Vietnam: The Valor and the Sorrow

by Thomas D. Boettcher

This book surveys the tragically ill-fated role of the United States in Vietnam from the 1940s on. It bristles with insights into the personalities of the Cold Warriors and New Frontiersmen who planned and executed our opening moves there. It bears poignant witness to the might-have-beens of history. It portrays the military side of the war, on the battlefield and in the operations rooms, as no general history has done to date.

Genres: Politics

495 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book on Vietnam I have read yet. Haunting, thought-provoking, and carefully written without being sanitized. The only improvement would have been a basic map to keep the cities and provinces straight. Well done.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly complete book about Vietnam. The photos are some of the most brutal I have ever seen, but they the text perfectly. The book starts with the French colonizing Vietnam and then accidentally acquiring Laos and Cambodia as well. The ineptitude of the French is incredible. Vietnam went from 90% literacy to less than 10%. They closed local schools. I was surprised by some of the stories, such as the green beret was a mistake as it conflated the US with the hated French, the talented and knowledgeable OSS officers were ignored in favor of the Ivy League analysts who surrounded Kennedy, and the missions of Bo Gritz from a silly mission to take a mountain to his rescue operations later in the war.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the full story. It does not replace first person accounts, but it creates a framework to better understand them.

[Richard Sweeney]

A comprehensive review of US involvement in Vietnam going back to French colonialsm. Fill with a chronological history with interesting stories and anecdotes in the margins. Never before scene pictures add to the stories. This reader came away with answers to where the mistakes were in America’s decision to get involved against advise of those on the ground to escalation and ultimately pulling out.