Vietnam Generation Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 2

Vietnam Generation
Volume 1 A White Man's War: Race Issues and
Vietnam
Article 13
2-1989
Vietnam Generation Newsletter, Volume 1,
Number 2
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(1989) "Vietnam Generation Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 2," Vietnam Generation: Vol. 1, Article 13.
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Na t Iona I Advisony B oarcJ
We would like to take the time to extend a
thank-you to all of our subscribers and supporters. It
is because of you that Vietnam Generation has
made such a strong start. As of January 25 we have
over 100 subscribers, and have managed to cover
almost all of our office and printing costs for the first
issue of the journal, the first two issues of the
Newsletter, and the mailing and advertising
campaign. We hope that this influx of subscriptions
will continue: in order to maintain the services that
we offer, we must have at least 500 subscriptions
each year. This number is well within our reach —
most academic journals have subscription lists
exceeding 2000. But we need some help to make
it through this first, and most difficult year. You can
give us a hand by encouraging your friends and
colleagues to subscribe, bringing copies along to
your local college and public libraries to show them
how good our journal looks, and contributing a few
extra dollars whenever you have the chance.
We will be applying for grants from a few
agencies this next year, but it is difficult forjoumalsto
get funding; they are considered a risky proposition
at best. We will have to convince these agencies
that we have a chance to make it on our own
before they will consider giving us any money. With
the additional funding we hope to , first of a ll, create
a sliding-scale subscription price to lowerthe burden
on students, low-income, and retired people and,
second, to begin to organize an international
conference on popular culture and the Vietnam
War to be held in 1991.
Thanks for your support!
Co
Dr. Arthur Blank
Director
Readjustment Couns Svc.
Veterans' Administration
Dr. Robert Slabey
English Dept,
University of Notre Dame
Dr. Richard Falk
Princeton University
CtT. of International Studies
Dr. David Hunt
Co-Chairman
William Joiner Center
History Dept.
Unlv. of Mass, at Boston
ft. 1=0
f
Dr. Philip K. Jason
English Dept.
US Naval Academy
Dr. Gabriel Kolko, FRSC
Distinguished Res. Prof.
History Dept.
York University
Dr. Nancy Wiegersma
Political Science & Economics
Fitchburg State College
Dr. Christine P e te r White
History Dept.
Southeast Asian Studies Ctr.
Cornell University
N ew MEivibERs
William King
Director
Black Studies Prog
Unlv. of Colorado at Boulder
Michael Klein
American Studies
Univ. of Ulster at Jordanstown
Dr. Jacqueline Lawson
English Dept.
Unlv. of Michigan
Ruth Rosen
History Dept.
UC Davis
Inst, for the Study of Soc. Change.
UC Berkeley
Dr. David Marr
Research Sch. of Pacific Stud.
Pacific and SE Asian History
Australian National Universty
Jock Reynolds
Executive Director
Washington Project for the Arts
SpecUi EdTORS & Topics of UpcomI nq Is s u e s ....... ~...2
PubliCATiON OnnORTLTjTiFS....... ............................. ......2
Dr. Tom Riddell
Economics Dept.
Smith College
Ev e n ts ....................................................................... ......2
Reso urc es................................................................ ..... 5
Dr. William J. Searle
English Dept.
Eastern Illinois University
OeruirJ7ATloN<;............................. ........................... ..... 5
ars I n t Ihf
Dr. James C. Scott
Southeast Asian Studies
Vale University
Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain
Political Science Dept.
Vanderbilt University
n ten ts
S eT W
Nancy Anlsfield
English Dept.
Champlain College
R f IH ............................................. ..... 6
Books ANd Audio Mater IaI s Cu rren c y In PrI n t . ......9
1
SpEcUl EdiTORs ANd Topics of UpccwviiNQ
Issues
Vietnam Homecoming: An Interdisciplinary
Approach. Chair: Catherine Calloway,
English, Arkansas State Univ. "Healing from
the War;
Images of Renewal and
Transcendence in Lany Heinemann's Close
Q uarters.' John Bowers, English, College of
St. Francis; "Epilogues; A Generational Study
of the Po st-C o m b a t Rea d justm e nt
Experiences of Veterans of WW2, Korea,
and Vietnam,' Kyra Kester, History, Univ. of
Washington at Seattle; "Moon Landing: A
Memory.' Rebecca B. Faery, 730 N. Linn St.,
Iowa City. IA; "The Only Cure I Know is a
Good Ceremony: The Ritual of Return in
Selected Vietnam War Fiction,' Catherine
Calloway.
Respondent:
Robert Burko,
English, Carroll College.
The Vietnam Aviator: Myth and Reality. Chair:
Charles J. Gaspar, English, USAFA. "Awash
in Infidelity: Achieving Distance from War in
Coming Hom e.' Gwendolyn D. Fayne,
English, USAFA;
"I, Too, Sing America:
Vietnam as Metaphor in Coming Hom e.'
Verner D. Mitchell, English, USAFA; "Patriots
and Politics: The Myth of the Riot in Vietnam,'
Herbert Smith. English, USAFA; "From the
Ground Up: The Grunt's Image of the Aviator
in Vietnam Fiction and Film ,' Charles J.
Gaspar.
