Vietnam
A History of the War
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A comprehensive overview of one of the most controversial wars in America's history written by masterful children's historian and Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman.
With prose that is clear, concise, and enthralling, Russell Freedman presents a detailed overview of the Vietnam war. Beginning with the rise of communism in Vietnam and detailing the increase of American involvement, Freedman then explains why, twenty years later, an exit was so difficult.
In addition to explaining the complex beginnings of the conflict through the catastrophic damage the war caused, Freedman concludes with a hopeful epilogue on modern Vietnam. This is a definitive resource for young history readers as well as anyone who wants a concise and authoritative understanding of the Vietnam War, exploring both the American and Vietnamese perspectives.
Freedman chronicles the history leading up to the war and the unfolding events in Vietnam and in the US as increasing numbers of young men were sent into the jungles to fight. Coverage includes the French war in Vietnam, the rise of Ho Chi Minh, the fall of President Diem, the Tonkin Gulf, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai massacre, the bombing of Cambodia, and the fall of Saigon, as well as the US anti-war movement.
The book includes nearly 100 historic photographs and illustrations, as well as candid photographs showcasing the state of Vietnam today. A glossary, source notes, bibliography and index are included.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In an excellent study of the Vietnam War that examines the conflict and its aftermath from multiple angles, Freedman (We Will Not Be Silent) again tackles a complex historical event and breaks it down into an accessible account for young readers. Initial pages take the story back 2,000 years to describe how the Vietnamese "fought wars of independence against the Chinese, the French, the Japanese and finally the Americans," before going on to explain how the small Asian nation spent 30 years of the 20th century embroiled in war. Freedman lucidly recounts how Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh went from working to overthrow French colonial rule and allying himself with the Americans during WWII to becoming a Communist leader fighting against the U.S., as well as how the Cold War and the containment policy of the United States led to its Sisyphean involvement in the conflict. Graphic photographs provide an up-close look at the war and the protests surrounding it. The author concludes with a poignant observation about the legacy of the war: a humbling reminder of the limits of power." A timeline, source notes, glossary, bibliography, and index are included. Ages 10 up.
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