The Vietnam Reader: The Definitive Collection of Fiction and Nonfiction on the War

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"A few years ago," Stewart O'Nan, editor of The Vietnam Reader, writes in his introduction, "when I began teaching the American literature of the Vietnam War, I tried to find an anthology my students could use.... But as I searched through libraries and catalogues, new- and used-book shops, I discovered there wasn't one." So O'Nan set out to create one himself. What began as course material has grown into a remarkable collection of writing that will appeal to a broad audience of readers interested in the Vietnam experience. O'Nan includes a little bit of everything--fiction and nonfiction from acclaimed writers such as Tim O'Brien, Louise Erdrich, Michael Herr, and David Halberstam; poetry and drama by Michael Casey and David Rabe; even songs such as Barry Sadler's "The Ballad of the Green Berets" and Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." There are also essays on the major Vietnam films, from The Deer Hunter to Full Metal Jacket, and a smattering of famous photographs from the war.

What makes this collection extraordinary is not just the quality of the writing it contains but also the breadth of attitudes O'Nan represents. For instance, he juxtaposes an excerpt from Ron Kovic's antiwar memoir, Born of the Fourth of July with James Webb's gung-ho paean to fighting the good fight in Fields of Fire. Chapters of Tim O'Brien's hallucinatory fiction Going After Cacciato resonate with excerpts from his earlier memoir If I D ie in a Combat Zone as well the journalism of Michael Herr (Dispatches) and Philip Caputo (A Rumor of War). Creating sections such as "Early Work," "The Oral History Boom," "Memoirs," "Homecoming," and more, O'Nan seeks to convey as much of the war experience from as many different perspectives as possible. Anyone interested in history and in fine writing will find The Vietnam Reader worthy reading. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

The Vietnam Reader is a selection of the finest and best-known art from the American war in Vietnam, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, film, still photos, and popular song lyrics. All the strongest work is here, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry, from Tim O'Brien to Marvin Gaye. Also included are incisive reader's questions--useful for educators and book clubs--in a volume that makes an essential contribution to a wider understanding of the Vietnam War.

This authoritative and accessible volume is sure to become a classic reference, as well as indispensable and provocative reading for anyone who wants to know more about the war that changed the face of late-twentieth-century America.

Customer Reviews:

Good starting point.......2006-10-16

I read this when it came out, and it pointed me toward buying and reading several works I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Of course, this work contains fiction and nonfiction, plus movie reviews, and song lyrics. I'm kind of confused why some earlier reviewers are upset. If there are some mistaken captions, so be it. The direction the book steers readers is ultimately what matters. It is a noble effort indeed to try and waken the consciousness of some readers who would otherwise be ignorant of the important works herein, and/or the Vietnam war era. If O'Nan's book helps the reading public to pick up other books on Vietnam, then he has succeeded admirably. The movie reviews are his own with supplementary comments by others. If readers have a problem with the content, direct that ire toward the individual authors, and not the compilator.
Buy the book, it's great!

some people need to re-evaluate.......2003-08-29

The title says it all: FICTION and NON FICTION and if you read the intro to this book it says that O'Nan is a teacher of Vietnam LITERATURE not history. The selections in the book are examples of popular vietnam some are fiction. The picture of the little girl and the napalm bombing is one of the most famous pictures concerning the war.
I think this book is a great overview of vietnam era literature and reccommend it to anyone interested in vietnam lit. It also contains photos, poetry, song lyrics ( remember country joe and the fish?), and commentary on several movies. it is also seperated into categories like the first major wave of work that came towards the end of the war and the second major wave of work which can about a decade after the war which gives a nice chronological view.

