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Summary: A glowing tribute to all involved in the Vietnam War
Review: "Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides," by Christian G. Appy is a glowing tribute to everyone who fought, aided, suffered or protested the Vietnam War. If anything, the one consistent thread in many of the individual snapshots of the war is that the leaders in Washington underestimated the will of the Vietnamese people. Moreover, the author documents many of the White House & Pentagon decisions that lead to the death of 58,193 American men & women and the loss of 8,588 aircraft. The Vietnamese accounts of the war are powerful. The hardship of the jungles, the constant hunger, the simple importance of sandals and the dangers of the American air war are all communicated in short vivid passages. Appy also provides ample evidence that the South Vietnamese government was brutal and corrupt and few American officials in the government or military cared to insist on democratic reforms. However, do not mistake the author's intentions...this book is not an apology...it is an honest account of an American tragedy. Vietnam is the longest war in the history of the United States. Overall the Vietnam war has generated hundreds of books and dozens of movies and documentaries. To this end, put this book up in the ranks of the very best. It is an excellent journalistic report. This book is well-researched and easy to read. The author is able to collect the voices of the high and mighty as well of those of the poor which he skillfully weaves together to create a masterpiece. Bert Ruiz
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Summary: The best book on the Vietnam War, bar none!!
Review: A fantastic read and the best single history of the war yet written!
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Summary: Excellent Book !! History you can't put down !!!
Review: All points of view are here; combat, rear echelon, prisoners, North Vietnamese,South Vietnamese, protesters, civilians. A condensed version of this book should be required reading in every high school American History class. The oral histories are consise and on point.
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Summary: Not "from All Sides" at all!
Review: As a Marine Vietnam veteran (1966-1967), I found myself increasingly irritated as I read through this collection of interviews. The author states he did not include a lot of his material because of space limitations. I would hope that he also interviewed former South Vietnamese army men (ARVN) as well as ex- Northerners and former VC spouting the party line about their heroic efforts against the "puppet troops". Having returned to Vietnam four times in the past ten years, I know it is not a difficult to find these people many of whom were "re-educated " for prolonged periods after 1975. A large number of these individuals who were not able to to leave the country have found it very hard to to find work being essentially blacklisted by the communist hierarchy . I recall a former South Vietnamese Marine who gets by as a Saigon cyclo driver and proudly shows visiting Americans his photo in uniform and tells them he "has a special place in my heart for you Americans who did so much to try and help my country." He offered me a ride and refused any payment. By the way, it's primarily the bureaucrats who call the former South Vietnamese capitol "Ho Chi Minh City.'! The list of interviewees overall is certainly heavy on the anti-war side. How did the author miss Jane Fonda? Among American veterans, it would have been interesting for readers to hear for example from a member of one of the seldom publicized Marine CAP units composed of a small group of Marines and a Navy Corpsmen who lived in rural hamlets with the Vietnamese. Working on village projects, providing medical treatment and helping with security, these units were very effective, and a number of men became so involved that they extended their tours of duty. I was also bothered by the lack of documentation to statements and quotations in the introductory passages to each section. Questions arise as to their even-handedness when the reader is led to expect historical neutrality. All that being said, I credit the author for some fascinating material. However a balanced oral history "from All Sides' it is not! Mr. Appy, whether you intended it that way or not, your own personal biases are showing!
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Summary: Absolute gems
Review: Christian Appy goes mining in the oral histories of the Vietnam War and comes up with gems. This is a fascinating collection of stories from people on all sides of this war. Although the book is fairly long, most of the stories are short -- just a couple of pages long on average. Each story can stand alone and be read out of context. But Appy has added much more by carefully organizing the chapters and providing historical context and thoughtful insight. This is an important, thought-provoking book that manages to be thoroughly enjoyable too. Highly recommended to those who are interested in people's stories as part of history in general, and for those who lived through or have ever wondered about the Vietnam War in particular.
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Summary: Summation in Retrospect
Review: Christian G. Appy has, for this reviewer, provided the most comprehensive evaluation of the Vietnam War that has been published. Appy holds a degree in American Civilization, which indicates a degree that encompasses more than history, more than the melting pot beginnings of a country comprised entirely of emigrants whether contemporaneous or historical, more than comparative religions, ideologies - more than each of these components alone. And this umbrella of 'American Civilization' knowledge suffuses this large tome with a yearning for coming to grips with how we as a nation have inflicted and suffered wars. By introducing each of his sections and subsections with terse, cogent essays of historical fact, Appy opens the doors for understanding the 135 interviewees he recorded both here and abroad (abroad in this case emphsizes Vietnam). Part One: Introductions leads us into the tenor of the book, allowing the words of high military personal from both the US and the Vietnamese forces from South and North to be interspersed with words of victims, reporters, doctors, corpsmen, spies, and citizens from both sides. Part Two: Beginnings 1945 - 64 utilizes this broad spectrum of interviewee types and shows the errors in judgment and philosophy bilaterally that inexorably marched toward war. Part Three: Escalations 1964 - 67 throws us into the fray of the atrocities of the battles on the field and in the minds of all involved. Part Four: The Turning Point 1968 - 70 begins with the infamous TET offensive and its subsequent effects on the moral of the troops and the antiwar demonstrators at home. Part Five: Endings 1970 - 75 addresses the obvious futility of the war, the peace talks gone awry, the lies about My Lai and the Christmas bombing of Hanoi and those in Cambodia and Laos, and the Watergate termination of Nixon's reign. Part Six: Legacies 1975 to present examines the whole bloody error of the worst historical mistake and defeat on the part of the US government and military. The voices of writers Tim O'Brien, Oliver Stone, reporters, veterans, generals, Vietnamese vistims, Daniel Ellsberg, Westmoreland, Alexander Haig - all ultimately speak to the war that should have never been. Appy writes cogently, documents his interviews and his facts well, and gives a more rational history of this War than most who have written about it. This is not an easy read: the book is long (600 pages), dense, and at least for this Vietnam Veteran a painful review of the complete picture. PATRIOTS: THE VIETNAM WAR REMEMBERED FROM ALL SIDES is timely in its publication. Hopefully enough people will read this book to awaken to the similarity between Vietnam and Iraq. War is simply NOT an answer.
