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A Bright Shining Lie
- John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 35 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
One of the most acclaimed books of our time - the definitive Vietnam War exposé and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterprise riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way. By the time he died in 1972, Vann had embraced the follies he once decried. He died believing that the war had been won.
In this magisterial book, a monument of history and biography that was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, a renowned journalist tells the story of John Vann - "the one irreplaceable American in Vietnam" - and of the tragedy that destroyed a country and squandered so much of America's young manhood and resources.
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From its terrifying opening to its final eloquent words, Dispatches makes us see, in unforgettable and unflinching detail, the chaos and fervor of the war and the surreal insanity of life in that singular combat zone. Michael Herr’s unsparing, unorthodox retellings of the day-to-day events in Vietnam take on the force of poetry, rendering clarity from one of the most incomprehensible and nightmarish events of our time.
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All of the reviews are correct.
- By Mark Thoreson on 01-18-22
By: Michael Herr
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Hue 1968
- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.
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I KNEW This Book Would Sting Me . . . .
- By Rum Runner on 07-28-17
By: Mark Bowden
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Dereliction of Duty
- Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam
- By: H. R. McMaster
- Narrated by: H. R. McMaster
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Dereliction of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations, and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants.
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Rough narration
- By AC Griffin on 12-04-19
By: H. R. McMaster
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The Vietnam War
- An Intimate History
- By: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 40 years after it ended, the Vietnam War continues to haunt our country. We still argue over why we were there, whether we could have won, and who was right and wrong in their response to the conflict. When the war divided the country, it created deep political fault lines that continue to divide us today. Now, continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed collaborations, the authors draw on dozens and dozens of interviews in America and Vietnam to give us the perspectives of people involved at all levels of the war.
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The usual Vietnam info delivered in the old prose
- By Kevin Warren on 10-26-17
By: Geoffrey C. Ward, and others
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Fire in the Lake
- By: Frances FitzGerald
- Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
- Length: 22 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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This magisterial work, based on Frances FitzGerald's many years of research and travels, takes us inside the history of Vietnam - the traditional, ancestor-worshiping villages, the conflicts between Communists and anti-Communists, Catholics and Buddhists, generals and monks, the disruption created by French colonialism, and America's ill-fated intervention - and reveals the country as seen through Vietnamese eyes. Originally published in 1972, Fire in the Lake was the first history of Vietnam written by an American, and subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize.
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American Hubris; Vietnamese Misery
- By gunnerThrax on 01-24-21
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Hell in a Very Small Place
- The Siege of Dien Bien Phu
- By: Bernard B. Fall
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Like Gettysburg, Stalingrad, Midway, and Tet, the battle at Dien Bien Phu - a strategic attack launched by France against the Vietnamese in 1954 after eight long years of war - marked a historic turning point. By the end of the 56-day siege, a determined Viet Minh guerrilla force had destroyed a large tactical French colonial army in the heart of Southeast Asia.
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The complete story of Dien Bien Phu
- By Arius on 09-30-16
By: Bernard B. Fall
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Embers of War
- The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 32 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In this landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam, author Fredrik Logevall taps newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations and traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France’s final years in Indochina - and describes how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history.
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Understanding Why We failed the People of Vietnam
- By VA on 03-22-21
By: Fredrik Logevall
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War Made Invisible
- How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine
- By: Norman Solomon
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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More than twenty years ago, 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan set into motion a hugely consequential shift in America's foreign policy: a perpetual state of war that is almost entirely invisible to the American public. War Made Invisible, by the journalist and political analyst Norman Solomon, exposes how this happened, and what its consequences are, from military and civilian casualties to drained resources at home.
By: Norman Solomon
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The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
- Naval Aviation in the Vietnam War
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The 'Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club' was the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the US Seventh Fleet that was stationed off the coast of Vietnam and this book tells the full story of the US Naval air campaign in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975.