Excellent review of Vietnam literature.......2003-02-22

... O'Nan has put together some of the best literature written by Americans about the Vietnam War since the late '60s. A quick look at the table of contents should put anyone's doubts to rest--especially since O'Nan has included a generous amount of space to Tim O'Brien, certainly the finest American writer about the Vietnam War. I had two problems with this book, besides the fact that this should be available in hardback. 1) O'Nan has failed to include anything from Thom Jones's book "The Pugilist at Rest"--an excellent writer, close on O'Brien's tail in terms of sheer storytelling. 2) This book includes nothing by Vietnamese writers--which I find a huge oversight...
This book does not pretend to be history...

A Sorry Fiction Masquerading As "History".......2000-10-29

This book is an unadulterated piece of CR--!! The author made no attempt to cross-check the material he put into it, and re-printed a large number of Vietnam War Myths, - the girl in the napalm strike, the 19 year old casualty, and many others, - as facts. If he is really teaching our youth the "history" of the Vietnam War using this tripe he should be called up before an academic review board and disciplined for sloppy research and distortion of the Nation's real effort in Southeast Asia.

Do yourself a favor and read a "real" book about the Vietnam War, one such as Geunter Lewy's "America in Vietnam", or Andrew Krepinevich's "The Army and Vietnam", if you are stuck with this one, read Burkett and Whitley's "Stolen Valor" in order to sort out the real from the fanciful.

Sloppy journalism perpetuating the same tired myths as fact........1999-05-22

I knew as soon as I got to page 2 of the intro that this would be a re-hash compilation of old B.S. war stories and half-baked myths masquerading as "Vietnam war history". And O'Nan is apparently still teaching this nonsense to unsuspecting college students! Take the oft-disproved LIES like "the average age of the combat soldier in Vietnam was 19". This doesn't square with the reality that the average age of those whose names are listed on The Wall and whose MOS is 11B (combat infantry) is 22.6 years of age. The average age of all Vietnam war fatalities was 23.1 years. Where does he come up with 19? Later we see those two famous (infamous) Vietnam photos with their DECEPTIVE captions. On page 439 "A South Vietnamese girl flees a U.S. napalm strike by Highway 1." Had O'Nan bothered to check his facts he'd discover that NO AMERICAN had any role whatsoever in this incident. South Vietnamese pilots flying South Vietnamese jets under the orders of South Vietnamese air controllers dropped the napalm on North Vietnamese Army positions in the village of Trang Bang when this picture was taken, June 8, 1972. Phan Thi Kim Phuc's injuries WERE NOT caused by any U.S. soldier. Later on page 691, we learn that "As Saigon falls, helicopters evacuate the U.S. embassy." More crap. The rooftop evacuation in the photo is from THE PITTMAN APARTMENTS in Saigon. Many of the works and authors cited in The Vietnam Reader were also critiqued in the book STOLEN VALOR. In Stolen Valor you will learn that many of the "Vets" writing these exciting stories of combat derring-do WEREN'T EVEN IN VIETNAM (if they were indeed in the service at all!) Do yourself a favor. If you want an honest, authoritative, objective, and well-documented expose' of thirty years of Vietnam war mis-information, read Stolen Valor instead.

Will They Ever Trust Us Again?: Letters From the War Zone

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heartbreaking and horrifying
WITH WAR WITHOUT END. OMEN.
Moving
The Whining Right
I hate Bush because of Iraq.

Will They Ever Trust Us Again?: Letters From the War Zone

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0743544250

Book Description

American soldiers serve willingly. They risk their lives so the rest of us can be safe. The one small thing they ask, though, is that they not be sent into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. But after being lied to about weapons of mass destruction and about the connection between al Qaeda and Iraq; after being forced by stop-loss orders to extend their deployment; after being undertrained, underequipped, and overworked long after George Bush declared Iraq "Mission Accomplished," these soldiers have something to say.

From his famous 2003 Oscar acceptance speech to his record-breaking documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. But in this book, Moore gives the spotlight to the real heroes of protest: the men and women who have fought in Iraq and want the American public to know how they feel about their mission and their commander in chief. Moore also fields letters from veterans of other wars and mothers, wives, and siblings of our heir anger and frustration, their tears and pain, and their hopes and prayers.

