Book 11: A Rumor of War

A Rumor of War
Philip Caputo

This is a very good book. This is the memoir of Philip Caputo, a lieutenant in the Marines during the Vietnam War. His story is odd, as he managed to be both one of the first Marines in Vietnam and was evacuated by helicopter in Saigon's final days, although by then he was a civilian. The book is interesting because it reflects Caputo's changing opinions of the war in a way that mirror the impressions of the nation during these conflicts (coughIraq). It was written after Caputo had seen combat, but the book was begun only a year after he left. Though the book gets preachy in parts (and here I am thinking of All Quiet on the Western Front, which definitely benefits thematically from its author's removal from the war by a decade), it still maintains a raw honesty.

Caputo is brutally honest, in fact, and the book will likely turn you against Vietnam and war in general. Here is another story about an enthusiastic young band of soldiers turned into weary veterans in the course of just a few months. Caputo does an excellent job of illuminating the theme of lost innocence, and for someone looking for an idea about the actual conditions of Vietnam in the lucid prose of a veteran, this book is it.

Grade: A

Book 9: Sacred War

Sacred War
William J. Duiker

Here's another quick summary of a book I read for my Vietnam class, again in installments. This book is somewhat different than any I've come across so far, in that it was written primarily to show the war through Vietnamese eyes. I think there's a tendency for us in America to view the Vietnam War as a conflict that had great bearing for our country, which it did. However, I agree with Duiker when he says that we tend to forget about Vietnam. His main goal in writing the book is to show how Hanoi won the war, rather than focusing on how the United States lost it.

This approach works very well. It puts the entire mess into interesting perspective and challenges the reader to realize that the Americans in Vietnam were invaders. It also gives the communist leadership in Hanoi credit that it must deserve. After all, they did win. The only major pitfall of the book is that it gets rather academic in some areas, but as an alternative explanation of events in Vietnam I think it is very useful.

Grade: B

Book 8: A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam

A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam
Robert D. Shulzinger

I read this book for my history class on Vietnam this semester, and because of this it was done in several installments. I think, though, that I was able to get a fairly decent picture of the book as a whole. It's basically a summary of United States policy towards Vietnam from the very beginnings of involvement in the Truman and Eisenhower administrations to withdrawal at the Embassy under President Ford. The only thing that really got on my nerves about this book was its propensity to forget to capitalize some acronyms. Any book about Vietnam will be chock-full of acronyms, I can assure you, but though this annoyed me I was able to get over it.

As the title implies, Shulzinger's main thesis is that conceptions of time in relation to Vietnam were all off. Was it to be a quick war, a long war, how long would it take for peace talks to conclude, etc. I suppose these are questions inherent in all wars, but in a war such as the Vietnamese struggle these questions are of increasing importance. Vietnam had no real objectives, unless preventing a communist takeover counts, and I for one think that is a really lame ex-post-facto excuse for killing so many of our young men uselessly.

My personal opinions aside, however, the book is pretty well-written, though it can be a little overwhelmingly information-heavy at times. For someone looking for a good, comprehensive introduction to United States policy regarding Vietnam (but not necessarily events within the war itself), I would recommend taking a look at this book.

Grade: B