good books on Vietnam war

Hanoi's War By Lien-Hang T. Nguyen

http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book … le_id=2850

also available from Amazon.com in various formats including an ePub for kindle

This takes advantage of the Vietnamese Archives in Ha Noi starting to open up to scholars. Le Duan turns out to have much of the responsibility for the war from the Vietnamese side as do JFK and LBJ from the American side.

This book, based on the Vietnamese Archives actually seems plausible, while neither the Liberal or Conservative American views  ever made any sense to me.

Note Ho Chi Minh's picture is on every bit of Vietnamese currency, while Le Duan who won the Viet Nam War's picture is on none of the Vietnamese currency

Sam now 71 and still a retired US Soldier

Thanks Sam, Looking that one up now
Just finished 'The Coldest War' by David Halberstam, couldn't put it down

Neil Shehan, 1988, A Bright Shining Lie, Picador.
Review of book at   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bright_Shining_Lie

For a very communist view on the French war: Vo Nguyen Giap, People's War, People's Army. Read online in English at
https://www.marxists.org/archive/giap/1961-pwpa.pdf
The propaganda is awful, so it may take a few attempts to read it. But he does  outline the long term, strategic plan to win the war not on the battlefield, but rather on the political, economic, social and diplomatic fronts. The Vietnamese used the same strategic plan to defeat the US.

The Pentagon Papers, New York Times, 1971.  Read what the US government did not want US citizens to know. See especially pp 491- 492 of the paperback edition.
QUOTE
The present U.S. objective in Vietnam is to avoid humiliation ...  Why we have not withdrawn from Vietnam is, by all odds, one reason : (1) to preserve our reputation as a guarantor ... (Assistant Secretary of Defence McNaughton, 19 January 1966)
UNQUOTE

M MacLear, 1982.Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War, Thames Methuen

For Australian books, see
M Sexton, 1981, War for the Asking: Australia's Vietnam Secrets, Penguin
L McAulay, 1990, The Battle of Coral: Vietnam Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, Arrow Books
L McAulay, Battle of Long Tan: The legend of Anzac upheld
I McNeill, 1993, To Long Tan: The Australian Army and The Vietnam War 1950-1966, Allen and Unwin [from the series, Official history of Australia's involvement in SE Asian conflicts 1948-1975

Youtube has a large number of videos and documentaries of Australian involvement in VN, including the Battle of Long Tan, Battle of Coral Balmoral, RAR in VN, SAS in Vietnam.

Sorry, I've been spammed. The first book should read, Neil Shehan, A Bright Shining Lie.

Spammed again. Sorry, I don't know how to edit.

Thanks Ralph, some excellent leads there

While Lt GEN Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway' Book "We were Soldiers Once" is a great book and an excellent movie, I think their later Book "We are Soldiers Still" that describes their research and the cooperation that they received officially and unofficially from the Vietnamese Government and Officials is awesome and is more likely what you are interested in.

The issue is that most material available is strictly from the American/Europen perspective and almost totally ignores the Vietnamese perspective or worse decides from an American/European perspective what the Vietnamese perspective is and publishes it as the Vietnamese perspective. Speaking as a former Advisor to the S Vietnamese Navy, ignoring the Vietnamese perspective was one of America's great failings during the war.

ralphnhatrang's suggestion about Giap's book is a good one. Lt GEN Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway describe Giap as much more down to earth in person in the book.

former MM2 USN
retired SSG U.S.A

Another top read from Australia:

Anne Blair, 2001, There to the bitter end: Ted Serong in Vietnam, Allen & Unwin,

Colonel Ted Serong was sent to VN to establish the Australian Army Training Team VN (AATTV). He used this as his own intelligence network to confirm or refute info being given to him from the Vietnamese and US forces and governments.  He stayed on In VN working for the CIA and as direct advisor to President Thieu until 29 April 1975.  A fascinating insight into the VN from a cold war warrior.

Listed as out of print at Allen & Unwin, so you'll have to try at your public library.

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/bo … 1865084688