Vietnam Today—Slide Presentation. Chair:
Cecil B. Currey, History, Univ. of South Florida.
"Vietnam Today,' Cecil Currey.
Vietnam W ar Film s:
Pe rc e p tio n and
Representation.
Chair:
Tony Williams.
Cinema & Photography, So. Illinois Univ. "The
Resurrection of the Male as Logos,' Ra CseriBriones. Cinema & Photography, So. Illinois
Univ.; "Anti-War GIs and Vietnam: The
Forgotten Voice of Protest,' Dane Thompson,
Cinema & Photography, So. Illinois Univ.;
"Issues of Gender in Vietnam Cinema,'
Jennifer Johns, Cinema & Photography, So.
Illinois Univ.; 'F u ll M etalJacket's Excremental
Vision,' Tony Williams.
The Vietnam Aviator:
Constructed and
Deconstructed Meanings. Chair: James
Quivey, English, Eastern Illinois Univ. "The
Images of the Aviator in the New Media,'
Thomas D. Klincar, English, USAFA; "Survival
Psychology and Bat 2 1 .' George M. Luker,
English, USAFA; "The Huey Legacy in Vietnam
Fiction,' William T. Merrick, English, USAFA;
"The Great War and the Dirty Little War,'
James R. Aubrey, English, USAFA.
April 1989 — A White Man’s War: Race Issues and
Vietnam. Dr. W illiam King. Black Studies, University of
Colorado at Boulder. Boulder, CO 80309.
Juiy 1989 — Teaching the War. Interdisciplinary Strategies.
Dr. N. Bradley C hristie, Stetson University, Department of
English, Box 8308, DeLand. FL 32720.
October 1989— GenderandWar. Dr. Jacqueline Lawson,
University of Michigan at Dearbome, Department of
Hum anities, College of A rts. Sciences, and Letters,
Dearborn, Ml 48128.
Because each issue of Vietnam Generation is intended to
stand on Its own as a teaching text and academic
resource, we have decided not to include letters to the
editors, book and film review s, and advertisem ents in the
Journal Itself. We w ill. Instead, make space for all those
m aterials here In the Newsletter. Feel free to send
comments, corrections, reviews of any related m aterials,
and letters; we w ill publish all that we have room for.
Listings In all categories are fre e , Including the Publications
and Products column. Advertising rates for cameraready copy are as follows;
Half Page; $60
Quarter Page: $45
Business Card Size; $25
PubliCATION OppORTUNiTiES
UMI Research Press Invites proposals for single- or m ulti­
author books or anthologies for two new series; Studies in
Film and Television, edited by Robert Sklar of New York
Univ., and Challenging the Literary Canon, edited by
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Cornell Univ.,a nd J. H lllis M iller of
the Univ. of California at Irvine, among others. They
welcome work from a variety o f critical approaches and
Interdisciplinary studies. For more Information about these
series or to receive a list of new and forthcoming books,
contact Barbara K. Tim m ons, Acquisitions Editor, UMI
Research Press. 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml
48106.
E
v en ts
Popular Culture Association/American Culture
Association National Meeting, April 5-8, St. Louis,
MO. Everyone interested in Vietnam Era and
Generation scholarship should be aware of this
conference. Because of its importance to the field,
we are listing all panels and presenters who deal
with topics relevant to the field.
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Minneapolis; “Versions of Reality in Current
Vietnam War Novels.' Gary Acton, English.
Eastern Montana College; ‘ American Blood
Becomes American Light—Two Recent
Fictional Views of the Vietnam War.'Tony
Edmonds, History, Ball State Univ.; 'Readers
and Critics Searching for Contexts in Vietnam
Narratives,' Tobey C. Herzog.
The Vietnam Experience and the Question of
Genre. Chair: Don Ringnalda, English,
College of St. Thomas. ‘ Resistance and
Revision in Poetry by Vietnam Veterans.'
Lorrie Smith, English, St. Michael's College;
'Th e Deer Hunter as American Epic,' Bob
Bourdette. English, Univ. of New Orleans;
’The Vietnam War Combat Film: A Genre
Unto Itself.* Ralph B. Donald, Mass
Communication, Westfield State College;
’ Getting it Wrong is Doing it Right: America's
Vietnam War Drama,* Don Ringnalda.
Ways of War: New Perspectives on the American
Experience. Chair: William Woodward.
History, Seattle Pacific Univ.; ’ Another Front:
Writing and Returning from Vietnam.' Maria
S. Bonn. English, SUNY Buffalo; ’ War and the
Teaching of History,' Michael L. Salevouris,
History, Webster Univ.
American War Comics from WW2 through
Vietnam. Chair: Bill Gipson, Sociology,
Southern Methodist Univ. ’ Vietnam War
Comics and the American War Novel,' Rick
Berg, English, PitzerCollege; ’ Reprocessing
the War in The Nam .' Harry W. Haines,
Communications, Trinity Univ; ‘The Utopia of
Male Warrior Societies in American War
Comics,* Bill Gipson.
Vietnam. Television, andother Media. Chair: Al
Auster,Television 8cRadio, Brooklyn College.
