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Summary: A different kind of war.........
Review: "The Tunnels of Cu Chi" is a fantastic account of the indomitable Vietnamese guerilla fighters who fought a different kind of war from miles of man made tunnels.........and the very brave American special forces who tried to beat them at their own game. Two fearsome forces and you won't come away without an equal admiration for both sides. One of the best true, unbiased war accounts i have ever read - if you enjoy reading about men at war under the most incredible conditions than you will do no better than to drop down these tunnels. Whoa! !
Rating: 
Summary: "We Won the Battles, but Lost the War"...Delusion
Review: A gripping read. Written by two British journalists who were able to interview many of the players from the Viet Minh(Cong) side of the war, as well as a few hardy tunnel rats...the small in stature but tough as nails elite squads whose job it was to explore and engage the enemy lurking within the dense subterranian labyrinth. This is a rare book that successfully captures both perspectives of the war. Its contrasts the tenacity of those who endured great deprivations beneath the red clay of the Iron Triangle, with the befuddlement of a high tech superpower perplexed at the failure of firepower to surmount the seemingly stone age techniques employed by its Viet Cong foe.Two major themes shine through the text: 1. The Vietnamese as a people had been largely united against all foreign armies for a long period of time; there was never a real possibility to win "hearts & minds." 2. The U.S. was defeated militarily via its failure to deal effectively enough and early enough with tunnel/guerilla based warfare. By the time the military began to grapple with the tunnel problem in earnest...it was too late...the American public's will to fight had already soured.
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Summary: Dominate a Vietnam Tunnels category on Jeopardy!!!!
Review: Haven't you always wanted to know about the tunnel fighters of Vietnam. If so, this book is for you. This book provides fascinating insight into the tunnel system of Vietnam and how it ultimatley undid the Americans. Did you know the Vietnamese had tunnels directly leading into a major American Base? This book shows you both sides of the tunnel situation during the Vietnam War. A must read for the Vietnam War Buff!
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Summary: Been there.. done that....Great Book !
Review: I am a Vietnam combat vet, 11C20, 81MM mortar crewman, 3/22 and 2/22(M) 25th Infantry Division, Nov. 1969 - Nov. 1970...I spent a good deal of time above these tunnels..I have nothing but admiration for the way the enemy perservered and outlasted us during the war. I had no idea, until I read this book, what the extent of their struggle was really like. Our motives in Vietnam were sound. The wholesale slaughter in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos after April 1975 proved that. If the war had been fought by soldiers in an all-out campaign to win, in 1965, as well as reservists and the National Guard, instead of LBJ and R. Strange McNamara, it would have been over soon there after ( bombing like Nixon did on Christmas 1972 and the invasions of Cambodia and Laos.. )
Even if you only have a passing interest in the Vietnam War, it is a must read.
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Summary: Biased and Untrue
Review: I bought this book when I was in a hurry. I wanted a good Vietnam war book to read and didn't take enough time. Maybe I should have used Amazon ahead of time but so be it. Anyway, the book is rather a fraud perpetrated by two BBC journalists in order to spout anti-US propaganda. You will find a lie on just about every page. When they're not lying, the authors are deliberately distorting or omitting. I could give examples but if you read the book, you will see what I mean. The book actually makes a point of mentioning and praising the courage and heroism of the famed American "tunnel rats". But much of the book is the standard leftist bilge that Vietnamese Communists were "good people". And much is just the old hackneyed justification for Communist atrocities on a mass scale. I question the entire book based on the obvious propaganda at the macro level. Really, if you've experienced enough of that propaganda, then you will gain little from this book and may be left questioning like me - how much of the technical material is inaccurate or embellished or distorted by omission.
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Summary: History brought to life!
Review: I fought the war the authors describe and can tell readers and historians that this book is a watershed event. It is accurate, unbiased, and detailed. Mangold and Pennycate have brought history to life. Many of the events I experienced as a medevac pilot are captured from both sides (US and Vietnamese) in incredibly accurate detail. It explains details and causes of events that we experienced in a way we could never have known. I flew each of the helicopter missions they describe and I can say I did not know many of the explanations of events they have recorded here. This is a major historical document that will move us all in the direction of reconciliation. I am awed at the amount of research that went into the Tunnels of Cu Chi. It is a powerful piece of work. Joe Finch LTC USA (Ret.)
Rating: 
Summary: I am very torn!
