America and Vietnam

America and Vietnam

A history of America's most traumatic military failure describes the politics of the Vietnam War, its day-to-day horrors, and its repercussions for the world today. Grade 9 Up-- This unflinching look at the Vietnam War is very different from the usual geopolitical histories often written for this age group. Marrin shows readers how the war affected both countries, opening with an excellent background history of Vietnam and a brief biography of Ho Chi Minh. He also describes the sights, sounds, and smells of war, as well as the endless horror of death and torture that was so characteristic of it. He takes readers on missions with both armies, and on bombing runs with the U. S. Air Force. All of this makes for fascinating reading; few books for YAs are as honest as this one. Many histories of this conflict set out to prove that one side or the other was good or evil; Marrin, in contrast, makes it very clear that in this war there were no such absolutes. In great detail and with objectivity, he exposes the brutality of both Vietnamese governments, the cruelty of the Communists, the unrealistic expectations and decisions of President Johnson, and the hypocrisy of the war protesters in the U. S. An excellent companion to the Hooblers' Vietnam (Knopf, 1990) and Warren's Portrait of a Tragedy (Lothrop, 1990), this book deserves a place in every high school. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. A powerfully written, emotion-packed, highly biased account of America's involvement in Vietnam. Marrin mentions a variety of views on the war, but his sympathies are clearly with the Americans who fought there. While he details the ``grunts' '' confusion, frustration, and suffering and apologizes for the atrocities they committed as aberrations, he depicts the communists as ruthless and power-hungry, the South Vietnamese as corrupt, the US government as blind and indecisive, the news media as sensation-seeking, and the antiwar activists as ``spoiled brats.'' He also emphasizes the suffering of American POWs (and, to a lesser degree, some of the Vietnamese). Though he quotes a number of Vietnamese sources and presents some background on the country, the Vietnamese are the villains in virtually every comparison with Americans; Marrin's presumption of motives is good for American soldiers, bad for everyone else. To his credit, he attributes quotes and offers a reasonably complete bibliography. Useful as a digest of some of the adult oral histories, but not as an objective summary. Index and b&w photos not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.