A Hundred Feet Over Hell: Flying With the Men of the 220th Recon Airplane Company Over I Corps and the DMZ, Vietnam 1968-1969 by Jim Hooper

A Hundred Feet Over Hell: Flying With the Men of the 220th Recon Airplane Company Over I Corps and the DMZ, Vietnam 1968-1969 by Jim Hooper  a collection of remembrances from Bird Dog pilots.  These lightly equipped aircraft acted as forward air controllers.  The often highly dangerous and difficult missions are described as well as attempts to blow off steam back at base.  The narrative is occasionally difficult to follow because Hooper has pulled extracts from his primary sources.  Each is labeled with the name of the witness.  Frequently they overlap giving a different view of the same event [which I like].  The book is very jargon heavy.  A glossary is provided there are explanations in the text as well. 

I can't recommend this for the casual reader but if you have an interest in an unusual facet of the Vietnam War give it a look.

This was provided for review by a PR outfit.

Planning a Tragedy: Americanization of the War in Vietnam by Larry Berman

Planning a Tragedy: Americanization of the War in Vietnam by Larry Berman seemed to be a logical book to read considering the recent United States debate over escalation in Afghanistan. Berman using unclassified material as well as correspondence with the players describes the thought process that went into the decision to increase troops in Vietnam. He argues convincingly that Johnson instead of the best way to win Vietnam instead chose the alternative that meant that they would lose slower. The domestic concerns were also more telling than any military or strategic decisions.

Highly recommended!

Robert McNamara dead at 93

He is most famous for being responsible for the buildup and strategy in Vietnam. Ever since the conflict he seem to do his best to come to terms with his own decisions and failures. Most publicly in the Oscar winning The Fog of War and books In Retrospect and Argument Without End. The BBC obituary can be found here.

Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical and Critical Study by Walter Laqueur

Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical and Critical Study by Walter Laqueur attempts to do what the title says. I'll give Laqueur credit some of the theorists and examples he discusses are those that are so obscure I haven't heard of them even though I've been studying the topic for 4 years now. That being said there are some major problems with his work. The most glaring is one of definitions. His idea of Guerrillas is so broad that it includes such groups as Baader-Meinhof and FLQ. To my mind this makes the term almost useless. These are groups that barely made it into phase one. He also strikes me as trying his hardest to be contrary. He frequently breaks with the standard view on various topics such as the utility of guerrillas in Yugoslavia during the Second World War with little or no evidence. In short borrow it from the library and copy the bibliography.

Not recommended.

Decent Interval: An Insider's Account Of Saigon's Indecent End by Frank Snepp

Decent Interval: An Insider's Account Of Saigon's Indecent End by Frank Snepp. This is the memoirs of a CIA analyst stationed in the US embassy. The publication of the book caused a long-standing legal battle that the CIA eventually won. Snepp lost all royalties to the book. The fact that the CIA took him to court would suggest that there's some explosive details inhere. It does not disappoint.

Snepp points out that both in the US Embassy and Washington there was an unwillingness to deal with reality particularly on the part of the ambassador and Kissinger. Kissinger comes off extremely badly as a doubledealing control freak. The CIA doesn't do much better. They were perfectly willing to massage intelligence when necessary. Snepp frequently was told to fudge up reports. I found it rather disconcerting how willing he was to do so.

The last quarter of the book describes the last day in Saigon. The scenes of panic and terror are gripping. The often difficult ethical choices people on all sides had to make are heart stopping.

Highly recommended!

War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province by Jeffrey Race

War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province by Jeffrey Race. This is a history of the communist takeover of a Vietnamese province. The book can be divided into two parts. The first of these is a history of the loss of government control. This is based on interviews with South Vietnamese officials as well as analysis of US reports. This is superb and is necessary reading for anyone interested in Vietnam.

The second part attempts to build a theoretical framework out of the material. This section is less convincing. Race grumbles about the South Vietnamese lacking ideology however they did attempt one during 61-63 it was an effective. He also seems to be trying a little too hard to be an iconoclastic commentator. That being said well worth the cost for the history section alone.

Highly recommended!

Inside the VC and the NVA by Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg

Inside the VC and the NVA by Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg is a study on the soldiers of the North Vietnamese. The book deals with training, tactics, logistics and recruitment. Most of the research was gathered from POW interrogations and captured material such as letters and diaries. The book is excellent at describing day-to-day experiences. There's an extensive section of excerpts from a survey sent to US personnel giving their opinions on the North Vietnamese. Unfortunately there are some strange choices. There's some gratuitous whining about campus liberals and the media which seems out of place and the book concludes with a summary of the Chinese Vietnamese conflict. I'm not really sure what this had to do with discussing the soldiers experiences.