Impassioned, accessible, and moving, these are letters that reveal the true hearts and minds of the men, women, and families on the front line.

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"American soldiers serve willingly. They risk their lives so the rest of us can be safe. The one small thing they ask, though, is that they not be sent into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. But after being lied to about weapons of mass destruction and about the connection between al Qaeda and Iraq; after being forced by stop-loss orders to extend their deployment; after being undertrained, underequipped, and overworked long after George Bush declared Iraq ""Mission Accomplished,"" these soldiers have something to say. From his famous 2003 Oscar acceptance speech to his record-breaking documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. But in this book, Moore gives the spotlight to the real heroes of protest: the men and women who have fought in Iraq and want the American public to know how they feel about their mission and their commander in chief. Moore also fields letters from veterans of other wars and mothers, wives, and siblings of our heir anger and frustration, their tears and pain, and their hopes and prayers. Impassioned, accessible, and moving, these are letters that reveal the true hearts and minds of the men, women, and families on the front line. "

Customer Reviews:

heartbreaking and horrifying.......2007-09-26

This collection of letters proves once again to anyone with the will to see the horrors and the stupidity of war. If I die tomorrow, at the very least I will know that choosing pacifism has been a right choice for me.

WITH WAR WITHOUT END. OMEN........2007-08-01

This review refers to the excellent unabridged audiobook edition.We need to hear this. We all need to hear this now.

Scanlon below makes a much more reasonable and informed review.All I can say is we need to hear this, everyone.Every American must hear this testimony in this recording of voices reading for us the cries of the victims of our war. We are also the victims of this, our own war. Hear these cries.

Of all the excellent work Michael has compiled from original and primary sources, this we must hear, in our homes, in our automobiles, in our I-pods, everywhere, all of us.

We cannot afford this war one more minute.For the first time in his pampered life baby Bush must hear, "Sorry, son, we just cannot afford it."

Not another dime. Not another drop of blood, American nor the torrential and unremarked rivers of Iraqi civilian blood.

Not another human being must lose a bone to this senseless war, unjust, immoral and without cause.

Two popes have condemned it. The world knows we invaded and occupy and kill on false pretenses. Only Cheney's corporation gets fat off this war, for decades to come. It was the oil after all, but who needs the oil after the profits they have already made.

The rest of us suffer.

The answer to the title query is NO!
Not the world.
Not ourselves.

We can no longer trust our own selves.
We cannot trust our leaders.
We cannot ever trust ourselves again.

Unless.
We must stop our profound sin against humanity now, and repent, and heal our victims, and ourselves. We must stop the killing, the lies, the felony, the robbery. MacBush hath murthered truth, and trust.

By legitimizing and prolonging this insane and endless violence we only harden and enable ourselves to violence and we bring our own violence home, in our children, in our example, in our media, in our schools, in ourselves. Ourselves.

Stop the killing. Stop the war. Stop harming humanity. Stop harming ourselves. The civil war we have started and maintain, is the harvest we sow for ourselves. By ourselves alone. America alone.

We cannot afford it. We have lost everything, including credit, trust, faith, hope and charity. We must turn back and repent, and rebuild.

Stop now. The war is over. Be patriotic. Be good for America. Stop the war now, this war which hemorrages us fatally.

Stand up for our nation and our people damaged by this war.

Hear these five CD's and you will believe, and be strong, and be brave.
Thou shalt not kill.
Love one another.
Do good to those who harm you.
Only thus may we pray ever to win their trust again.
To win our own trust in ourselves again.
To become a world leader in morality, and not in destructive power blindly applied.

The road through repentance to forgiveness is a long and a sad and a rocky way, but a road we must travel as a people, as a nation, as a world.

Rather than remaining entrenched in our sin as in a ditch in Dante's Inferno.We must seek forgiveness for our great sins against humanity.

We must stop this war today. Morally, Ethically, spiritually, psychologically, physically, financially: son, we cannot afford it.

