Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides

This represents a sort of capstone book on the literature of the Vietnam conflict.  That is, if you've read most of the work that has come out since 1973 or so, each carving out a particular piece of the puzzle, then this is an excellent synopsis of all the various elements and constituencies and affected communities of that tragic implosion of American political culture and the needless-pointless devastation of Vietnam.  If you've read the other stuff, you can read this and then maybe let it go.  Maybe...On the other hand, if you've read nothing else about the conflict played out in Vietnam from 1943-1975, this would be a superb starting point or summary of the scope of those events.  For example, it might disabuse you of the errant notion that US  involvement lasted from 1965-1973.  Or that it was a "civil war" into which the US entered to stop the violence.  You might learn that, like most of the US' interventions purportedly to save democracy and freedom, this one served to spawn the self-defensive reaction to it by the indigenous folks.And this is one author who is not afraid to use the terms working class, Liberation Army (ILO the epithetic VC), NLF, PAVN (ILO the misnomer NVA), and to recognize there was no South Vietnam which the inhabitants related to as a national entity, worth fighting and dying for; hence the much ballyhooed "combat aversiveness" of the ARVN.This is an exceptionally well-organized and finely-crafted work of oral history, with the author's narratives serving to orient the reader to the context of each successive section. Long awaited but well worth it.

Awesome balanced collection of autobiographical war stories and politics of soldiers, civilians, supporters and resisters from both sides. Well compiled and well edited. It did bring back memories I successfully suppressed, but I knew that risk when I started reading. It confirms a lot of the old doubts, conjectures, and truth providing a balanced hindsight of other's experiences like mine, A friend loaned me his copy and I ended up buying a copy for myself because it is worth rereading.

Great book, and it definitely opened various levels of understanding of what was the Vietnam War. Since it is based on so many different voices, from all sides of the conflict, and all levels of involvement, it really stands out. The writer knows his business, and the surprises it has revealed from top level government officials, to the grunts on both sides, it makes for a very revealing reading. This is much more information that I was prepared for. The information provided absorbed me completely, and continued throughout the book, to reveal aspects about this tragic war, that I had absolutely no idea had taken place. Everyone knows that each government of most countries always try to make the public agree with their stance regarding military conflicts, but what goes on behind the scenes sometimes can be even shocking to know. How does the average citizen know the intricate details they are basically not supposed to know? Well, this book does that by revealing, from the horses mouths, if I may, the real truth of what happened over there.The author has done a fine job. I really appreciate this book, which not only covers our side of this terribly wrong war, but the other side as well. From people high in power, generals, reporters, nurses, villagers, a vast array of inputs is what makes this book truly special. Well worth reading and must congratulate Mr. Christian G. Appy for an above average job in presenting this complex narrative of events in a manner that reads more like a novel of short takes. One thing remains unchanged, though, and that is that the american soldier deserves maximum recognition for what they had to endure in that disastrous war. 4.5 Stars!

Had this book for my history class at UMass Amherst, and my professor was the author, Christian Appy. The class was structured around the book, which was great, and the book by itself is really insightful on multiple sides and opinions of the war, whether it was the Vietnamese, or the Americans, or the soldiers, or even the state officials at the time. I recommend anyone interested in US history to read this book for a thorough look into the Vietnam War, which can also answer questions about US foreign policy today.

A number of things jumped out at me reading this book. Westmoreland and Rostow still don't get it. Maybe it's too painful to reevaluate and admit your mistakes caused so much death. Several pilots, who never seem to have gotten to know Vietnam, also don't get it. How could they with all the time they put in drinking? The closer you were to the real world of Vietnam the more likely you were to see what was happening, and the reality changed a number of hawks into doves. I was most impressed by the analyses of both Jonathan Schell and Daniel Ellsberg. Schell for his idea of the US as a kind of domino, the need to show strength in a nuclear world. And Ellsberg for the way he connects Watergate, Nixon's paranoia and Vietnam. Everyone should read this book. It's pretty clear the application of a military solution to Vietnam was a huge mistake. I took the point of view that anyone who disagreed with this idea, so many years later, had some kind of blinders on and it was interesting to figure out what they were.

I purchased this book recently and although I haven't read it word for word it seems almost identical to "The Definitive Oral History" by the same author - it has the same contributions by Oliver Stone, for example - which I already had. It is a great book but don't buy both - I would get the Definitive Oral History which was published later.