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Vietnam: A History Paperback – June 1, 1997

by Stanley Karnow (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 454 ratings
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"A landmark work...The most complete account to date of the Vietnam tragedy." -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 undertsanding, and compassionate in its human portrayls , it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with participants-French, American, Vietnamese, Chinese: diplomats, military commanders, high government officials, journalists, nurses, workers, and soldiers. Originally published a companion to the Emmy-winning PBS series, Karnow's defining book is a precursor to Ken Burns's ten-part forthcoming documentary series, The Vietnam War. Vietnam: A History puts events and decisions into such sharp focus that we come to understand - and make peace with - a convulsive epoch of our recent history.

"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
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    784 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1997
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    8.83 x 6.5 x 1.25 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0140265473
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0140265477
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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

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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 2nd edition (June 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 784 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140265473
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140265477
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.72 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.83 x 6.5 x 1.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 454 ratings

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Stanley Karnow

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
454 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. E. Roper
5.0 out of 5 stars Great history.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
History by historian. None of the sensationalist pap. Buy it. Reading is slow. Dense on details and thought. Well written and edited. A keeper.
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sandra
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is hard to find at a good price
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024
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The book was at such a great price, and just as the vendor said, Good condition. I'm in the middle of it now, and it's great. Vendor was great.
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C. Overgaard
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
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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.
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trainreader
4.0 out of 5 stars A good start - but hardly comprehensive
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2006
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Stanley Karnow's "Vietnam: A History," provides a decent overview of the history of this country -- dominated for so long by China and then France -- as well as the Vietnam War, and the quagmire that the U.S. involvement became. One reason for Karnow's unique perspective is his involvement as a reporter before, during and after the war, and his incredible access to some of the principles, including North Vietnamese. For someone like me, who was woefully ignorant about this embarassing but fascinating part of our history, I learned quite a bit about Vietnam in general, and the war in particular. And yet, I still feel like I know so little about it.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the first chapter in which Karnow discusses the impact of the war over future foreign policy, and presents diverse opinions of military specialists who do some monday morning quarterbacking. Obviously, the easy answer is that the U.S. should never have gotten involved in this part of the world at all. But the best and the brightest, at that point in history, unwaveringly believed in the so-called "domino theory," where one country after another would be over taken by Communism. A stand had to be made, according to almost all of these experts (with almost unanimous agreement in Congress), in South Vietnam. Also, the best military minds were of the opinion that sustained air strikes and a policy of "escalation" would eventually bring the North to their knees, which turned out to be one of the most militarily and societally costly mistakes the U.S. ever made. So one question which must be asked, which Karnow covers in chapter one, is how we could have prevailed. It certainly didn't help matters that the South Vietnamese, mostly comprised of uneducated peasants (same as the North) were heavily infitrated by the Viet Cong, and didn't really seem to have their heart in the fight.

I agree with some other reviewers that Karnow often seems to root for the North Vietnamese, although he does write about their atrocities. I have to believe that ultimately, the South Vietnamese would have been a heck of alot better off if the North had been defeated, or, at least discouraged from conquering the South after a bogus peace agreement was reached, but, of course, it's hard to say.

The major short-coming of "Vietnam: A History," is the short thrift it gives to so many topics. For instance, Karnow mentions in a few sentences that when Ho Chi Min took over the North in 1945, two million North Vietnamese died from famine. This sounds like it could be an entire book in itself. Karnow covers the atrocities at Mylai and the consequential Court Martial of Lt. Calley in less than two pages. The horrors suffered by prisoners of war, including at the "Hanoi Hilton," are mentioned in a cursory manner. I still don't think I know or understand much about the elusive Ho Chi Min, or, for that matter, the equally elusive Henry Kissinger. I'm sure the ramifications of Nixon's decision to secretly bomb Cambodia could only adequately be presented in a much longer treatment than given here. Karnow covers the Vietnam protests, but never mentions Woodstock or the California based hippy drug culture, which centered itself politically on opposition to the war and the draft. In fact, the draft itself is barely discussed.

In summary, "Vietnam: A History," though a decent overview, left me hungry for much more about this fascinating and complex period of U.S. history, the effects of which we are still clearly feeling. Just look at how many times the situation in Iraq has been compared to the quagmire of Vietnam, as only one instance where the Vietnam war still lives with us.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Thomé Madeira
5.0 out of 5 stars The Ordeal of Nations
Reviewed in Brazil on September 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
A precise and excellent narrative of a two-way ordeal; in one side , a nation struggling for its independence from colonial powers, and seekin its own ways to succeed; in other , an overwhelming power and its fight for influence in worldwide scale ; in the middle , peasants and poor people that have no way but escape , trying to find a better living overseas; the fall of a creed that guided America for centuries and had the debacle in a war wrongly fought....Must Read !
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LK V ramesh
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential
Reviewed in India on December 23, 2022
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An essential history of Vietnam . Released around mid 1980s , the book takes a historical view starting from early 8th or 9th century till the modern era , ending in the 1980 border clashes with China . In the process it is clear to the reader that the Vietnamese have a long history of fighting against any kind of foreign invaders, The two wars - against the French and the Americans - was but the last chapter in a long and complex history .

Highly recommended
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eugenio kvaternik
5.0 out of 5 stars American strategy in Vietnqm
Reviewed in Germany on February 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
I AM WRITING A BOOK ON INSURGENCY AND COUNTERONSRGENCY in Argentina usine Vietnam comparstvely
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Felipe Vargas
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on December 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
A must to have about Vietnam war, superb and exhaustive description of a tragedy, fundamental text for anyone serious knowing Vietnam history and Vietnam war
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Valerio Pastore
5.0 out of 5 stars Se potessi, di stelle gliene darei SEI
Reviewed in Italy on December 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
Tutto quello che avete visto al cinema, visto in qualche documentario…scoprirete di non avere mai ricevuto un’informazione accurata, super partes, sulle origini di questo conflitto che regalò il marchio dell’infamia al Secolo Americano. Scoprirete da questo libro quali intrighi, quali menzogne, quali errori abbiano trasformato un problema strettamente locale in un conflitto che ha distrutto due presidenze americane e infranto il sogno di una generazione che sognava la pace.
Un'opera completa come poche, narrata senza prendere parti, degna di un vero professionista!
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