Nationalist In The Viet Nam Wars: Memoirs Of A Victim Turned Soldier

by Nguyễn Công Luận

This extraordinary memoir tells the story of one man's experience of the wars of Viet Nam from the time he was old enough to be aware of war in the 1940s until his departure for America 15 years after the collapse of South Viet Nam in 1975. Nguyen Cong Luan was born and raised in small villages near Ha Noi. He grew up knowing war at the hands of the Japanese, the French, and the Viet Minh. Living with wars of conquest, colonialism, and revolution led him finally to move south and take up the cause of the Republic of Viet Nam, exchanging a life of victimhood for one of a soldier. His stories of village life in the north are every bit as compelling as his stories of combat and the tragedies of war. This honest and impassioned account is filled with the everyday heroism of the common people of his generation.

Genres: Military History, Memoir, History

616 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best and most important book I have read on Viet Nam. The author's story begins as a child during the Japanese occupation and goes through the recolonization by the French after WWII, the anti-colonial war against the French, partition and relocation, almost 20 years in the ARVN until the collapse of the RVN, a decade as a POW/political prisoner, and almost another decade as a non-person in Viet Nam after release until he is able to gain entry into the US as a political refugee. Beyond the amazing stories and events, the author is incredibly clear in his explanations and descriptions and reasonable in his analysis. Beyond the importance of his story, the issues he raises and his analysis of the events he appears to be a most amazing individual. Brave, humble, intelligent, reliable and most honorable. His primary objective is to defend the honor of the ARVN and nationalist fighting for an anti-Communist Viet Nam, he does that and much more. If you have any interest in Viet Nam and what happened before, during and after our involvement I can not imagine a better resource.

[Patrick Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! A very unbiased look at the war from the view of a south Vietnamese Colonel. Well written, easy to follow page turner!