“Television on Trial: Deception and Denial in
the Case of The Uncounted Enem y.' Carol
Wilder, Communications, San Francisco
State Univ.; ‘The War and Its Aftermath: The
Evolving Image of the Vietnam Experience
in Network Television Drama,* M. Elaine
Browne. English, New York Inst, of Tech.; 'Press
Coverage of the Tonkin Gulf Incidents,*
Edwin Moise, History, Clemson Univ.; 'The
War over the War: Television Documentary
and the Vietnam War,’ Al Auster.
Vietnam and Current C riticdl Thinking. Chair:
N. Bradley Christie, English, Stetson Univ. 'The
Absent Presence in Revisionist Vietnam
History,* Stephen Vlastos, Univ. of Iowa;
'Refiguring America's Heart of Darkness: The
Narrative Quest and the Typology of
Issues and Themes in the Literature of the
Vietnam War. Chair: David A. Willson,
Librarian, Green River Community College,
Auburn, WA. 'Women and the Vietnam
W ar,' Joe P. Dunn, History & Politics, Converse
College; 'Darkness in the East: The Vietnam
Novels of Takeshi Kaiko,* Mark A. Heberle,
English, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa; 'Vietnam
Narrative and Science Fiction:
Robert
Heinlein and Joe Haldeman,' Dan Duffy,
188 Mansfield St., New Haven, CT 06511;
'Nam Porno: A Study of the Pornographic
Literature of the Vietnam War," David A.
Willson.
Myth and Vietnam. Chair: William J. Searle,
English, Eastern Illinois Univ. 'The Myth of the
Warrior in Mark Baker's N a m ' Robert M.
Slabey. English, Univ. of Notre Dame; 'Good
Guy Gone Bad: The Figure of the Inverted
Hero in Literary Narrative of the Vietnam
War,* Gerald T. Burns, Wesleyan Univ.; 'A s
Soldier Lads Pass By...' Alan F. Farrell, Modern
Languages, Hampden-Sydney College.
Women Writers and the Vietnam War. Chair:
Kate B. Meyers, English Language &
Literature, Univ. of Tulsa. ‘ Humping the
Boonies: Sex, Combat, and the Female in
Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country," Katherine
Kinney, English, Univ. of Pennsylvania;
'Cassandra's Notebooks: Joan Didion and
V ie tn a m ,' Gordon O. Taylor, English
Language and Literature, Univ. of Tulsa;
‘ Painful Mirror Games: Doubling in the
Vietnam War Plays by Megan Terry and
Adrienne Kennedy,' Lori Hall Burghardt,
English, Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Vietnam and the Issues o f Violence and Atrocity.
Chair: Cornelius A. Cronin, English, Louisiana
State Univ. at Baton Rouge. ‘ Counting Small
Boned Bodies and Other Pastimes: An
Examination of Five Poems Protesting the
Vietnam W ar,' Delma M. Porter, English,Texas
A&M; 'W ith Children as Targets: The War
Against Am erican Personnel Outside
Vietnam,* Oscar Patterson III, Telecom­
munications, Pembroke State Univ.; 'Philip
Caputo and the Impact of Violence,*
Thomas R. Maddux. History, California State
Univ. at Northridge; 'Th e ir Dreams that Drip
withMurder: TheAtrocityinAmericanWriting
About the Vietnam War," Cornelius A. Cronin.
Vietnam War Literature: Context and Canon.
Chair: Tobey C. Heizog, English, Wabash
College. 'M IA : Vietnam and the Canon,'
Michael Bibby, English, Univ. of Minnesota at
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Studies, Univ. of Missouri; ‘ Introducing The
Lesson o f the Vietnam War: A Modular
Textbook.’ Jerold M. Starr.
Po litic s of Self-D ecep tion:
Lacunae in
Contemporary Vietnam Scholarship. Chair:
Kali Tal, Vietnam Generation. ‘ Of Politics
and Protest: Memories of a Student Activist,
1969-1972,' Jacqueline Lawson, English,Univ.
of Michigan at Dearbome: ‘ Contemporary
Black Scholarship and the Study of the
Vietnam W ar,' Herman Beavers, American
Studies, Vale Univ.; ‘ Minority Drama About
the Vietnam W ar,' Dave DeRose, Director of
Theater Studies, Yale Univ.; ‘ Glaring
Omissions: Personal Politics and the Recent
Scholarship on the Vietnam W ar,' Kali Tal.
Vietnam: The Antiw ar Movement. Chair:
Benjam in! Harrison.History,Univ. of Louisville.
‘The Iconography of Dissent:
Vietnam
Imagery in the Underground Journals of the
1960s,' Mary Lee Muller, History, Univ. of
Wisconsin at Madison; ‘Shattered Faith:
Student Anti-W ar Protesters and the
Disintegrating American Dream,' Jacqueline
R. Smetak, English, Iowa State Univ. at Ames;
‘ Vietnam and the Dan Quayle Syndrome,'
Jerome Loving, English, Texas A&M; ‘The
1960s Peace Movement: Success or Failure?'
Benjamin T. Harrison.
Vietnam in the Classroom :
Issues and
Techniques. Chair: Steve Potts. History.