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Tired drivel
- By Kevin Warren on 01-11-22
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Hanoi’s War
- An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam
- By: Lien-Hang T. Nguyen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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While most historians of the Vietnam War focus on the origins of US involvement and the Americanization of the conflict, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued the war and American intervention ended. This riveting narrative takes the listener from the marshy Mekong Delta swamps to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in Paris to high-level meetings in Beijing and Moscow.
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Understanding politics in SE Asia.
- By Mark U. on 04-26-15
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A Patriot's History of Globalism
- Its Rise and Decline
- By: Larry Schweikart
- Narrated by: Troy Wolfe
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of Napoleon's defeat in 1814, the globalists of the day (mostly monarchs) sought to create a governing arrangement for Europe. Within forty years, three of the major participants were at war with each other. After World War I, they tried again at Versailles, this time even more aggressively changing boundaries of nations and moving populations. That attempt only lasted twenty years before another major war between the participants. Yet again, after World War II, globalists used the threat of the atomic bomb to try to form an international government with the United Nations.
By: Larry Schweikart
What listeners say about A Bright Shining Lie
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jan Armor
- 04-29-22
A tragic story
A tragic story well documented. Unfortunately we haven’t learned our lesson, probably never will. I was there for One year during Tet. The corruption on both sides made me sick. It all sounded familiar, and brought back the sadness I thought I had left behind from that ugly war.
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- Lucia Solorzano
- 05-29-21
A Sobering & Incredible Story
What a superbly reported & infuriating story! Sheehan documents a war filled with hubris through the portrait of an insightful but deeply flawed human being. This book remains a meaningful look at war & the lives it wastes and why that happens. A supremely worthy read.
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- Kialee C
- 10-29-20
Good book
This should be a second of third book on Vietnam if you're already not familiar with the overall saga of the war. Starts a little slow but definitely gets better as you get more invested into John Vann.
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- CrysMarie
- 01-11-20
Definitely one of THE important books I read this year.
This is really a fantastic piece to have an understanding of Vietnam. This isn't a poisonous manual about why you should hate this war and all wars. It's John Vann's life but it's a great vehicle of how and why things played out how they did.
It may not be what you were told. It may not be what you want to believe. It's worth reading & it's supported.
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- Kludged
- 01-20-20
This is THE book you should read on Vietnam
Powerful, gripping, tragic this is a must read on what happened in Vietnam. John Paul
Vann is a Shakespearean character with more flaws than most, but the author uses his work as a complete parable of what happened to the US in the Vietnam War.
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- J. Herbst
- 05-25-16
Epic portrayal of the man and the war...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the reading. It's an incredible book. I also want to say that having enjoyed a previous reading by Robertson Dean (The Power Broker), I actually sought out books for which he has narrated. The Vietnam War is a subject I can never seem to get enough of, so selecting this book was a no-brainer. I wish Dean narrated every book I was interested in - he's a great voice artist. Overall, the book is an amazing, insightful work. I own the hardcover version, as well.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-05-18
Quixotic American Hero
Loved it! Being ex-US Army enlisted combat arms in the latter stages of the Vietnam War and later, everyone senior to me had survived at least one tour in 'Nam. Their tales of night patrols, interdiction raids and ARVN incompetence kept us greenies up late at night. This book is one of the best Vietnam era books I've read. Human foibles aside, John Paul Vann was a warrior-patriot loyal to his country.
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- Dominic Sanchez
- 03-15-16
A tale of a man and Vietnam
Great story told through the life of a very talented but flawed man in Vietnam.
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- Ronald G. Shenberger
- 02-12-21
A Bright Shining Lie
I picked this listen up after learning of Neil Shehan's passing. I was expecting a book about the Vietnam War. What was offered was a biography wrapped around that war. Unless Shehan possessed an actual journal of the protagonist, I do not know how he could know the level of detail that is offered from childhood until death. It reads more like a novel than an actual autobiography. It was a good listen and well done. I can recommend it.
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- Sonny Schovanec
- 06-14-22
Great Book
Great Book about the Vietnam War. More historical detail about firefights, battles and the politics of the war.
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