From many perspectives, the Vietnam War, this crucial event of the century, has been extensively expended. The nonfiction books give broad historical perspectives on the war, while the fictional accounts of soldiers’ experiences blend memoir and fiction to provide an emotional texture to the war. Many books delve into the political intricacies and cultural attractions the war brought to the Vietnamese people, creating a nuanced approach.
Best Books About the Vietnam War
Books about the Vietnam War offer much to enrich us. They provide both historical context and explore the conflict’s human experience and moral complexities. Literature on the Vietnam War illuminates for readers the more immense consequences of political decisions and the human toll of war. It also provides insight into the cultural and social ramifications that still reverberate today. Through these stories, readers can better understand the history and impact of the Vietnam War on global politics and social movements that are relevant to our world today.
1. The Vietnam War: An Intimate History
More than four decades have gone by since the end of the Vietnam War, and its imprint still runs deep in the American psyche. In “The Vietnam War: An Intimate History,” Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns present a riveting account of the long and savage conflict that, while unifying Vietnam, rents the United States asunder as no other conflict since the Civil War. The authors survey landmark moments such as the Gulf of Tonkin, the Tet Offensive, Hamburger Hill , and the fall of Saigon and follow the war’s impact on three U.S. presidents and their advisers. What sets this account apart is the emphasis on personal stories from everyday people — soldiers, anti-war activists, and civilians — that provide first-person accounts that help grasp the war’s complexities.
The book is a complete history, mixing historical narrative and personal experience to bring to life the accumulating detail that makes for the most vivid, affecting history of America’s most misunderstood war.
The authors of the book are Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. The book’s publication date is September 5, 2017, by Vintage. It is 637 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 637 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars
2. Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975
Vietnam turned into the Western world’s most polarizing modern war, signaled by the defeat of France in 1954 and the United States’s humiliating exit in 1975. Max Hastings’s epic account, written over three years of interviews and research, brings to life some of the most decisive moments, from Dienbienphu to the Tet Offensive to the air blitz of North Vietnam. He also mentions lesser-known events like the bloodbath at Daido, alongside personal reminiscences of Ho Chi Minh’s warriors. Going against the grain of many writers who write from a U.S. perspective, Hastings stresses that the war was primarily a Vietnamese tragedy — forty Vietnamese died for each American.
He argues that in terms of blunders on the part of the United States, as well as atrocities, those of the enemy were similarly matched and that both sides committed unspeakable wartime atrocities. The book integrates the political and military narratives with personal experiences, concluding that neither side deserved to win and providing essential lessons for the twenty-first century regarding the misuse of military might in complex wars.
The author of the book is Sir Max Hastings. The book’s publication date is October 16, 2018, by Harper. It is 895 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 895 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: Reprint
Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars
3. Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
“Matterhorn,” the epic Marine war novel written by the decorated Marine veteran Karl Marlantes, is intense, powerful, and compelling. The plot follows young Marine lieutenant Waino Mellas and his buddies in Bravo Company as they’re dropped into the deadly mountain jungles of Vietnam, where they’re not only contending with the combat power of the North Vietnamese but also the terrible conditions of monsoon rain disease, and the psychological toll of combat. As they struggle to survive, they grapple with inner conflict: racial tension, ambition, duplicitous leadership. Caught in a chaotic field of battle amidst a massive enemy regiment, the Marines taste the sheer horror of warfare, an experience that will change their lives forever.
Written over more than 30 years, “Matterhorn,” with its brilliant portal into the horrors and the joys of combat, has become a classic in military literature that ruminates on war’s deep and everlasting toll on the individual and society.
The author of the book is Karl Marlantes. The book’s publication date is April 1, 2010, by Atlantic Monthly Press. It is 617 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 617 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: Reprint
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
4. SOG: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam
John Plaster’s gripping account of his covert activities as a member of the Studies and John Plaster’s gripping account of his underground adventures as a member of the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) in the Vietnam War provides a rare insider look at the war’s most secret elite U.S. military unit. SOG, comprised of volunteers from elite corps such as the Army Green Berets, the Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, undertook the most hazardous covert action in the deadliest theaters of operation. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, recounts how the group pulled off such daring exploits as penetrating heavily defended North Vietnamese installations, repelling mass enemy assaults, and rescuing downed U.S. pilots.
His richly detailed narrative brings to life the remarkable tales of honor and heroism performed at risk or sacrifice to distant men in sabotage and espionage, as well as hand-to-hand combat. It rewrites a piece of the Vietnam War’s history, rescuing a little-known but essential portion from unjustified obscurity.
