# A Book of Vietnam War Essays

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 3, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355 "2011-08-03T19:36:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/1 "2011-08-03T19:36:50Z")

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I am trying to locate a book of essays on the Vietnam War that I read around 1998. It was paperback, so I’m guessing it was first published a few years before that, and maybe quite a bit before that, for all I know. All essays were the work of one man. As I remember, the first in the book was about Robert McNamara, with a bit about his history at Ford Motor Co and then his involvement in the Kennedy Admin/war. The only other essay I remember was (to the best of my fading memory) about a well-known picture of a soldier crying because he just found out a friend of his died. I think he was sitting inside a hut, or perhaps a makeshift medical facility, but that’s all I can recall. I have searched for it online with no luck, so perhaps it isn’t as well-known as I thought.

I know this isn’t much to go on, but thanks for any help.

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**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/2 "2011-08-03T20:09:28Z")

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[This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Things_They_Carried) is what I first thought of.

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**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/3 "2011-08-03T20:51:36Z")

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[Dispatches?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatches_(book))  
Maybe not…

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**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/4 "2011-08-04T00:17:13Z")

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Could it be [365 Days](http://www.amazon.com/365-Days-Ronald-J-Glasser/dp/0807615277)?

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**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/5 "2011-08-05T03:26:30Z")

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Thanks for the replies and to those who have read this thread.

The OP was a bit “iffy”, so to be clear, I know there was an essay about McNamara and one about a photo but the details in the OP, such as they are, could be a bit off. Also the essays were not generally related, except of course in having some connection with the Vietnam War.

There. That should be enough. I expect results immediately! 🙂

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/6 "2011-08-05T03:49:03Z")

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Was it perhaps the collection of a reporter? If that jingles any bells, it might be easier to narrow it down.

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/7 "2011-08-05T03:59:39Z")

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Ok, this is a long shot, but…browse through this GoogleDoc. It has a huge list of published essay compilations on the Vietnam war, and one of the names might trigger something.

p.s. I have no idea how to make this link shorter, but it works in preview, so here’s hoping. \>\< It was put up by a library, I believe.

[http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:J5Pb3OGt-kQJ:ketchamlibrary.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/8/0/5180855/vietnam\_booklist.doc+robert+mcnamara+and+the+vietnam+war+essay+compilation&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShpldWessLRkv1QvYwqMWxi03Tg5s7F1ZJyNphdvQkiKy7ARwbA6D3N7IZmd0WRRwPBNbCOfUxZeafN-Hxelnjb0s-Lf37XAeSctnyuJGrOJNMoFMEUCHZwl9Q65GWhODEa4hx6&sig=AHIEtbQTklsBjskAn9CKHgbT1yktcPSByg](http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:J5Pb3OGt-kQJ:ketchamlibrary.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/8/0/5180855/vietnam_booklist.doc+robert+mcnamara+and+the+vietnam+war+essay+compilation&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShpldWessLRkv1QvYwqMWxi03Tg5s7F1ZJyNphdvQkiKy7ARwbA6D3N7IZmd0WRRwPBNbCOfUxZeafN-Hxelnjb0s-Lf37XAeSctnyuJGrOJNMoFMEUCHZwl9Q65GWhODEa4hx6&sig=AHIEtbQTklsBjskAn9CKHgbT1yktcPSByg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/8 "2011-08-05T04:16:43Z")

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> [@Taomist](#):
>
> Ok, this is a long shot, but…browse through this GoogleDoc. It has a huge list of published essay compilations on the Vietnam war, and one of the names might trigger something.

BOOM!

_The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War_, by Paul Hendrickson.

Thanks, **Taomist** , and others who may have tried to help.

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**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-of-vietnam-war-essays/591355/9 "2011-08-05T04:31:51Z")

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Yay, I helped!

I found it amusing that no matter how I searched in Google, this Doper thread always appeared close to the top. 😛