Stop this senseless waste of lives and of resources now. Hear the cries of these few victims here recorded.

Moving.......2007-05-29

I read this a little at a time--when I have a few minutes after reading something else. It's moving in that, like in Vietnam, there IS dissent within the ranks of those "serving." And I think Michael's question is a valid one: Will they trust us?

Frankly, I was moved to take it off the shelf again after witnessing another "Rolling Thunder" in Washington, in which some thousands of Vietnam vets, still struggling to make that slaugtherhouse the "good war," purport to defend "our troops" despite what they're doing (including torturing those who haven't even had the opportunity to see a lawyer. That's CRIMINAL. I repeat CRIMINAL.)

I gave it only 4 stars as, true, it may be "one-sided." Theoretically, there is another side. Among the reviews, there are some who say the other side should be included. Why? Every time Bush and his lieuteants--or is he their lieutenant?--opens their mouths, it's pro-war propaganda. Three quarters of the people want to pull out and we're still there. And we're spreading democracy? Hmmm....

I'm compelled to comment that I have yet to see a one-star reviewer who shows ANY evidence of having read the volume. Well, yes, you have a right to free speech--so far. But at least offer a little evidence that you at least have some idea of what the book is about before you comment on it.

For you others, read this. You'll find that there really are troops who wonder what we're doing there, how or why we got there. They, and most of the American people, want them to come home. At least you can share their sentiments in this book.

The Whining Right.......2007-03-07

The venom and hate for Moore says much more for the mental
and emotional vacuity and perversity of the authors of these
reviews than about Moore. The US unilaterally invaded a
sovereign country, having smashed it for 12 years, and then
proceeded to totally smash it --- all based on the druthers
of a chicken hawk war criminal and his rich friends. Fear Bush
in that he is a really ignorant theocratic sociopath and psychopath
- and when he finishes screwing up the Middle East - he will
again turn on us. It is too bad that many of the people we need, r
anting in this set of comments, could if mentally and emotionally
capable, be of great help in rebuilding the US and restoring our
civil liberties,taken by us with lies and secrecy, but they drown
any rational thought or purpose with their own venom.

I have no sympathy for people too stupid to get out of their own way,
such as the haters in this series. They cannot see what is happening
and allow themselves to be used and abused, all the time saying, "hurt
me more, I can take it".

So to all the haters, GET STUFFED - GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY - WE
DONT NEED OR WANT YOU.

I hate Bush because of Iraq........2006-12-19

First off, I don't believe in Moore's ideology. However, I wanted to get his viewpoint so I have seen Fah 9/11 and read this book. Since we live in America, everybody has a right to his/her viewpoint. As some of the right wing pundits have done, so has Michael Moore. He stretches the truth a little (or alot) and then passes it off as fact. This book is Michael Moore's self serving dream. Readers have written him letters expressing amazement at the truth shown in Fah 9/11 and telling him how they hate Bush. His pose on the cover says it all. Here is a tiny U.S. flag for those who lost loved ones in Iraq. His point is the sacrifice is not worth it.

I would rate this a 2 1/2 star if I could. It is better than a poor read, but not an average read. Readers should understand that he has his viewpoint. After the first dozen letters calling Bush everything from a liar, to a election thief--you would wonder if you should continue. I read all, and it didn't get any better than that. I understand the anger and hurt of most of these people however. For those who lost loved ones, it is understandable.

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The History and Narrative Reader
G. Roberts
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

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The Content of the Form: Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation

ASIN: 041523249X

Book Description

Are historians storytellers? Is it possible to tell true stories about the past? These are just a couple of the questions raised in this comprehensive collection of texts about philosophy, theory, and methodology of writing history. Drawing together seminal texts from philosophers and historians, this volume presents the great debate over the narrative character of history from the 1960s onwards.

