5 Best Books on the Vietnam War

Vietnam War is one of the most popular war in world’s history in general and American’s history in particular. It left a big impact to America’s war plan.

Perhaps, the most decent thing that comes from the Vietnam War is enormous collection of books.

Following are my choice of 5 best books on the Vietnam War:

Dispatches by Michael HerrDispatches is not only one of the best books about the Vietnam war, but one of the best non-fiction books written by an American. Michael Herr gathered his years of notes from his front-line reporting for Esquire magazine and turned them into what many people consider the best book of the war.

A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan Neil Sheehan's A Bright Shining Lie is part

biography of John Paul the most outspoken army field adviser to criticize how America handled the war.

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is classic

Vietnam memoir, as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago. It is more than one young soldier’s story.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried is a collection of

short stories which depict a memorable group of soldiers. It is recognized as a book that transcends the genre of war fiction.

Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald is

recommended because Fitzgerald got so close to the Vietnamese in this book.

It portrays the devastating collision of 2 cultures which weren't unable to understand each other.

James Sullivan has shared his thoughts about the 5 books on QuintessentialCollectionVietnam.com