The Blood Road:the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War by John Prados is a history of the logistics system that extended from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia and into the South. The book is much more than a discussion of the construction and attempts at interdiction of the trail. Prados manages to relate the trail to the wider Vietnam conflict and even the antiwar movement back in the United States. This is history and its best. Along the way many famous members of the American military establishment are mentioned including Norman Schwarzkopf and the usual suspects in Washington and Saigon.
The trail started out as literally a walking trail which would be covered over by porters after it was used. Eventually it would become a multi lane paved highway that even included a pipeline by the end of the conflict. The decision to invade Laos is covered in detail as well as the failure of the invasion.
A superb history recommended for anyone who has an interest in the Vietnam War.
Is available through Abebooks.
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