Hibbing Community College. ‘The Seven
Phases of The Vietnam Experience.’ Terry
Frazier, English, Univ. of N. Carolina;
‘ Maneuvers and Minefields:
Teaching
Vietnam Using Film asText,' D. Melissa Hilbish,
American Studies, Univ. of Maryland at
College Park; ‘ An Oral History of Mainland
Regional High School Class of 1966 and the
Vietnam W ar,' Paul Lyons, Behavioral and
Social Sciences, Stockton State College;
‘ Are We Ugly Americans? Teaching Cultural
Understanding of the Vietnam W ar,' Steve
Potts.
Otherness in Representations of Vietnam,'
Eric Meyer, English, Univ. of Wisconsin at
Madison; ‘The Gordian Knot: Rhetoric and
Values in Paco's Story and In Country.’
Andrea Sanders, English. Univ. of Chicago;
‘ Re/Reading Bom on the Fourth of J u ly ' N.
Bradley Christie.
The Vietnam War and Modem Memory. Chair:
Philip K. Jason, English, USNA. ‘ Vietnam
Novelists and Other Wars: I've Seen this
Movie Before,' Nancy Anisfield. English,
Champlain College; ‘ Memory, Desire, and
Vietnam,'David Ullrich, English, BirminghamSouthern College; ‘The Noise is Always in My
Head: Auditory Images in Vietnam War
Literature,' Philip K. Jason.
Narrative Technique in Vietnam War Fiction.
Chair: Renate W. Prescott, American Culture,
Bowling Green State Univ.
‘ Vietnam
Discourse in Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country."
Aileen Chris Shafer, English, West Virginia
Univ; ’ In Country and In the Country of the
Mind,' Lonnie L. Willis, English, Boise State
Univ.; ‘ Almosting It: Cacciato and the
Problem of Teleology,' Grant F. Scott, English,
UCLA; ‘The Collective Narrative Voice in
Paco's Story. The Dead Speak,' Renate W.
Prescott.
The Vietnam War Film. Chair: Bennet Schaber,
English, Syracuse Univ. ‘ Who Are These
People? Vietnamese in American Films,'
Martin Novelli, Asst. Provost for Academic
Affairs, Rutgers; ‘ A Brief Examination of the
Vietnam War Film as a Distinctive Film Genre:
Or Old Myths Adapted, a New Myth
Created,' Robert T. Baird.English,Oklahoma
State Univ; ‘ The Horror, the Horror:
Apocalypse Now as Horror Film ,' James N.
Votes, English, Oklahoma State Univ.;
‘ Rambo, Revisionism, and Reality,' George
E. Hopkins, History, Western Illinois Univ.;
‘ Vietnam, The Movie from War to Voice
Over,' Bennet Schaber,
Teaching the Vietnam War. Chair: Jerold M.
Starr, Center for Social Studies Education,
115MayfairDr.,Pittsburgh,PA. ‘ Pedagogical
Implications of Teaching Literature of the
Vietnam W a r,' Fred A. Wilcox, Box 576,
Trumansburg. NY; ‘The International Studies
Approach to Teaching the Vietnam War:
The Need for Balance,' Dennis Lubeck,
D ire c to r, In te rn a tio n a l Ed uca tiona l
Consortium, 6800 Wydown, St. Louis, MO;
’Teaching Teachers About the Vietnam
W ar.' Joel Glassman, Centerfor International
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To attend the conference you must be a
member of either the PCA or ACA ($25)
and pay a fee of $50 for regular members,
or $ 15. for students, retired, or unemployed
persons. Registration at the conference
will be an extra $5.00. For more information
write Popular Culture Conference, Popular
Culture Building, Bowling Green State Univ.,
Bowling Green, OH 43403.
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R eso u rc es
Veterans—Vietnam Restoration Project, 716 Locust St.. PO
Box 69. G arbervllle. CA 95440 (707) 923-3357 or 923-3881.
Announcing the formation of the Veterans—Vietnam
Restoration Project, a non-profit organization emanating
from the Garbervllle area of Northern California. The
purpose of this new Veterans group Is to return to the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam and construct a sm all rural
health clinic there. We w ill be sending a team of 12
Vietnam veterans who are carpenters and have other
building skills. We wish to return to Vietnam , not as tourists,
but as builders as a way of actively waging peace. The
purposes of this project are many and Interrelated. The
function o f building the health clinic Is to personally repair
the damage that we have Inflicted on the population.
Our secondary function Is to complete a study on PostTraumatic Stress Disorder. Many Vietnam Era veterans are
afflicted with psychological and sociological problems
associated with their service in the combat areas during
the war. We expect that the act of returning to the war
zone w ill be a healing experience for us. There w ill be a
Vietnam veteran psychologist traveling and training with
us to complete a study on PTSD and Its effects on our
twelve team members. We w ill also do a book and a
vtdeoprogram forPublicTelevIsion. Our teams w ill undergo
our own psychological screening process w ith a firm
commitment to the principals of non-violence as
articulated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. The
Veterans—Vietnam Restoration Project envisions a
continuous stream of Veterans returning to Vietnam to
complete many projects.