The History and Narrative Reader combines theory with practice to offer a unique overview of this debate and illuminates the practical implications of these philosophical debates for the writing of history. The editor's introduction offers a succinct survey of the subject to support the readings, which explore the role of narrative in everything from historical understanding and human action to linguistics and the practice of history.

Including the work of F. R. Ankersmit, David Carr, Hayden White, W. H. Dray, and Frederick Olafson; a detailed bibliography; and a glossary of key concepts, this collection will prove an invaluable resource for students of historical theory and methodology.

A New Reader of the Old South: Major Stories, Tales, Slave Narratives, Diaries, Essays, Travelogues, Poetry and Songs : 1820-1920

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A New Reader of the Old South: Major Stories, Tales, Slave Narratives, Diaries, Essays, Travelogues, Poetry and Songs : 1820-1920
Ben Forkner
Manufacturer: Peachtree Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1561450200

Book Description

THE LITERARY CANON of the old South is redefined in this remarkable companion to the highly acclaimed A Modern Southern Reader. Editors Ben Forkner and Patrick Samway, S. J. have selected from the most original and lasting works of nineteenth-century Southern writing (1820-1920) to reflect the full range of the Southern experience. The thorough introduction illuminates the individual pieces, providing insight into the culture of the Old South, from which rose a new generation of prominent, American writers. Features the work of Kate Chopin, Frederick Douglass, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ellen Glasgow, Henry Grady, Joel Chandler Harris, Thomas Jefferson, James Weldon Johnson, Sidney Lanier, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, and many others.

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A wonderful collection of research!

Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader
C.R. Pennell
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0814766781
Release Date: 2001-04-01

Book Description

"Each of the twelve authors deftly plumb the depths of documentary sources, literary analyses, personal observations, biographical and historical accounts to improve vastly on the seemingly two-dimensional nature of the pirate"
—The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History

"With this collection, those swashbuckling heroes, or villains, ranging the wide seas in search of pillage and plunder, become individuals and groups situated firmly within their own geographic, political, economic, and historical contexts."
—Journal of Folklore Research

The romantic fiction of pirates as swashbuckling marauders terrorizing the high seas has long eclipsed historical fact. Bandits at Sea offers a long-overdue corrective to the mythology and the mystique which has plagued the study of pirates and served to deny them their rightful legitimacy as subjects of investigation.

With essays by the foremost scholars on these countercultural "social bandits" as Lingua Franca recently dubbed them this collection examines various aspects of the phenomenon in the three main areas where it occurred: the Caribbean/Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and East Asia. We come to understand who pirates were, as well as the socio-economic contexts under which they developed and flourished.

Comparisons between various types of piracy illustrate differences in practice and purpose between pirates of different areas; social histories, including examinations of women pirates and their historical significance and circumstances, offer similar insight into the personal lives of pirates from diverse regions. Far from serving as dens of thieves, pirate ships were often highly regulated microcosms of democracy. The crews of pirate vessels knew that majority rule, racial equality and equitable division of spoils were crucial for their survival, marking them as significantly more liberal than national governments.

Scholars, students and a general audience ever intrigued by tales and now truths of piracy on the high seas will welcome Bandits at Sea.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful collection of research!.......2003-08-07

This book is a collection of scholarly essays on the subject of historical piracy the world over. It's divided into two sections, "Situating Piracy" and "Pirates in Action."

Essays in the first section are more general/historical, discussing piracy in general as a career, its effects on local economies and politics, its role in warfare and trade. Personally I didn't much care for this section, largely because I'm more of a scholar of the story of the individual and i already have a pretty good working grasp of how piracy related to these other areas of societal structure. I imagine though that if you are relatively new to piratical research this section would be very handy in getting a grasp on this sort of background and "worldview" perspective.

The second section focuses more on specific pirates/crews/ships/cultures, and spans a wide range of topics, from Cheng I Sao's Chinese pirate fleet, to minorities in piracy (gays, blacks, women, etc), to the little-known pirate culture of the Adriatic Uskoks. This section I found to be completely engrossing and wonderfully rich with research and detail, on subjects one rarely sees explored in depth (though perhaps moreso of late as piracy scholarship becomes wider-known and more popular as a subject of academic research).

