visual and informative guide to one of the longest and most controversial wars in American history, now revised and updated in the relaunched DK Eyewitness Books format.
For more on these and related titles, visit the collection: Vietnam War
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THE VIETNAM WAR: AN INTIMATE HISTORY by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, The War, The Roosevelts, and others: a vivid, uniquely powerful history of the conflict that tore America apart–the companion volume to the major, multipart PBS film to be aired in September 2017. THE VIETNAM WAR audiobook is narrated by Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan and Fred Sanders.
THE VIETNAM WAR: THE DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY (DK)
Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, this authoritative guide chronicles America’s fight against Communism in southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s, and comprehensively explores the people, politics, events, and lasting effects of the Vietnam War.
EMBERS OF WAR: THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA’S VIETNAM by Fredrik Logevall
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
Written with the style of a great novelist and the intrigue of a Cold War thriller, Fredrik Logevall traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
MARINE SNIPER by Charles Henderson
The explosive true story of Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, a legendary Marine sniper in the Vietnam War.
THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE: THE STORY OF KIM PHUC, THE PHOTOGRAPH, AND THE VIETNAM WAR by Denise Chong
On June 8, 1972, nine-year-old Kim Phuc, severely burned by napalm, ran from her blazing village in South Vietnam and into the eye of history. Her photograph-one of the most unforgettable images of the twentieth century-was seen around the world and helped turn public opinion against the Vietnam War. This book is the story of how that photograph came to be-and the story of what happened to that girl after the camera shutter closed.
THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST by David Halberstam
“[The] most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. It is also the Iliad of the American empire and the Odyssey of this nation’s search for its idealistic soul.”– The Boston Globe
VIETNAM: A HISTORY by Stanley Karnow
“A landmark work.” -The Washington Post Book World
This monumental narrative clarifies, analyzes, and demystifies the tragic ordeal of the Vietnam war. Free of ideological bias, profound in its understanding, and compassionate in its human portrayals, it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with participants.
LAST NIGHT I DREAMED OF PEACE by Dan Thuy Tram
Brutally honest and rich in detail, this posthumously published diary of a twenty-seven-year-old Vietcong woman doctor, saved from destruction by an American soldier, gives us fresh insight into the lives of those fighting on the other side of the Vietnam War.
A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND AMERICA IN VIETNAM by Neil Sheehan
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterprise riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way.
WHEN HEAVEN AND EARTH CHANGED PLACES by Le Ly Hayslip
Le Ly Hayslip’s searing account of the Vietnam War: just twelve years old when fighting broke out in her village, Le Ly was recruited as by the Viet Cong as a lookout, enduring years at the brutal heart of the conflict before undertaking a courageous path to recovery and triumph. With a new afterword by the author.
THE VIETNAM READER: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION OF FICTION AND NONFICTION ON THE WAR by Stewart O’Nan
An extraordinary selection of the finest and best-known art from the American war in Vietnam, from Tim O’Brien to Marvin Gaye, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry.
VINTAGE SHORTS ON VIETNAM
The Vintage Shorts series presents timely reading from enduring classics as well as exciting original works from contemporary voices—exclusively available as eBooks. The Vietnam series features 10 e-titles from authors such as Bao Ninh and Tobias Wolff.
FOR YOUNGER READERS
DK EYEWITNESS BOOKS: VIETNAM WAR; Ages 8 to 12
A visual and informative guide to one of the longest and most controversial wars in American history, now revised and updated in the relaunched DK Eyewitness Books format.
For more on these and related titles, visit the collection: Vietnam War