Vietnam War

From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, The War, The Roosevelts, and others- a vivid, uniquely powerful history of the conflict that tore America apart--the companion volume to the major, multipart PBS film to be aired in September 2017.NATIONAL BESTSELLER . Based on the celebrated PBS television series, the complete text of an engrossing history of America's least-understood conflict, "a significant milestone that will no doubt do much to determine how the war is understood for years to come." -The Washington PostMore than forty years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, but its memory continues to loom large in the national psyche. In this intimate history, Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns have crafted a fresh and insightful account of the long and brutal conflict that reunited Vietnam while dividing the United States as nothing else had since the Civil War. From the Gulf of Tonkin and the Tet Offensive to Hamburger Hill and the fall of Saigon, Ward and Burns trace the conflict that dogged three American presidents and their advisers. But most of the voices that echo from these pages belong to less exalted men and women-those who fought in the war as well as those who fought against it, both victims and victors-willing for the first time to share their memories of Vietnam as it really was. A magisterial tour de force, The Vietnam War is an engrossing history of America's least-understood conflict.

“"The companion volume to Burns' Vietnam War documentary series on PBS, the book stands alone as a powerful summary of the whole conflict. It tells the story of the war from every conceivable angle, including that of the young Vietnamese fighters. It's extraordinarily well-reported and written, and filled with memorable photographs and illustrations--a reminder that the war was, perhaps for the first time, shaped as much by powerful images as written reports." -- Lancaster Online, Mark Bowden's "Ten Favorite Books on the Vietnam War" "A vivid and often captivating volume...a valuable resource." --David Greenberg, The New York Times Book Review "Once again Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns deliver the grand historical goods in this feast of a book. For those too young to remember the Vietnam War, this is the essential primer. For those old enough to have Vietnam flashbacks or battle scars, read it and weep. Highly recommended!!" --Douglas Brinkley "A sweeping, richly illustrated narrative of a conflict fast retreating in memory... As they have done in numerous collaborations, Ward and Burns take a vast topic and personalize it... Of particular value is the inclusion of Vietnamese voices on both sides of the conflict, most of whom agree more than four decades later that the question of who won or lost is less important than the fact that no one really prevailed... The text is accompanied by more than 500 photographs, some of them immediately recognizable...many others fresh... Accompanying the PBS series to be aired in September 2017, this is an outstanding, indispensable survey of the Vietnam War." -- Kirkus , (starred review) "Lucid, flowing, and dramatic... Robustly detailed writing... Eye-opening... Powerful in its own right... In their new 'intimate' yet capacious history, the award-winning, audience-enthralling duo of historian and screenwriter Ward and documentarian extraordinaire Burns investigate the complex, divisive, and tragic Vietnam War from a unique plurality of perspectives... This is a vivid, affecting, definitive, and essential illustrated history." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) "Lavishly illustrated.... Well-written and deeply researched, this history covers virtually every aspect of the French and American wars in Vietnam from 1945-1975, focusing mainly on military, diplomatic, and political issues.... Anyone looking for an expansive overview of the Vietnam War will find much to admire here." -- Publishers Weekly”

“Exceptionally engaging.... A significant milestone [that] will no doubt do much to determine how the war is understood for years to come.” —The Washington Post

“Stunning.... The best single-volume history of the war.... Assembled from a multitude of overlapping voices, American and Vietnamese, [The Vietnam War] tells the long story from every conceivable angle, from veterans and protesters to draft-dodgers and prisoners of war to politicians and grunts.” —Philadelphia Inquirer

“Captivating.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Exquisitely written.” —The Guardian

Geoffrey C. Ward, historian and screenwriter, wrote the script for The Vietnam War series and is the author of nineteen books, including A First-Class Temperament- The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Francis Parkman Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written or cowritten many documentary films, including The War, The Civil War, Baseball, The West, Mark Twain, Not for Ourselves Alone, and Jazz.Ken Burns, the producer and director of numerous film series, including The War and Country Music, founded his own documentary film company, Florentine Films, in 1976. His landmark film The Civil War was the highest-rated series in the history of American public television, and his work has won numerous prizes, including the Emmy and Peabody Awards, and two nominations for the Academy Award. He lives in Walpole, New Hampshire.

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