Recommended with caveats.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Make for the Hills: Memories of Far Eastern Wars by Sir. Robert Thompson

Make for the Hills: Memories of Far Eastern Wars by Sir. Robert Thompson is the autobiography of this counterinsurgency expert. He was the RAF liaison with the Chindits in Burma. He was a supporter of Wingate in the postwar controversies. After the war he rejoined the Malayan civil service and helped defeat the Communists during the Malay emergency. He was then off to Vietnam providing expertise to the British and US government's. Particularly Richard Nixon. There is some "I told you so" but it's done in a rather unoffensive way. Although I tend to agree with his analysis so that probably helps. There's quite a bit here on the failure of the Americans to change their style of war fighting to defeat insurgency. If you are at all interested in counterinsurgency this is a necessary book on your bookshelf.

Highly recommended!

For more WWII book reviews Take a look at My World War II bookshelf.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Not With Guns Alone: How Hanoi Won the War by Denis Warner

Not With Guns Alone: How Hanoi Won the War by Denis Warner is an account of the North Vietnamese final assault on the south in 1975. The author a hawkish Australian journalist manages to shed some light on the events. There's also quite a bit of local color. A good thing is that this provides a non-American perspective on the final collapse. Both the Americans and South Vietnamese come in for quite a bit of criticism. The lack of support for refugees is also criticized.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Hamburger Hill May 11-20, 1969 by Samuel Zaffiri

Hamburger Hill May 11-20, 1969 by Samuel Zaffiri is an excellent study on this infamous battle from the Vietnam War. Hamburger Hill became the poster child of the failure of US strategy. The Hill was taken with a very high cost and lives and then after a short time abandoned. Which allowed the North Vietnamese to move back in. The book describes the original reason for seizing the Hill. The varies miscalculations that resulted in the US troops attacking an entrenched North Vietnamese army unit are laid out. The nasty World War I style trench warfare is superbly discussed. The author interviewed some veterans for the book. There accounts give a sense of urgency which is unusual for the often clinical analysis of military history. The political fire storm after the battle is briefly mentioned. The book concludes with some short analysis from the major players about whether the battle was worthwhile. The book contains a bibliography, Index and pictures.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Tet Offensive, 1968: Turning Point in Vietnam by James Arnold

Tet Offensive, 1968: Turning Point in Vietnam by James Arnold is yet another Osprey title. I have the first edition they've already released a third, so I'm not really comfortable criticizing some of the analysis. It has all the usual hallmarks of any Osprey title. Even the first edition it's a decent summary if you just need a short description of the campaign.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.



For more reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Regular Armies and Insurgency edited by Ronald Haycock

Regular Armies and Insurgency edited by Ronald Haycock is the proceedings of a conference held at the Royal Military College of Canada in 1978. Papers include those written by some of the big names at the time such as Alistair Horne and Sir Robert Thompson. Coverage is of the Malayan emergency, Algerian war,Vietnam war, Mexican insurgencies and Irish Civil War. The papers are pretty short. There isn't much here that will surprise but they do provide excellent summaries. Chapters contain endnotes and suggestions for further reading.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Battle Ready by Tom Clancy with Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz

Battle Ready by Tom Clancy with Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz is the memoirs of General Tony Zinni USMC Retired the American soldier probably most famous for being write about the troop levels needed in post-Saddam Iraq. Zinni was an adviser to a South Vietnamese Marine unit in Vietnam where he was badly wounded from their he moved through various posts in the United States Marine Corps's ranks. Perhaps most interesting was his time running a security detachment on Okinawa [a US base at the time] at the height of the racial troubles in the 1970s. He was involved in the protection of the Kurds after the first gulf war as well as the American involvement in Somalia. He would eventually lead Central Command during the late 1990s then attempt to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

The book seems to be based on oral interviews that Clancy ties together. This makes it rather disjointed. The narrative will stop for several first-person remarks from Zinni in italics then continue. The book seems almost like a PR exercise at times. We're being constantly told how outspoken he was but there really isn't anything controversial. He seems to have been on the "winning" side of most arguments.