The Christopher Reynolds Foundation ,121 East 61 st Street,
New York, NV 10021. Jack Clareman, Executive Director:
(212) 838-2920. The Christopher Reynolds Foundation will
make grants only to those projects that fall within the
scope of the Foundation's Interests at the time application
Is made for a grant. At present, the focus of the
Foundation's Interest Is Southeast Asia, with p a rtid ia r
em phasis on hum anitarian aid and reconciliation with
respect to Vietnam . Cambodia and Loos. The Foundation
w ill not make grants to building funds, medical research,
educational or religious Institutions (except In relation to
research on subjects that fall w ithin the scope of the
Foundatton'scurrent Interests), nor w ill It provide for general
operating or overhead expenses (except for newly
organized entitles whose objectives fall w ithin the area of
the Foundation's current Interests). The foundation does
not use a formal grant application form. Proposals should
set forth specific objectives, detailed estimated budgets,
qualifications of the organizations and Individuals Involved
and proof of tax-exem pt status under the appropriate
provisions of the US Internal Revenue Code. Six copies of
the application are required.
ORQANiZATIONS
The Gl Movement Oral History Project. 548 Riverside Drive,
Apt. 2C. New York. NY 10027. Skip Delano (212) 749-0169.
Interested In 'rec ruiting and e n listin g ' others Into working
on the project — Vietnam vets in particular, but Just as
Im portant, some of the high school and college students
and teachers who have already done history with vets or
would like to do It in the future. The Project does Interviews,
focusing on the organized end of political activity In ihe Gl
movement (the Gl papers and organizations and civilian
support groups) and the movement among Black, Latin
and o th e r'm in o rity'v e ts. For those w illing to work with the
Project, we w ill provide some historical background on
the Gl movement and some guidelines for conducting
interviews.
Vietnam Veterans Against the War (An 11-Imperialist), New
York-New Jersey Chapter, Box A67, W est 20th Street, NY
10011. (212)749-0169. In 1986. a group of Vietnam vets
established a new antt-Im perlalist organization to work In
the New York City area. We called ourselves Vietnam
Veterans United to Prevent W orld War 3. For the past two
years we have been active In the antiwar movement,
exposing and opposing American aggression at all possible
opportunities. We have especially tried to work with
young people. In September of 1988 we decided to
merge our group w ith the Vietnam Veterans Against the
W ar (Anti-Im perialist). There w ill be two groups active In
the New York C ity area, both calling them selves W A W .
To help clarify the political differences between the two
W A W s, we are distributing a collection of leaflets and
articles from the two organizations. The collection was first
produced last year by ih e Seattle chapter of W A W (Al)
after the national leadership of W A W , Inc. (Chicago)
attacked and red-baited W A W (Al) in their publications
and In the vets movement. Around the same time, our
own newly formed organization. Vietnam Veterans United
to Prevent WW 3, came under attack from the coordinators
of the New York-New Jersey chapter of W A W , Inc. They
wrote a letter and sent It to all antiwar organizations In the
region. They warned that we were a 'b o g u s' group and
suggested that antiw ar groups not work w ith us or support
our activities. We feel It Is time to help sort out the political
differences between the two organizations. W A W (Al) is
United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War, 633 Elm . Rm.
119. Norman OK 73009. or 309 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
W ashington, DC 2003 (202) 543-1505. The University
Ok la ho ma chapter of UCAM has established a networking
program through which they work to make contact with
peace and Justice organizations around the world for the
purpose of exchanging Inform ation about their activities.
Since December of 1987, they have become affiliated
with over a hundred groups at the regional. national, and
International levels. The resources they are given by these
organizations are available to the entire university
community. In this way, they are able to provide a great
deal of Inform ation about the arm s race and related
peace Issues. UCAM Is the only organization working to
build an effective campus-based movement to stop the
nuclear arm s race. UCAM chapters are at work on more
than 300 campuses In the US and Canada.
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open to all veterans who seek to contribute to the antllmpertallst vets’ movement. We know that there are
differences between organizations and we welcome any
discussion and struggle on those differences.
the Americans. Lady, who speaks Vietnam ese, was and
remains the only American w riter whom the Vietnamese
have allowed to live In a village with a family.
Philip Brown. H istory Departm ent, UNC Charlotte.
Charlotte, NC 28223 (704) 547-4646; 2504 Camden Rod..
Greensboro. NC 27403 (419) 273-2192 (home). East Aslan
historian teaching Vietnam from an Asian, rather than
American, perspective.
Interested In comparative
perspectives on traditional rural communities, refugees.
Ameraslans. and resettlem ent.
S c Ho Lars ini j Ue FiEld
John Andrew, Department of History. Franklin and M arshal
College. Lancaster. PA 17604. Currently teaching a
course on the Vietnam W ar, and has taught courses on
the 1960s and on the US since 1945. Request for help: Very
much Interested in syllab i, etc. from people currently
teaching courses on the war In Vietnam and post-1945
American history.
Frank Burdick. 27 Van Hoesen St., Cortland, NY 13045.
Interested In how US m ilitary has evaluated the Vietnam
experience. Engaged In a project on combat refusals
during Unebocker 2 operations In December 1972.
Professor of History at SUNY Cortland.
John S. Baky, Bibliographer, Connelly Ubrary. Special
Collections. LaSalle Unlv.. Philadelphia. PA 19141. (215)
951-1290. Curator of a collection entitled 'Im aginative
Representations of the Vietnam W ar." The collection
focuses on prose Action, novels, short stories, poetry,
graphic a rt. palnAng .sound .video. Aim .and photography.
This is the largest collection of its kind in the w orld. It is open
by appointment at all tim es free of charge. Presently
there are 2500 Items In the collection.