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Summary: Summation in Retrospect
Review: Christian G. Appy has, for this reviewer, provided the most comprehensive evaluation of the Vietnam War that has been published. Appy holds a degree in American Civilization, which indicates a degree that encompasses more than history, more than the melting pot beginnings of a country comprised entirely of emigrants whether contemporaneous or historical, more than comparative religions, ideologies - more than each of these components alone. And this umbrella of 'American Civilization' knowledge suffuses this large tome with a yearning for coming to grips with how we as a nation have inflicted and suffered wars. By introducing each of his sections and subsections with terse, cogent essays of historical fact, Appy opens the doors for understanding the 135 interviewees he recorded both here and abroad (abroad in this case emphsizes Vietnam). Part One: Introductions leads us into the tenor of the book, allowing the words of high military personal from both the US and the Vietnamese forces from South and North to be interspersed with words of victims, reporters, doctors, corpsmen, spies, and citizens from both sides. Part Two: Beginnings 1945 - 64 utilizes this broad spectrum of interviewee types and shows the errors in judgment and philosophy bilaterally that inexorably marched toward war. Part Three: Escalations 1964 - 67 throws us into the fray of the atrocities of the battles on the field and in the minds of all involved. Part Four: The Turning Point 1968 - 70 begins with the infamous TET offensive and its subsequent effects on the moral of the troops and the antiwar demonstrators at home. Part Five: Endings 1970 - 75 addresses the obvious futility of the war, the peace talks gone awry, the lies about My Lai and the Christmas bombing of Hanoi and those in Cambodia and Laos, and the Watergate termination of Nixon's reign. Part Six: Legacies 1975 to present examines the whole bloody error of the worst historical mistake and defeat on the part of the US government and military. The voices of writers Tim O'Brien, Oliver Stone, reporters, veterans, generals, Vietnamese vistims, Daniel Ellsberg, Westmoreland, Alexander Haig - all ultimately speak to the war that should have never been. Appy writes cogently, documents his interviews and his facts well, and gives a more rational history of this War than most who have written about it. This is not an easy read: the book is long (600 pages), dense, and at least for this Vietnam Veteran a painful review of the complete picture. PATRIOTS: THE VIETNAM WAR REMEMBERED FROM ALL SIDES is timely in its publication. Hopefully enough people will read this book to awaken to the similarity between Vietnam and Iraq. War is simply NOT an answer.
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Summary: seductive as a lover
Review: Great stuff, so sad. I can't read it in large bursts, too sad, too disclosing/revealing of the illegitimacy that was the foundation of the whole thing. For us who served in 'Nam & the military Appy reiterated what many of us suspected while there- the whole thing was a lie/deceit from the git-go. Appy's book reminded me of the suspicion which many of us who served there felt at that time about the conduct of the war and the outright lying to us, the weapons of war, by those in the highest places, e.g., William Westmoreland. I wonder how they slept at night knowing how they deceived those of us in the field. I guess that I have known of that deceit for 35 years but getting hit with it so vivdly now opens those old wounds, literal and figurative. Reading this book is a bummer, but a bummer that I am drawn to read/experience to validate or invalidate my experience. It's like a reunion of kindred souls. Appy has done a tremendous job of researching, providing the balanced and full look which the era deserves. It's painful to read but seductive like a lover. I have difficulty sleeping after reading it due to the re-living and remembering my 401 days in-country. Reading it increases my desire to return to 'Nam to tell as many Vietnamese people as I can, "I'm sorry for the destruction wrought by me and my gun (a 105mm howitzer, not an M-16 which I would call a weapon)." I am teaching a course on the era of US incursion into Vietnam next semester. I am considering using this book as the primary text rather than Karnow or Herring.
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Summary: Patriots-The Vietnam War (Selectively) Remembered
Review: I believe Mr. Appy summarized the various stages of the war quite well. However, his bias came through loud and clear that he was sympathetic to the anti-war groups. He included people with anti-war experience more than any other group. While he did interview some military participants, very few who served in the war were included. There were about 5.5 million military and numerous civilians who served in Vietnam. There was virtually no mention of these people and very few interviews from Viet Cong, ARVN, NVA or civilians of either North or South Vietnam. Also omitted were stories from any supporting allies, i.e. South Korea, Thailand, etc. I also think the book failed to mention much detail of the post war activites: the re-education camps and refugees fleeing. While the book did include some current biographical information, it did not mention current activities in Vietnam.
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Summary: Patriots-The Vietnam War (Selectively) Remembered
Review: I believe Mr. Appy summarized the various stages of the war quite well. However, his bias came through loud and clear that he was sympathetic to the anti-war groups. He included people with anti-war experience more than any other group. While he did interview some military participants, very few who served in the war were included. There were about 5.5 million military and numerous civilians who served in Vietnam. There was virtually no mention of these people and very few interviews from Viet Cong, ARVN, NVA or civilians of either North or South Vietnam. Also omitted were stories from any supporting allies, i.e. South Korea, Thailand, etc. I also think the book failed to mention much detail of the post war activites: the re-education camps and refugees fleeing. While the book did include some current biographical information, it did not mention current activities in Vietnam.
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