# Can anyone recommend a good history of the Vietnam War? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540 "2006-09-05T18:37:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/1 "2006-09-05T18:37:32Z")
In print, of course. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/2 "2006-09-05T18:48:43Z")
I don’t believe it covers the whole war, but I have had **A Bright and Shining Lie** on my Must Read list for quite some time… ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/3 "2006-09-05T18:49:47Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] I don’t believe it covers the whole war, but I have had **A Bright and Shining Lie** on my Must Read list for quite some time… [/QUOTE] Hmm..I probably should have said _other_ than A Bright Shining Lie, as I (a) already own a copy and (b) can’t find it. It’s good, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/4 "2006-09-05T19:00:15Z")
Barbara Tuchman’s _The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam_ deals with more than just Vietnam, although the Vietnam portions are the real focus of the book. It’s not a general history – Tuchman deals narrowly with the convoluted decisionmaking of the US government – but as a supplement to military histories, it (IMHO) sheds a great deal of light in dark, dark areas. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/5 "2006-09-05T19:45:26Z")
Are you looking for general histories or histories specific to a certain era (pre-American involvement, say)? If you’re interested in a narrative, I’d go with Marilyn Young or Stanley Karnow (better yet, both) If you’re not interested in a narrative of the war, I can’t recommend the following two oral histories highly enough: _Bloods_ by Wallace Terry [Bloods](http://www.amazon.com/Bloods-Oral-History-Vietnam-Veterans/dp/0345311973/sr=8-2/qid=1157485009/ref=sr_1_2/102-3559446-4860931?ie=UTF8&s=books) [A Life in a Year](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Year-American-Infantryman-1965-1972/dp/0891415394/sr=1-1/qid=1157485157/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3559446-4860931?ie=UTF8&s=books) by James Ebert ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/6 "2006-09-05T19:47:51Z")
[QUOTE=CapnPitt] Are you looking for general histories or histories specific to a certain era (pre-American involvement, say)? If you’re interested in a narrative, I’d go with Marilyn Young or Stanley Karnow (better yet, both) If you’re not interested in a narrative of the war, I can’t recommend the following two oral histories highly enough: _Bloods_ by Wallace Terry [Bloods](http://www.amazon.com/Bloods-Oral-History-Vietnam-Veterans/dp/0345311973/sr=8-2/qid=1157485009/ref=sr_1_2/102-3559446-4860931?ie=UTF8&s=books) [A Life in a Year](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Year-American-Infantryman-1965-1972/dp/0891415394/sr=1-1/qid=1157485157/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3559446-4860931?ie=UTF8&s=books) by James Ebert [/QUOTE] I’m thinking narratives about American military involvement. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-good-history-of-the-vietnam-war/371540/7 "2006-09-05T23:17:45Z")
I usually recommend Stanley Karnow’s [Vietnam: A History](http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-A-History-Stanley-Karnow/dp/0140265473/sr=8-10/qid=1157498172/ref=sr_1_10/102-6592194-7188130?ie=UTF8&s=books).