Death Valley: The Summer Offensive, I Corps, August 1969

by Keith William Nolan

Recounts the experiences of Marines during the first offensive after the announcement of gradual U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, Ebooks

324 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1987

About the author

Keith William Nolan was an American military historian, focusing on the various campaigns of the Vietnam War. Nolan obtained a history degree from Webster University. Nolan pioneered and excelled at his own special brand of military history: the excellent combining of in-depth interviews with those who took part in the fighting and deep research into the official records. That, along with a fluid writing style, added up to ten (eleven, counting one he co-authored) of the best books on Vietnam War military history. Keith Nolan died of lung cancer in February 2009 at the age of forty-five.

Reviews

[Shane Kaler]

Solid 4/5: The most descriptive Vietnam War book I’ve ever read, and it’s from a non-participant. Absolutely staggering amounts of research and interviews with first-hand accounts earns this recommendation. Very easy to follow and sometimes it feels a bit repetitive but holy shit… Nam was Hell. #readingrainbow

[Brian]

A good friend of mine, a Vietnam veteran who has been wrestling for some time with multiple myeloma contracted from exposure to Agent Orange, told me Nolan is the best historian on the war in his opinion. Nolan passed away a few years ago, and we lost a very powerful voice. His grasp of small unit actions, the role of each and every participant whose names he carefully retrieves at the end and updates their post-war lives, is better than any I can think of. This is the second book of his I have read and I will read them all.

Some truly gut-wrenching accounts.

[Jay Wright]

The President announces a pull out. Soldiers don't want the be the last ones killed in Vietnam. The Summer of Love 1969 given from the viewpoint of Grunts in Vietnam. The view from grunt level is that everything is just one large snafu (this is an acronym). The style is a traditional military style of writing. The drugs, race issues, and incompetence of the leadership are just a few of the issues. The author is pro-soldier and gives a clear view of the living hell that was Vietnam. I was thirteen and I am glad I was!

[Thomas]

it was amazing

[Dave]

A Goodwill find. Good book on the lunacy of Vietnam and the men who did the fighting and dying.

[Thomas Kanyak]

The best book Ive read on the horrifying life of a Grunt in Vietnam. Raw and uncompromising