Review: I have to say that this book is a necessary read, but mainly because it is the only one written on the subject. It is well written and very descriptive but I fear the area it is most descriptive about is not what the title implied. I thought this was going to be a history of the tunnel rats when in fact that was only a small part. There is much more praise and accolation for the communist defenders than there is for the rats. I have to say, right up front, that as an American this can be a painful book to read. There are no holds barred when discussing the tunnel defenders point of view...you will hear many stories of Americans being killed ruthlessly. For those who have not come to grip with this war the book may be too much. Some say this account is simply unbiased but I feel that is not true. There seems an subtle leaning towards the american side being 100% in the wrong and the brave tunnel fighters being the heroes...that was disturbing. Maybe this book was necessary as most of those I read are written from the opposite bias but it is disturbing none-the-less. I got the same sort of feeling when I read Chester Wilmots 'struggle for europe', another british history that seemed like it was unfairly taking jabs at America and her soldiers. In summary I feel it is necessary to read this account, since it is the only history of these amazing soldiers, but please go into it knowing you will be disturbed by many things you read.
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Summary: I am very torn!
Review: I have to say that this book is a necessary read, but mainly because it is the only one written on the subject. It is well written and very descriptive but I fear the area it is most descriptive about is not what the title implied. I thought this was going to be a history of the tunnel rats when in fact that was only a small part. There is much more praise and accolation for the communist defenders than there is for the rats. I have to say, right up front, that as an American this can be a painful book to read. There are no holds barred when discussing the tunnel defenders point of view...you will hear many stories of Americans being killed ruthlessly. For those who have not come to grip with this war the book may be too much. Some say this account is simply unbiased but I feel that is not true. There seems an subtle leaning towards the american side being 100% in the wrong and the brave tunnel fighters being the heroes...that was disturbing. Maybe this book was necessary as most of those I read are written from the opposite bias but it is disturbing none-the-less. I got the same sort of feeling when I read Chester Wilmots 'struggle for europe', another british history that seemed like it was unfairly taking jabs at America and her soldiers. In summary I feel it is necessary to read this account, since it is the only history of these amazing soldiers, but please go into it knowing you will be disturbed by many things you read.
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Summary: SCARY. DESCRIPTIONS WERE SO GOOD THAT I FELT I WAS THERE
Review: I narrowly missed being drafted to Vietman. They quit taking people just before my number came up. So I take a real interest in this stuff. I knew about all the regular dangers in Vietman: the machine guns, the guerrilla warfare, the booby-traps, the poison snakes, etc. But this was BEYOND anything I had imagined. I know I would have never volunteered for this kind of warfare. But someone had to do it. They are true heroes. It would be interesting to have some current interviews with some survivors who did this tunnel-rat warfare and see how they feel about it today. --George Stancliffe
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Objective Study of Cu Chi
Review: I purchased "Tunnels" to serve as historical background reading for a recent trip to Cu Chi, and was suprised to find such an informative source. Mangold and Penycate refrain from the usual Western bias that often plagues the Vietnam paperback genere and instead have created a very well researched and objective study of Cu Chi province and its unique history.
Most of the research is composed of countless interviews with American military personel, coupled with very enlightening interviews with NLF leaders and guerrillas. Aside from simply providing military analysis, the authors dig into the history, culture and society of Vietnam, which lends to an interesting "sociological and historical context" to the creation of the Cu Chi Tunnels and the incrediable endurance of the Vietnamese people.
Most interesting were the views of the Vietnamese fighting and surviving in the tunnels - enduring the full wrath of American military might being unleashed a few shallow meters above their heads. Vietnam was a brutal event from a Western perspective, but actually hearing tales from the NLF side makes the conflict seem all the more horrible. Mangold and Penycate give a face to the elusive Viet Cong, and the reader discovers names, histories and lives to accompany those Vietnamese faces.
Aside from strictly discussing the tunnels, the authors cover the whole of Cu Chi Province and its seemingly everpresent role in the numerous Indochina wars. Being close to Saigon, Cu Chi was a major hub for NLF activity and for the first years of the Second Indochina war, served as a nearly impenatarble Viet Cong stronghold. However, as American tactics evolved and mobility became a key aspect of American strategy, Cu Chi became a prime target for American search and destroy missions and massive B-52 strikes - essentially making Cu Chi one of the most heavily bombed areas in the Vietnamese theatre.
Still, once the bombs ceased to fall, and the end of the war came to bear, the people returned to Cu Chi and once again rebuilt their lives, just as they had with the Japanese, then the French, and ultimately the Americans.
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