There's a section of illustration plates in the center of the book, comprised of various historical/period woodcuts, engravings, maps, portraits, diagrams, and other media, including a facinating diagram of the "genealogy" of pirate crews in the golden age of piracy--apparently all pirate crews at the time could be traced through the training of the captains, who sprang off from whose crews to man their own ships, which all originated with two "paterfamilias" pirate captains, Hornigold and Low.

I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in piratical research!

Average customer rating:

Amazing book for teaching or learning about the 6,000,000

Out of the Whirlwind: A Reader of Holocaust Literature
Albert H. Friedlander
Manufacturer: Urj Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Holocaust | Jewish | World | History | Subjects | Books
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Holocaust Reader, A: From Ideology to Annihilation

ASIN: 0807407038

Book Description

This classic anthology of literature from the Holocaust has been revised and expanded to include more than 40 accounts that stand as testimony to the broad range of experiences of the Holocaust. Organized thematically, Out of the Whirlwind includes excerpts from Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners, Art Spiegelman's Maus, Primo Levi's The Drowned and the Saved, and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing book for teaching or learning about the 6,000,000.......2002-02-28

I first read this book in college in a course on Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Later, when I became a teacher, I have used it as a reference countless times. The recent events in Rwanda, Somalia, Cambodia, Bosnia and in many other places makes this book even more relevant. It has excerpts from Wiesel, Frank, Levi, etc. and is organized chronologically. BUY THIS BOOK!!! Use it to educate yourself or others!

My Folks and World War II: A Treasury of World War II Stories Shared by Capper's and Grit Readers

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My Folks and World War II: A Treasury of World War II Stories Shared by Capper's and Grit Readers
Marge Sullivan
Manufacturer: Ogden Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

The Recipe Reader: Narratives, Contexts, Traditions

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The Recipe Reader: Narratives, Contexts, Traditions
Janet Floyd
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0754608646

Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide

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Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide
Paul Taylor
Manufacturer: Pineapple Press (FL)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Florida in the Civil War (FL) (Civil War History)

ASIN: 1561642355

Book Description

Discovering the Civil War in Florida includes readings and a travel guide

The Civil War in Florida may not have been the scene for the decisive battles everyone remembers, but Florida played her part. While Confederates fought to preserve their sovereignty and way of life, Union troops descended on Florida with a three-part mission to cripple the Confederacy: to destroy seashore salt works, to prevent the transfer of supplies and raw materials into and out of the state, and to seize slaves and cattle.

Union soldiers skirmished with the infamous Confederate Cavalry Captain John J. Dickison, who held his ground in Florida using guerrilla tactics

Mayor C. Bravo ran up a white flag from Fort Marion, then personally met Commander C. R. Rogers at the dock to surrender St. Augustine to the Union in 1862

Discovering the Civil War in Florida chronicles Civil War activity in thirteen Florida towns, exploring both land and sea maneuvers. Maps showing the major skirmishes in each geographical area, as well as railroads that existed at the time, highlight the text. Sprinkled throughout are photos from the state archives and woodcut illustrations from books written during or soon after the war. For each town, the author has included excerpts from official government reports by officers on both sides of the battle lines as well as excerpts from other sources, including first-hand reports of the death and destruction soldiers brought to Florida's sparsely populated towns.

Book Description

George MacDonald Fraser—beloved for his series of Flashman historical novels—offers an action-packed memoir of his experiences in Burma during World War II. Fraser was only 19 when he arrived there in the war’s final year, and he offers a first-hand glimpse at the camaraderie, danger, and satisfactions of service. A substantial Epilogue, occasioned by the 50th anniversary of VJ-Day in 1995, adds poignancy to a volume that eminent military historian John Keegan described as “one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War.”

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