He glosses over incidents such as the mistaken attack on a pharmaceuticals manufacturer after the US embassy bombings. Shrugging it off by saying it was good intelligence. We don't really learn much about him personally. There isn't even the often brief discussions of wife and family that are normal for military memoirs.

The last 20 pages lays out his perspectives on low-intensity conflict as well as future threats and the necessary changes the military will have to go through. This is excellent I only wish it could have been more of the book.

Recommended with caveats.

Is available through Abebooks.

The Blood Road:the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War by John Prados

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.

The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972 by James Lawton Collins

The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972 by James Lawton Collins is a recently reprinted official history first released in 1974. It is primarily interested in the activities of Military Assistance Command Vietnam [MACV]. The report is quite positive when discussing the creation of a South Vietnamese military. There is quite a bit of information here about the various programs that were set up particular focus is on the military education system created. Naturally their criticisms of the Vietnamese and even some of the Americans themselves. One interesting oversight is that the Vietnamese are criticized for problems learning English but there is no reference to the Americans inability to have enough Vietnamese speakers on hand. There is also an inability to show actual proof that improvements were taking place besides expanded class sizes and the like.

There are also several curious statements for example the South Vietnamese Army had developed an effective counterinsurgency ability as early as 1963. This flies in the face of much research that I've read on the topic.

Even when considering the books problems is an excellent study with lots of information. It is also interesting reading in light of the attempt to build an Iraqi military.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.


For more reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

After Tet:The Bloodiest year in Vietnam by Ronald H. Spector

After Tet: The Bloodiest year in Vietnam by Ronald H. Spector describes well basically what the title says. We get material on everything from Washington to the experience of patrolling in the jungle. Unlike most history of Vietnam there are descriptions of various soldiers experiences. There's even a section on the military prisons in Vietnam and their race riots. There's a lot of research here. part of the book is taken up with the Battle of Khe Sanh. There's a very clear description of the rather confused operations around it.

It is highly readable with a bibliography and notes as well as several appendices and a further reading section.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For more reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Bush does something right

No that's not a typo. The administration has actually managed to do something right for once. U.S. to Declassify Secrets at Age 25. Sure agencies can still get around released but have to look through the material and not just give a blanket denial.

Has to be some good Vietnam material in there somewhere. Anyone want to go to the National Archives?

government secrecy
open government
bush
archive
declassify

The Pentagon Papers by George C Herring

The Pentagon Papers by George C Herring is a reprint of the New York times version of the Pentagon papers. This printing contains a new introduction, forward to each document and a bibliographic further reading section. This is based on a secret pentagon study about America's involvement in Vietnam. The coverage is from the end of World War Two through early 1968 and the Tet invasion. With the perspective that the intervening years has given the new material is excellent.

A Vietnam collection would be incomplete without this work.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

The Limits of Air Power: the American bombing of North Vietnam by Mark Clodfelter

The Limits of Air Power: the American bombing of North Vietnam by Mark Clodfelter describes the use of strategic bombing in Vietnam. The author attempts to explain why Rolling Thunder failed and by Linebacker I and Linebacker ii were successful. He makes a convincing argument that would it was not political interference but a change in North Vietnamese strategy that led to the operations success or failure. After all guerrillas don't need a lot of supplies or stand around in large concentrations. The linebacker operations were successful because the Vietnamese attempted to go into conventional war i.e. stage three of guerrilla warfare and can therefore be destroyed just like classic Western forces.

Highly recommended also good for showing why militaries refuse to adapt to the actual war that they're fighting.

Is available through Abebooks.



For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

The Sling and the Stone on War in the 21st Century by Thomas X. Hammes

The Sling and the Stone on War in the 21st Century by Thomas X. Hammes is a superb book on how to defeat insurgency and terrorist threats. The author suggests that instead of preparing to fight mechanized forces such as China the US should be more concerned about creating forces which are able to defeat insurgencies. He describes insurgencies and as the fourth generation of warfare. His analysis on the different aspects of insurgency and counterinsurgency are accurate and well thought out. One criticism is that he believes that Mao was the first to come up with the idea of a guerrilla campaign. This is highly inaccurate there have been insurgencies for over 2400 years.

The Department of Defense's technology fetish is analyzed and is described as stupid. Much is made of the concept of the revolution in military affairs and the unwillingness of its supporters to consider American failures since Vietnam.

The book also contains a list of recommendations that the military can use to become more adaptable. The policy changes make sense we can only hope someone is listening.

Very highly recommended.




For more Iraq book reviews take a look at My Iraq bookshelf.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.