The author of the book is John L. Plaster. The book’s publication date is January 1, 2019, by Simon & Schuster. It is 385 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 385 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: Reprint
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
5. Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam (American Empire Project)
Few have done so with the authority of Nick Turse, whose book Kill Anything That Moves offers a startling account of the American war against Vietnamese civilians, one that debunks the old truism that massacres like the My Lai massacre were an aberration. Instead, Turse shows, such violence against civilians was widespread and systematic, the outcome of official orders to “kill anything that moves.” Drawing on more than a decade’s research into secret Pentagon archives and interviews with veterans and survivors, Turse unveils the military machine behind millions of civilian deaths during the Vietnam War, generally referred to as “a My Lai a month.”
A groundbreaking investigation published in two previous installments as part of The American Empire Project and recipient of the Ridenhour Prize, it forces America to face the ugly reality of its actions in Vietnam — a legacy the country continues to grapple with in meaningful ways now and in the decades to come.
The author of the book is Nick Turse. The book’s publication date is January 15, 2013, by Metropolitan Books. It is 402 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 402 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars
6. Guns Up! A Firsthand Account of the Vietnam War
In “Guns Up!”, Marine Johnnie Clark describes his terrifying experiences of the Vietnam War, especially during the Tet Offensive at Hue. When Clark was eighteen, he learned that the average life span of machine gunners in a firefight was seven to ten seconds. And yet the Marines, composed of average men and teenagers, bored extraordinary heroes in terrible conditions and environments. This memoir, now supplemented with photographs and updating the lives of these warriors after the war, stands as a testament to the raw courage and sacrifice of the U.S. Marines during one of the most savage conflicts in history.
The author of the book is Johnnie Clark. The book’s publication date is February 2, 2011, by Presidio Press. It is 382 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 382 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: Revised
Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars
7. We Were Soldiers Once…and Young: Ia Drang – The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
In November 1965, the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Col. Harold Moore, was deposited by air in the Ia Drang Valley, where 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers almost immediately surrounded it. The Americans fought heroically for three days at Landing Zone X-Ray, holding the enemy at bay with air support and artillery. A few miles away, a sister battalion sustained heavy casualties at Landing Zone Albany.
The battle was a watershed moment, being the first significant engagement between United States forces and the People’s Army of Vietnam and highlighting the savagery and valor of war. [ Read: Vietnam 50: How Vietnam Landscaped My Life ]Lt. Gen. Moore and journalist Joseph L. Galloway distilled the essence of this conflict from interviews with hundreds of soldiers, including those on the other side, making for a compelling narrative on the perseverance of those who endured this most American of wars.
The authors of the book are Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. The book’s publication date is November 6, 2012, by Open Road Media. It is 530 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 530 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars
8. When I Turned Nineteen: A Vietnam War Memoir
Glyn Haynie served in the U.S. Army with his brothers in First Platoon, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, attached to the 11th Brigade of the Americal (23rd Infantry) Division. They were average sons, fathers, husbands, or brothers who volunteered or were drafted from all corners of America, and they forged a bond that would last for decades. Haynie describes weeks upon weeks of boredom interspersed with short bursts of absolute terror, fighting the hostile climate of Vietnam — from draining heat to monsoons to forest fires to typhoons. He writes about the physical and mental fatigue of dragging the rucksacks up hills and building firebases and the ever-present fear of being killed by the enemy. And yet, despite such challenges, the war formed a bond between them.
The author of the book is Glyn Haynie. The book’s publication date is December 9, 2016. It is 262 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 262 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 stars
9. Lions of Medina: The True Story of the Marines of Charlie 1/1 in Vietnam, 11-12 October 1967
Marine Lance Corporal Kevin Cahill stands at a critical juncture with Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines, and First Marine Division in the dense environs of Hai Lang National Forest in South Vietnam on October 12, 1967. They were on a mission to find and kill North Vietnamese Army troops, but they stumbled into a fatal ambush. Charlie Company was on the mountainside of death with over two thousand NVA soldiers closing in on them. What followed was as desperate a fight for survival as any battle can depict, and it ripples the chaos and intensity of foot soldier combat. On par with Ambrose’s epic narrative telling of the Band of Brothers, it is a gripping tale of heroism and fortitude against extreme conditions from a powerful book, a story of this remarkable account.
The author of the book is Doyle Glass. The book’s publication date is June 18, 2014. It is 494 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 494 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 2nd Edition
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
10. Legend: The Incredible Story of Green Beret Sergeant Roy Benavidez’s Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines
On May 2, 1968, a twelve-man Special Forces team made a clandestine insertion into a jungle clearing in neutral Cambodia to photograph evidence of the North Vietnamese Army’s use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Unknowingly, they had crossed into a large enemy base and were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, under attack, and low on ammunition. When the units of Special Forces Staff Sergeant Roy Benavidez received their distress call, he loaded onto a helicopter from the 240th Assault Helicopter Company and parachuted into the fight.
