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uly_mckown's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
amurray914's review against another edition
4.0
I really love Bowden’s writing style. I’m a huge fan of [b:Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War|55403|Black Hawk Down A Story of Modern War|Mark Bowden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442149156s/55403.jpg|1041952] and I wasn’t disappointed by this one either. Bowden tells the story of one of the pivotal battles of the Vietnam war utilizing eye witness account, news stories and primary source information from archives and libraries. It was the first urban battle fought by the US military since the Korean War over 15 years prior. The story is told from both sides and also has some insight from the civilian perspective. There are stories of incredible individual bravery and also just plain luck, leaving the reader with the wonder how anyone survived this battle.
Bowden does a good job of summarizing the political environment surrounding the battle and the attitude in general of the American public to the war in late ’67/early ’68. The Tet offensive caught the American leadership completely by surprise and a week into the battle were still in denial as to the scale of the attack on Hue. Wesmoreland isn’t portrayed in a particularly good light, his repeated and blatant denials of what was really going on somewhat unbelievable but plainly reflected in the TV interviews and declassified communiques of the time. One of Bowden’s conclusions and main points is that the Tet offensive and its aftermath would forever change America’s attitude toward her leaders - they would never again be blindly trusted.
I highly recommend this book. If one is interested in the entire conflict, watch the excellent eighteen or so hour PBS documentary series on the Vietnam War produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. A whole episode is spent on Tet, with pretty much the same conclusions as Bowden.
Bowden does a good job of summarizing the political environment surrounding the battle and the attitude in general of the American public to the war in late ’67/early ’68. The Tet offensive caught the American leadership completely by surprise and a week into the battle were still in denial as to the scale of the attack on Hue. Wesmoreland isn’t portrayed in a particularly good light, his repeated and blatant denials of what was really going on somewhat unbelievable but plainly reflected in the TV interviews and declassified communiques of the time. One of Bowden’s conclusions and main points is that the Tet offensive and its aftermath would forever change America’s attitude toward her leaders - they would never again be blindly trusted.
I highly recommend this book. If one is interested in the entire conflict, watch the excellent eighteen or so hour PBS documentary series on the Vietnam War produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. A whole episode is spent on Tet, with pretty much the same conclusions as Bowden.
ben_r's review against another edition
5.0
History at its best. Bowden puts you on the bridge, dodging bullets. And you know why you're on that bridge and who screwed up to make it so.
johndiconsiglio's review against another edition
3.0
Meticulous, vivid account of the tipping point Tet Offensive conflict in the Vietnamese city Hue. This is a massive book & nothing has been left out—from the GI perspective & the view from Washington to VC fighters & beleaguered villagers in the crosshairs. Impressively researched & written. But it’s all just a little too much. Although every death is heartrending, almost inevitably one tragic story blends into another. Still, if you’re looking for boots-on-the-ground military history, it’s hard to imagine there’s a better one out there.
tittypete's review against another edition
4.0
For starters, Hue is pronounced "way."
And it's also a pretty decent in-depth account of one of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. The one that supposedly changed the American's public about the war toward the negative.
Here's my understanding. During the Vietnamese New Year (also known as Tet), the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched a bunch of simultaneous attacks on targets in South Vietnam. One of those attacks was on the old time-y city of Hue. The Commies rolled in and took the place over. They thought that everybody there would see them as a liberating force and welcome them with open arms but the people were pretty underwhelmingly enthused. Once the US decided this wasn't gonna stand and set forth to liberate the city from the commie liberators, said commies got super pissed and executed a bunch of civilians. Something like 2800 to 6000 of them. Anyway the US marines have a dick of a time getting the city back. The commies are dug in and the fighting is intense. Lots of dudes are getting shot, having their guts spilled, their brains blown out. It's gory as shit. Sucking chest wounds, piles of bodies. They end up having to take the enemy out by fighting house to house (this battle has been compared to Fallujah of the Iraq war). It's fricked. Bowden sews together a nice narrative. He has a few characters from the commie side as well as the US. The tells the story of the battle from as many angles as he can and does a good job. I may be just me but detailed accounts of real military battles are hard to follow. This one was better than most.