Larry Cobb, History Department. Oklahoma City Unlv..
OKC. Oklahoma 73106 (405) 521 -5247). Teaching Vietnam
War, Vietnam Novel and Film . American Popular Culture
(Western Alms, rock and ro ll. TV sports). Served In Vietnam
1969-1970, Captain, Signal Corps: Nha Trang, Phu Lam.
BA, Duke Unlv. 1966; Ph.D. Emory Unlv. 1978.
Barbara Cohen, M.D., 1860 El Camlno. Burlingame, CA
94010. W riting a travel guide to Vietnam to be published
In Spring of 1988. Request for help: Interested in travellers'
experiences In Vietnam for next revision (especially
veterans).
Milton J. Bates. English Department, Marquette Unlv..
Milwaukee. W1 53233. Vietnam veteran.currenttystudytng
the social and c J tix a l contexts of Vietnam war literature
and Aim.
Uoyd Beecher, History Department, Cal Poty Tech State
Unlv.. San Luis Obispo. CA 93401. Historian. US foreign
relations; teaches a course called 'Th e Vietnam War at
Home and In Southeast Asia *; on the Board of Directors of
'Healing the W o und s', a touring, m ulti-media exhibit of
California Vietnam era veterans art work.
David Cortright, Co-Director. SANE/FREEZE, 711 G. St., SE,
Washington. DC 20003. Former active duty soldier and
activist in the Gl movement. Author of Soldiers In Revolt.
Expert on the Gl movement and the m ilitary history of the
war. Interested in developing the theme that the US
m ilitary collapsed from w ithin, and that the US m ilitary
defeat was due to the effectiveness of the Vietnamese
political and m ilitary resistance, and Internal opposition
here at home.
Bohmer, Peter. The Evergreen State College. SEM 3154.
Olympia. WA 98505. Interested In an analysis of political
economy o f Vietnam today; more generally, economics
of Vietnam , Mozambique and Angola. Nicaragua —
development In revolutionary societies where war
continues. Also Interested In analyses of anti-Vietnam war
movement.
Richard Currey, c/o Lynn Nesblt. International Creative
Management. 40 W est 47th St.. New York. NY 10019 (212)
566-5600. Novelist, short story w riter, author of Crossing
Over: A Vietnam Journal (Pdltzer nominee, now out of
print); Fdfo/Ughf(EPDutton/Seym ouLaw rence),aw ldety
praised prize-wining 'com ing hom e' novel published April
1988 In US, October 1988 In UK, forthcom ing In several
languages. Author Is available for readings, lectures,
workshops.
Borton, Lady. 12800 Stella Road, MIIIAeld. OH 45761.
Author of Sensing the Enemy: An Am erican Woman
Among the Boat People o f Vietnam (Doubleday. 1984;
available from the author S I 5). Sensing the Enem y was
the Inspiration for Laura Jackson's A fter O ur War: How W ill
Love Speak?, a half-hour public television documentary
about six American w riters whose work has centered on
Vietnam . Lady Is also producer of A fte r Sorrow, a halfhour radio docum entary from Vietnam. Two of her essays
have been anthologized In Women on War (Simon &
Schuster, 1988). Lady Is currently working on Pilla rs o f
Peace, a photo-essay book about a village In northern
Vietnam w ith Bob Nlckelsberg. Time photographer for
South Asia. Her other work-in-progress Is A fter Sorrow, a
book about ordinary southern villagers who fought agalnst
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John Del Vecchlo. 74 Taunton Lake Rd., Newtown, CT
06470. Author of The Thirteenth Valley, which has been
printed In 4 languages. To be published In 1989: Fo r the
Sake o fA ll Living Things. Has spoken at over Afty universities
and colleges in the US and UK.
Elder, David, c/o American Friends Service Committee,
1501 Cherry St.. Philadelphia. PA 19144. Helps carry out
development projects in Vietnam fo r the AFSC.
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Jeffrey P. Kimball. History Department, Miami Unlv.. Oxford
OH 45056. Teaches courses called 'Th e US—Vietnam
W a r;' *US Foreign Po lic y;' 'A m erican Way of W a r;' and,
'A lterna tive s to W ar." Has written a book on Vietnam
called To Reason Why: The Debate about the Causes of
US Involvem ent In the Vietnam War (New York: Knopf)
forthcom ing, August 1989.
Thom a* J. Ferguson, 4191 Halupa St.. Honolulu, HI 96818
(808) 423-1478. A Vietnam veteran (1966-1967 with the
25th Inf Dlv) he Is conducting research for a comparative
analysis of popviar literature of the Vietnam War and
earlier American wars.
Recently completed Ph.D.
dissertation. 'Am erican Perceptions of the Vietnam War
In Popular Literature: An Interpretation by a Professional
So ld ie r' (Unlv. of Hawaii). The dissertation Is not available
through UMI. Major Interest In popular literature, fiction
and personal narratives. Has a personal library of about
300novels (out of a bibliographic listing of 500 plus) and 50
personal narratives.
Michael Klein, English. Media & American Studies. Unlv. of
Ulster at Jordanstown, Shore Road. Newtonabbey, Co.
Antrim , BT 370WB. Northern Ireland. UK. Areas of interest:
Vletnam -era antiwar protest; film ; education; literature.