Severely wounded, Benavidez nevertheless mounted an extraordinary defense and rescue of the trapped team, risking enemy fire. In Legend, Eric Blehm presents this harrowing mission with previously unavailable access to family members, surviving veterans, eyewitness accounts, and previously classified records — and honors those who fought for them in Vietnam and celebrates the brotherhood of air and ground warriors in this tumultuous time.
The author of the book is Eric Blehm. The book’s publication date is April 28, 2015, by Crown. It is 277 pages long and available in a few formats.
Length: 277 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars
11. Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel
Young soldiers such as John Kowalski were sent to Vietnam in 1970 — nicknamed “Cherries” by their more experienced peers. For these green recruits, it was part of the job that the applicants had neglected to think about on their application forms: the gritty reality of subduing violent people who undergo demanding on-the-job training that few were mentally and physically prepared for. The sights and sounds of enemy fire and death began a profound and irreparable change. In Cherries, an unblinking novel by John Podlaski, those men are depicted in all their fear, awe, drama, and grief as they live — and die — in war and how they rise to courage and laughter. The journey these men undertook over the years has shaped those who served.
The book’s author is John Podlaski, and the book’s editor is Barbara Battestilli. The book’s publication date is April 20, 2010. It is available in a few formats.
Length: 482 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 3rd Edition
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
12. What Was the Vietnam War?
It took twenty years of geopolitical and ideological forces before the U.S. got sucked into the Vietnam War. American interests there initially went to the fear of communism spreading throughout Southeast Asia, a key area during the Cold War. It had a profound effect on American society and foreign policy, spurring widespread protests and a reconsideration of U.S. interventionism overseas.
The authors of the book are Jim O’Connor and Who HQ. The book’s publication date is May 7, 2019 by Penguin Workshop. It is available in a few formats.
Length: 112 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
13. A War Too Far: A Vietnam War Novel (The Airmen Series Book 1)
In “A War Too Far,” a cunning and merciless marksman is given an assignment that could alter the trajectory of history: track down Ho Chi Minh, the head of an insurgent army. This elite operative is also a member of the OSS Deer Team, which carried out intrepid missions in North Vietnam during World War II’s closing days. Based on actual events and people, the novel tells the story of unbreakable bonds between soldiers, extraordinary courage, and a betrayal that would change the course of the world. It provides a riveting account of the early days of the Vietnam War, presenting the first American soldiers who would fight and die in the jungles of Vietnam. Also, this is the first book of the Airmen Series authored, combining historical accuracy with the excitement of a modern political thriller.
The author of the book is David Lee Corley. The book’s publication date is September 21, 2019. It is available in a few formats.
Length: 349 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 stars
14. Our Vietnam Wars: as told by 100 veterans who served
A collection of stories — 100 in total — from veterans of the Vietnam War provides a nuanced, individual perspective on the conflict. These accounts, which cover Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, span from 1956 to 1976 and include accounts of foot soldiers, helicopter pilots, medics, and cooks, among others, in the Delta and the DMZ. These narratives reveal the divergent experiences among participants, shaped by their service branch, unit, rank, job, and race, among other factors. Whereas movies or books about war often focus on one soldier or unit, these stories will put the reader in many different places at once — painting a more somber and complex picture of what the war was like for millions. Volume one of his four-part series, this book takes readers inside the lives of those who lived through one of the most defining struggles of a generation.
The author of the book is William F. Brown. The book’s publication date is February 6, 2018. It is available in a few formats.
Length: 344 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars
15. Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
In “Hue 1968,” Mark Bowden gives a day-by-day account of the key Battle of Hue from the Tet Offensive. On January 31, 1968, North Vietnamese forces mounted an audacious assault on Hue, Vietnam’s cultural capital, with 10,000 troops overwhelming the city save for two small military outposts. At first, American commanders underestimated the scale of it, ordering small marine units against deeply entrenched enemy forces, resulting in heavy casualties. Progress wasn’t made until Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham developed a plan to take back the city block by block. The battle, which lasted 24 days and took 10,000 lives, was the war’s bloodiest. Based on expansive war archives and interviews with combatants on both sides, Bowden’s narrative conveys the ferocity of this urban combat that came to let loose a new American debate, one not about winning the war but ending it.
The author of the book is Mark Bowden. The book’s publication date is June 6, 2017, by Atlantic Monthly Press. It is available in a few formats.
Length: 608 pages
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback
Latest Version: 1st Edition
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Finally, groundbreaking books on the Vietnam War are one of the best ways to understand this historical moment. Readers can immerse themselves in the conflict’s political, military and personal intricacies through both nonfiction and fiction. These works matter because they teach, hold a mirror up, inspire, and remind us of the complexity and ramifications of a war that remains at the forefront of international politics and cultural conversation. These books allow readers to understand better the past and how it continues to affect the present.