War is fucked. Especially when the powers that be say we're winning when we're not and young dudes are just fed to the grinder. My key take aways are General Westmoreland was a goddamned son of a bitch and the people who fought on both sides had tremendous balls. Except for the South Vietnamese.
The end.
And it's also a pretty decent in-depth account of one of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. The one that supposedly changed the American's public about the war toward the negative.
Here's my understanding. During the Vietnamese New Year (also known as Tet), the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched a bunch of simultaneous attacks on targets in South Vietnam. One of those attacks was on the old time-y city of Hue. The Commies rolled in and took the place over. They thought that everybody there would see them as a liberating force and welcome them with open arms but the people were pretty underwhelmingly enthused. Once the US decided this wasn't gonna stand and set forth to liberate the city from the commie liberators, said commies got super pissed and executed a bunch of civilians. Something like 2800 to 6000 of them. Anyway the US marines have a dick of a time getting the city back. The commies are dug in and the fighting is intense. Lots of dudes are getting shot, having their guts spilled, their brains blown out. It's gory as shit. Sucking chest wounds, piles of bodies. They end up having to take the enemy out by fighting house to house (this battle has been compared to Fallujah of the Iraq war). It's fricked. Bowden sews together a nice narrative. He has a few characters from the commie side as well as the US. The tells the story of the battle from as many angles as he can and does a good job. I may be just me but detailed accounts of real military battles are hard to follow. This one was better than most.
War is fucked. Especially when the powers that be say we're winning when we're not and young dudes are just fed to the grinder. My key take aways are General Westmoreland was a goddamned son of a bitch and the people who fought on both sides had tremendous balls. Except for the South Vietnamese.
The end.
aehsan's review against another edition
4.0
A good history of Hue that stretches itself to try and encapsulate from that one Battle an understanding of the total Vietnam War. In terms of understanding Hue and its impact on the war effort it does an admirable job covering it from both a street level as well a Strategic level in a clear and narratively interesting way. In addition it tries to cover the conflict from both the NVA/VC side as well as the American and does quite a good job of showing both perspectives without any overt bias (Though of course the US side is more extensively and sympathetically covered). The only criticism though one can label on this is the ARVN forces which are mentioned but their perspective is never really covered like the other 2 are. Trying to extrapolate the story of Hue to cover the total Vietnam conflict is a stretch too far and prior knowledge of the basics of the conflict help provide more perspective than this book by itself can provide. Whats of course most interesting is how you can draw parallels from Hue to Fallujah and even Afghanistan.
citizen_noir's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps because I'm approaching my 50th birthday, I seem to be reading a lot of books about the seminal political, cultural, and social moments of my childhood. The Vietnam War was one of the events that played in the backdrop for much of it: whether I was listening to and trying to understand what my father and grandfather were arguing about, or hearing the name of the same young man having a mass said every week in his memory, or learning years later that my uncle had served in the war - and yet no one talked much about it.
This book is an amazing piece of journalism by Mark Bowden, with perspectives from veterans on both sides of the conflict. I wish every politician - especially those who have never served - would read this book in case they're ever faced with the prospect of sending men and women into war. I can't imagine the absolute horror of combat, but I also understand a bit now about the amazing bonds that are formed by soldiers placed in an inconceivable situation.
This book is an amazing piece of journalism by Mark Bowden, with perspectives from veterans on both sides of the conflict. I wish every politician - especially those who have never served - would read this book in case they're ever faced with the prospect of sending men and women into war. I can't imagine the absolute horror of combat, but I also understand a bit now about the amazing bonds that are formed by soldiers placed in an inconceivable situation.
joestewart's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Mark Bowdens writing. He does a nice job of combining quotations, excerpts, and retellings to present a compelling presentation of the turning point of the Vietnam war.