Book: The US and Vietnam: Popular Culture and Society
(London: Pluto). Articles In Dumbrell and W alsh, Vietnam
andthe Anti-W ar Movement!,London: Gower) and Riches,
The Turbulent Decade. Coordinating Committee, Rutgers
Unlv. Vietnam Era Curriculum Project and the Unlv. of
Swansea Vietnam Era Conference. Also. In 1965. a founder
of the Berkeley Vietnam Day Committee and film
production team (direction, script, editing) of Vietnam
Day Berkeley 1965. Three Vietnam Era Poets; Vietnam Vets
Speak Out.
Richard Fllnn. Chair. English Department. Naval Academy
Prep School. NETC Newport, Rl 02841.
Samuel Freeman. Political Science Dept., Pan American
Unlv..Edinburg.TX 78539. Presently making a comparative
analysis of US foreign policy In Vietnam /Southeast Asia
and Central Am erica, w ith specific focus on El Salvador
and Nicaragua.
Ann® Klejment. History Department. Box 4188. College of
St. Thom as. St. Paul. MN 55105. Working on the antiwar
thought and activities of Daniel and Philip Berrlgan. Also
studying the sp irituality o f pacifism in the Catholic Worker
movement.
Jerry Gold, PO Box 95676. Seattle. WA 98145. Served In
Special Forces 1963-1966. in Vietnam 1965-1966.
Education: BA. MA Unlv. of Montana; Ph.D. Unlv. of
Washington. Educated In history and anthropology,
currently employed by US Census In Seattle. Publisher of
Black Heron Press, a sm all literary press. Author of The
Negligence o f Death. O f Great Spaces, and several
stories published In sm all magazines. Ongoing interests:
poverty, social dislocation, war and Its effects, literature.
David Kuobrich, American Studies Program. George
Mason Unlv., Fairfax. VA 22030. Research project:
Response of American churches to the Vietnam War.
Judy Kugobrass, Field and International Study, College of
Human Ecology,Cornell Unlv.,Ithaca.N Y 14853. Involved
In research and support for Southeast Aslan refugee
communities. Visited Vietnam and Kampuchea with the
US-Indochlna Reconciliation Project in August, 1988.
Ronald J. Grele. Box 20. Butler Ubrary. Columbia Unlv..
New York. NY 10027. Director of the Oral History Research
Office.
Bryan K. Grigsby. 28 Jade Lane. Cherry H ill. NJ 08002. US
Army Photographer 1967-1970 (Dept, of Army Special
Photo Office, DASPO). Currently Photo/Assignments Editor
of Philadelphia Inquirer. South New Jersey edition. BS in
Broadcasting from Unlv. of Florida (1971). Has continued
to photograph Vietnam -related events over the past
twenty years for a personal project.
Andrew F. Lewandowskl, Berks County Vietnam Memorial
C om m ission,Inc..PO Box4222.M t.Penn.PA 19606. Trying
to locate anyone who served with Kilo, 34d Br., 4th Marine
Reg., 3rd Mar. Dlv. In 1968 (April through September) and
who served w ith Alpha Co. or 1st Co.. 3rd Combined
Action Group (especially CAP—3-1.6).
Hanh Thl Pham, 1285 W. Cheshire St.. Rialto. CA 92376. A
Saigon bom a rtist, working now on East and West
totalitarianism and the exile experience of cultural
adaptattonand resistance. Artm edia: photography and
painted Installation; video of performed poems.
Larry G. Marred and David Fumlss. English Department.
Unlv. of W isconsin—River Falls. River Falls. W l 54022.
Edward T. Unenthal. Dept, of Religious Studies, Unlv. of
W isconsin at O shkosh. Oshkosh, W l 54901. Teaches a
course on 'Re lig io n and the Impact o f Vietnam .* Author
of Changing Images o f the W arrior Hero In America
(1982); Sym bolic Defense: The Cultural Significance o f the
Strategic Defense Initiative (Illino is. 1989), and currently at
work on Reservoirs o f Spiritual Power: The Cultural Functions
o f Am erican Battlefields.
Mark Heberie, Dept, of English, Unlv. of Hawaii at Manoa,
Honolulu. HI 96821. Currently working on the Vietnam
'D a rkn e ss' trilogy of Takeshi Kalko. Request for Help:
W o iid appreciate Inform ation about Kalko or his work, as
well as other Japanese representations of the war.
James C. Utz, 1724 Como-Park Blvd.. Depew, NY 14043
(716) 681-6776. Served In Vietnam In the First Air Cavalry
Infantry unit in 1968. Began a painting career In 1981 .and
Is today ranked with the best contem porary PrimitiveNaive artists.
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Dennis Rockstroh, 3573 Tankeriand Court, San Jose, CA
95121. Journalist for the San Jose-M ercuy News. Teaches
English. Journalism, and the history of the American war In
Vietnam. He served in the US Army In Vietnam from 19641965, was a teacher and Journalist in Vietnam from 1967 to
1971, and returned to Vietnam In 1987 and 1988.
Pilar Marin, Avda. de la Borbolla 73, Seville, Spain 41013. Is
Interested collecting descriptions of works-lrvprogress and
notices of upcoming events and conferences.
