Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975 by Max Hastings (English) Paperback Book

Description: Vietnam by Max Hastings An absorbing and definitive modern history of the Vietnam War from the acclaimed New York Times-bestselling author of The Secret War. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description An absorbing and definitive modern history of the Vietnam War from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Secret War.Vietnam became the Western worlds most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. He portrays the set pieces of Dienbienphu, the 1968 Tet offensive, the air blitz of North Vietnam, and also much less familiar miniatures such as the bloodbath at Daido, where a US Marine battalion was almost wiped out, together with extraordinary recollections of Ho Chi Minhs warriors. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed two million people.Many writers treat the war as a US tragedy, yet Hastings sees it as overwhelmingly that of the Vietnamese people, of whom forty died for every American. US blunders and atrocities were matched by those committed by their enemies. While all the world has seen the image of a screaming, naked girl seared by napalm, it forgets countless eviscerations, beheadings, and murders carried out by the communists. The people of both former Vietnams paid a bitter price for the Northerners victory in privation and oppression. Here is testimony from Vietcong guerrillas, Southern paratroopers, Saigon bargirls, and Hanoi students alongside that of infantrymen from South Dakota, Marines from North Carolina, and Huey pilots from Arkansas.No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings readers know so well. The author suggests that neither side deserved to win this struggle with so many lessons for the twenty-first century about the misuse of military might to confront intractable political and cultural challenges. He marshals testimony from warlords and peasants, statesmen and soldiers, to create an extraordinary record. Back Cover Vietnam became the Western worlds most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. He portrays the set pieces of Dienbienphu, the 1968 Tet offensive, the air blitz of North Vietnam, and much less familiar miniatures such as the bloodbath at Daido--where a US Marine battalion was almost wiped out--together with extraordinary recollections of Ho Chi Minhs warriors. Here are the vivid realities of strife amid jungle and paddies that killed two million people. Many writers treat the war as a US tragedy, yet Hastings sees it overwhelmingly as one for the Vietnamese people, of whom forty died for every American. US blunders and atrocities were matched by those committed by their enemies. While all the world has seen the image of a screaming, naked girl seared by napalm, it forgets countless eviscerations, beheadings, and murders carried out by the communists. The people of both former Vietnams paid a bitter price for the Northerners victory in privation and oppression. Here we are given testimony from Vietcong guerrillas, Southern paratroopers, Saigon bar girls, and Hanoi students alongside that of infantrymen from South Dakota, Marines from North Carolina, and Huey pilots from Arkansas. No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences in the fashion that Hastingss readers know so well. The author suggests that neither side deserved to win this struggle, and presents many lessons for the twenty-first century about the misuse of military might to confront intractable political and cultural challenges. In Vietnam, Hastings marshals testimony from warlords and peasants, statesmen and soldiers, to create an extraordinary record. Author Biography Max Hastings is the author of twenty-eight books, most about conflict, and between 1986 and 2002 served as editor in chief of the Daily Telegraph, then as editor of the Evening Standard. He has won many prizes, for both his journalism and his books, the most recent of which are the bestsellers Vietnam, The Secret War, Catastrophe, and All Hell Let Loose. Knighted in 2002, Hastings is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of Kings College London, and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He has two grown children, Charlotte and Harry, and lives with his wife, Penny, in West Berkshire, where they garden enthusiastically. Review "Weve seen a shelf-load of histories, analyses, memoirs, and novels on Vietnam. But what Hastings does in Vietnam is pull all these genres together in a highly readable and vivid narrative that, I think, will become the standard on the war for many years to come." -- NPR.org"This is a comprehensive, spellbinding, surprisingly intimate, and altogether magnificent historical narrative." -- Tim OBrien, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Things They Carried"This balanced and insightful book is a pleasure to read. It destroys the fantasy that one side or the other held the moral high ground or a monopoly on devastating folly." -- Karl Marlantes, author of What It Is Like to Go to War and Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War"A gripping, well-researched look at a divisive American war." -- New York Post"A comprehensive and compelling narrative that illuminates political and military tactics and strategies -- and the daily realities of a war that killed 2 million people." -- Pittsburgh Post Gazette Review Quote "Weve seen a shelf-load of histories, analyses, memoirs, and novels on Vietnam. But what Hastings does in Vietnam is pull all these genres together in a highly readable and vivid narrative that, I think, will become the standard on the war for many years to come." -- NPR.org "This is a comprehensive, spellbinding, surprisingly intimate, and altogether magnificent historical narrative." -- Tim OBrien, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Things They Carried "This balanced and insightful book is a pleasure to read. It destroys the fantasy that one side or the other held the moral high ground or a monopoly on devastating folly." -- Karl Marlantes, author of What It Is Like to Go to War and Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War "A gripping, well-researched look at a divisive American war." -- New York Post "A comprehensive and compelling narrative that illuminates political and military tactics and strategies -- and the daily realities of a war that killed 2 million people." -- Pittsburgh Post Gazette Details ISBN0062405675 Short Title VIETNAM Pages 896 Language English ISBN-10 0062405675 ISBN-13 9780062405678 Format Paperback Year 2019 Publication Date 2019-10-15 Subtitle An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975 DEWEY 959.7043 Audience General UK Release Date 2019-10-15 Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc Imprint Collins Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States US Release Date 2019-10-15 Imprint US Harper Perennial Publisher US HarperCollins Author Max Hastings We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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