Strange Ground: An Oral History Of Americans In Vietnam, 1945-1975

by Harry Maurer

From a covert 1945 OSS mission to enlist the aid of Ho Chi Minh against the Japanese to the frenzied evacuation of Saigon in 1975, this book gathers the narratives of over sixty U.S. citizens—medics, diplomats, clerks, housewives, spies, grunts, and generals—who lived, worked, and fought in Southeast Asia during America's thirty-year involvement in Vietnam. The result is a work of visceral immediacy and tragic sweep.

Genres: History, War, Oral History

652 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful chronicle, history comes alive in the words of those who were there.
Includes some basic maps of Vietnam, and an excellent glossary of military terms.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I read this in the late 90s in my Vietnam class. But I mostly didn't remember it. It's really moving. [laughs] [she is crying] There was also a really interesting section on an army meteorologist talking about how they released weather balloons to get met info to guide the aircraft - filling them with HYDROGEN besides ammunition areas while getting fired upon. so bananas.
It was really interesting/terrible/emotional to read all the different perspectives of Americans there in different capacities, medics and grunts and prisoners and nurses. and about all the awful, awful things that people are capable of doing to each other. and the wastefulness of it. people. landscapes. it's exhausting.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange Ground covers the entire War phase by phase, from French occupation to US exit, letting the participants in the war tell their personal stories. It covers a ridiculously complex subject in as much detail as can possibly be imagined.

[Garth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well constructed anthology of first-hand accounts of life in Vietnam by Americans that lived it from 1940-1975. To this day it is a bit annoying that it says '45 on the book when there are account from '40.