Vietnam

A History

By: Stanley Karnow

Narrated by: Edward Holland

Length: 27 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

In this comprehensive history, Stanley Karnow demystifies the tragic ordeal of America's war in Vietnam. The book's central theme is that America's leaders, prompted as much by domestic politics as by global ambitions, carried the United States into Southeast Asia with little regard for the realities of the region. Karnow elucidates the decision-making process in Washington and Asia, and recounts the political and military events that occurred after the Americans arrived in Vietnam. Throughout, he focuses on people: those who shaped strategy and those who suffered, died, or survived as a result.

Panoramic in scope, and filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with hundreds of participants on both sides, Vietnam: A History transcends the past and contains lessons relevant to the present and future.

©1997 WBGH Educational Foundation and Stanley Karnow (P)1998 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is history writing at its best." (Chicago Sun Times)
"[T]he best journalist writing on Asian affairs." (Newsweek)
"Even those of us who think we know something about [the Vietnam War] will read with fascination." (New York Times)

A Must Read Even For a Vet.

I learned so much from this book, even though I lived through it (1967-1969)and at one of the big pushes by the viet cong against the whole country - 'The Big '68 'TET' offensive'. I have listened to all 4 parts over and over and have learn something new every time. The amazing history of this country and the way this country (USA) just kepted on getting in deeper and deeper. The author has done a "fantastic job" on putting together the history of a place I knew so little of at the young age of 20 - Thank you.

very well writen history by an eyewitness

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

The author was a Vietnam correspondent beginning in 1959. He was there! He managed to get personal interviews with many of the top key players before and after the fall of Saigon laying out an extraordinary vista from the initial intercourse with Europeans to the deluge at the USA's ignoble retreat there. Beautifully done, verging on poetic at times. I may not agree with many of the conclusions he leads towards in this tome but it is well thought out and clearly expressed. Bravo! Well done!

The reader does an excellent job as well.

Definitive

Would you consider the audio edition of Vietnam to be better than the print version?

Yes it is, very easy to listen to, the names and places are difficult to read, but easy on the ear.

What other book might you compare Vietnam to and why?

Any WWII books by Martin Gilbert, or Stalingrad, Stanley Beevor

Have you listened to any of Edward Holland’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Good grief no, way too long. Best ingested in small doses.

Any additional comments?

Absolutely the definitive history of Vietnam, up to 1975ish

Not exactly what I expected

If you could sum up Vietnam in three words, what would they be?

Lacking military aspect

What did you like best about this story?

Not too much - but it was perhaps my own fault

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to hear how the political and military machinations intertwined but I discovered too late that this is purely a political history - the military events are referred to only when they impinged on the political. It is a truly extensive political history of Vietnam so for those interested in that aspect it is excellent. I take full responsibility for not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped - it just isn't what i thought it would be and so should have investigated it more thoroughly before buying it.

Excellent Narrator

First I should say that the narrator does an excellent job of evoking the speaking styles of various real personalities - LBJ, Nixon, Kissinger, etc. - without stooping to an imitation of their accents.

At one point the book quotes an American in 1990s Vietnam saying, "Vietnam is a country, not a war." Despite its title this book is a history of the US war in Vietnam, not the country itself. The author takes care to switch back and forth between different perspectives - the US government, the North Vietnamese leadership, US soldiers, and occasionally the Chinese and Soviet governments. But these are detours; the focus generally stays on the US presidents and their top advisors from start to finish. Not having been alive at the time, I felt that I learned quite a bit about the reasons for the US actions from start to finish. By claiming to stick to the perceptions of the White House, the author often avoids making his own interpretations. For example, he describes at least four occasions over several years when Robert McNamara visited Vietnam and each time reported that the US military was making no progress despite the enormous amount of money spent, ordinance expended, and Vietnamese killed. This is basically the central message of the book, but Karnow presents it not as his own view, but as that of successive White House cabinets. It's an approach with advantages and disadvantages, but it works overall.

I was irritated at first at how much time the "updated" first chapter of the book spends on discussing the first Gulf War - which the US had carried out just before this revised edition was published. Now I appreciate the out of date introduction: it shows that even the revised edition came out before the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, so that the listener can be sure that the author didn't alter this Vietnam book to create parallels with the latest conflicts. Listening to this, I found the parallels going much further then I'd imagined possible.

Know History - or be doomed to repeat it

Karnow's book is a masterpiece. Sweeping in scope, it takes the listener from the earliest known history of Vietnam through colonialism's darkest times and up through the years immediately after the Vietnam War (with the United States). It is deeply detailed and draws intimate and moving portraits of many of the important people over the last 100 years - Vietnamese, American and French. Karnow's journalistic credentials serve his telling well. The interviews are amazingly revealing of motivations and character. One wonders if the Bush White House had only really understood this history if the United States would have made the serious foreign policy mistakes of the last 8 years. The reader does a superb job of capturing the passion of this story. Highly recommended.

Vietnam Revisited

As a 74 year old Vietnam veteran I read this book while taking a senior-level College course in history of the Vietnam War. This was our textbook. I was very pleased to see the number of history majors that were interested in our war.

A weak note to the 58,220 Americans KIA

This work is a weak tribute to the 58,220 Americans that were killed during the war in Southeast Asia. Mr. Karnow obviously does not care for the late and former President Nixon, but puts very little of the blame on LBJ for the disaster in VietNam.

To all of my brothers and sisters in arms who served in VietNam, I salute you.

An abundance of relavent history

This book gives you the history of Vietnam and what lead up to the war, it is important never to forget our past so we don’t make a mistake and repeat it.

Definitive History of Vietnam - Outstanding!

I am an avid history buff, and most of my "listening" reading is historical. I first read Stanley Karnow's history of Vietnam when it was first published years ago, and it was terrific. So I was interested to reread it via Audible. I find myself learning different things when I listen to a historical work after reading it. I am even more appreciative of Karnow's work after my second go around! If you want to understand what Vietnam was all about, this is by far your best source.
Karnow was a journalist who spent a great deal of time in Vietnam, before, during and after the war. He gives the history and background of the country, going back centuries and including all the external forces that have plagued Vietnam through the ages. He spent lots of time with the people, and his interviews with major political and military figures from all sides - French, South Vietnamese, North Vietnamese, Cambodian and of course American - are fascinating. His understanding and insights into the military and political strategies and machinations of all factions are amazing. This is an extremely well-researched book that is so well written that it is hard to put down. The narrator (Edward Holland) does a great job, too. He reads at a comfortable pace with a good story teller's involvement that has me convinced he is genuinely immersed in the material. One of the best histories I have experienced through Audible.