The Vietnam War

An Intimate History

De: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns

Narrado por: Fred Sanders, Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan

From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, The War, The Roosevelts, and others: a vivid, uniquely powerful history of the conflict that tore America apart - the companion volume to the major multipart PBS film to be aired in September 2017.

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: US and Vietnamese soldiers and their families, high-level officials in America and Vietnam, antiwar protestors, POWs, and many more. The book plunges us into the chaos and intensity of combat, even as it explains the rationale that got us into Vietnam and kept us there for so many years. Rather than taking sides, the book seeks to understand why the war happened the way it did and to clarify its complicated legacy. Beautifully written, this is a tour de force that is certain to launch a new national conversation.

©2017 Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (P)2017 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Lucid, flowing, and dramatic...robustly detailed writing...eye-opening...powerful in its own right.... In their new 'intimate' yet capacious history, the award-winning, audience-enthralling duo of historian and screenwriter Ward and documentarian extraordinaire Burns investigate the complex, divisive, and tragic Vietnam War from a unique plurality of perspectives." (Donna Seaman, Booklist)

"The melancholy tone of Ken Burns's voice exactly suits the mood of this history of the Vietnam War... Burns adds no false drama but always reads with a tone of respect for the front-line combatants and the earnest opponents.... Overall, the audio does the print version full justice." (AudioFile)

Loved This but...

This is an incredible re-telling of the Vietnam War. It's filled with heartbreaking stories and anecdotes that every student of American History should examine.
However, if you have seen the Ken Burns documentary, this is really a frame by frame manuscript for it without the heart wrenching first person interviews and images.
If you don't have access to the documentary series, or want to avoid the war images, then definitely get this audio book. If you have the ability or fortitude, please watch the documentary series instead as it feels like it was the medium the creators intended. Either way, you will not be disappointed. I ultimately returned this book simply because I already own the documentary series and don't have the budget to double dip as much as I would want to.

The Unknown Truth

What made the experience of listening to The Vietnam War the most enjoyable?

Learning about what was going on in places I was not in

Who was your favorite character and why?

no characters, a cast of thousands

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

same as above

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was all disturbing , I was there and had no idea what was going on except where I was at

Any additional comments?

most enlightening and disturbing!!

The best Vietnam history and documentary

This book and the TV documentary were the best I have seen and read. This book and documentary compares favorably with the excellent Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow. For example this book contains a discussion of the Treachery of Nixon in attempting to undercut and delay the Paris peace talks till after the 1968 election. I was in Vietnam in 1968 and I remember how hopeful I was that the peace talks might shorten my tour of duty. What a fool I was.

I use the book as a reference. I don’t think I will try to read it from cover to cover but I use the index to look up places I served and battles I was in. This is an invaluable resource for historians and veterans alike. Highly recommended.

GOOD, AND DISAPPOINTING AS WELL

Good narration, and good content. I was disappointed to see Hanoi Jane Fonda kind of glossed over. In fact, I don't recall hearing Fonda's nickname used at all. What she did was no less than treacherous. would have liked to hear a little bit about General Schwarzkopf's experience in Vietnam, both as a major and a Lieutenant Colonel, Battalion Commander. I didn't care to hear about those who opposed the war, and those who fled to Canada, as any kind of Heroes. Still, as a Retired US Army Veteran, I found this worth the time to listen to. Good narration on what happened during 1968, in Chicago, and with Johnson and Nixon. LBJ's Legacy as president will be forever tainted for the way in which he tried to run the war from the White House. For all of President Nixon's faults, he may have taken longer than he had originally intended, but he does deserve the credit for getting us out of the war. Still, the way in which we left those in South Vietnam to fend for themselves will forever be a disgraceful memory in our nation's history. Again, well done!

Made me understand.

Overall, It was a good history Making me understand the complex decisions made And the mistakes made.

Detailed, informative, heartbreaking.

Wonderful book with what feels like endless detail. What a great and tragic piece of history to learn about.

Why character voices?

I dont understand doing voices for historical persons, especially not stereotypical asian voices for the asian people. Great book but the narration took away from it.

Gripping

The work truly outlines the American, South Vietnamese, and North Vietnamese outlook on the war.

Excellent history of the war

I was very young during the war so I wanted to
know more details about it. This book really covered so much of that sad time & more with personal memories of so many on all sides.
Great narration.

Forget bondage watch. Start this audiobook and you’ll not turn it off until done!

There is nothing I can say to add to this incredible audiobook. Balance, logically payed out, and complete. Certainly has me questioning the motives of all sides. Well done. I can’t wait to listen to this again.