Leah Melnlck, Box 766 Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
01002, (413) 549-0676. Has been photographing, writing
about and collecting oral histories of Khmer refugees In
Bronx, New York and Am herst, Massachusetts, In an
attempt to photographically compare resettlement
experiences In two diverse community environments.
Combines photography with volunteer social service work
in order to dlrectty address the humanitarian concerns
that Initiated the documentary. Through photographs,
she hopes to create a historical and education record of
the experiences of a com munity of holocaust survivors
from the Pol Pot regime In Cambodia and the process of
rebuilding their Hves In the United States. To work for peace
and Increase public awareness and concern for the
prevention of war. It Is Im portant to understand and
become sensitive to the people living In our own
neighborhoods and com m unities who have been
damaged by war. These photos powerfully communicate
this experience while bringing the Issue closer to home by
examining how Khmers are rebuilding and healing
sp iritua lly, c ultura lly. and personally In the US. Her work has
been published in Ufe, Dissent. New York D aily News. New
York Nichlbel. USA Today and The Permanent Press. The
project has received several awards and has been
exhibited In New York and Massachusetts.
Chaim Shatan, M.D., 415 Central Park W ., New York City
10025 (212) 865-9482. or Box 1752, Lenox. MA 01240 (413)
298-3038. Has worked with World War 2 veterans, and
with Vietnam combat veterans as a Rap Group organizer,
therapist and w riter. Formed Vietnam Vets Working Group
to prepare form ulations on what was later called Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder for DSM 3. Particular Interests
are: the Impact of man-made cruelty (stress) on human
beings, the dim orphic em otional development promoted
In men and women In m ost of W estern civilization, the
nature of manhood; and the psychology of combat — as
exemplified In war, literature, and clinical work. Sample
bibliography available, Include 'Bo g us Manhood, Bogus
Honor: Surrender & Transfiguration In the US Marine Corps.*
'Through the Membrane of Reality: 'Impacted G rief' and
Perceptual Dissonance in the Vietnam Combat Veteran,"
'M ilita rize d Mourning & Ceremonial Vengeance," 'Th e
John Wayne Image & the Language of Grief: Happiness
Is a Warm G un," 'U vln g in a Split Tim e Zone: Trauma 8t
Therapy of Vietnam Combat Survivors." 'Have You
Hugged a Vietnam Veteran Today? The Basic Wound of
Catastrophic Stre ss".
Richard Sobel, Department of Political Science, Univ. of
Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268. Working on the Impact of
public opinion and protest on US policy during the Vietnam
War.
Michael Milne, National Commander, Veterans of the
Vietnam W ar, Inc,, 2090 Bald Mt. Rd., W ilkes-BarTe. PA
18702-9609. W N W Is a national veterans organization
which works on Issues such as Agent Orange. POW-MIAs,
Job counseling, and PTSD. There are approxim ately 125
posts.
Jerold StarT. 115 M ayfair Dr.. Pittsburgh. PA 15228, (412)
341-1967. Director of the Center for Social Studies
Education. Organizing a nation-wide campaign to
promote teaching of the Vietnam War In secondary
schools and colleges. This includes Its 1988 publication.
The Lessons o f the Vietnam War: A Modular Textbook, and
Its program . Teaching the Vietnam War: A TeacherVeteran Partnership. In collaboration w ith Vietnam
V etera ns o f A m erica and Educators fo r Socia l
Responsibility.
Joan Morrison, 64 Spring Brook Rd., Morristown, NJ 07960.
Co-Author of From Cam elotto Kent State: An O ral History
o f the 796Qs(TlmesBooks. 1987). Teaches a course on the
1960s at The New School for Social Research In New York
City. She and her co-author, Robert K. M orrison, have
lectured on the subject and given readings from the book
at a number o f colleges and universities.
Novelll, Martin, Faculty fo r Hum anities, Unlv. of the A rts,
Broad and Pine Sts., Philadelphia, PA 19102. Teaches an
Interdisciplinary course titled 'Im a g e s o f Vietnam *. Has
participated in a Vietnam curriculum development project
at Rutgers Unlv., and has written a chapter on Vietnam
war film s for US and Vietnam: Popular Culture and Media.
which w ill be published In London In 1989.
Matthew C. Stewart, Hum anities, College o f Basic Studies.
Boston Untv., Boston, MA 02215. Dissertation on novels
and prose works, esp. Dispatches. In Country. M editations
In Green. Short-Tim ers. Cacclato.
Exam ines the
particularities of different styles and aesthetics as efforts to
make sense of Vietnam. Title : Making Sense o f Chaos:
Prose Writing. Fictional Kind and the Reality o f Vietnam.
Currently at work on the language of brutalization and
dehumanization. Enjoy Interdisciplinary approaches.
Oscar Patterson III, 3459 Brushy Hill Road, Fayetteville, NC
28306. Interested In all aspects of the Vietnam War. Ph.D.
dissertation dealt with media coverage of war. Recent
research Into drug problems among dependents of US
personnel In Thailand. Serves as editor of the Amerlcal
Division Veterans Association Newsletter.
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Amy Swerdlow, W om en's Studies, Sarah Lawrence
College. Bronxvllle. NY 10708. Teaching a course on the
US In the 1960s. W riting a book on Women Strike for Peace
called The Political Motherhood: Female Culture and
Radical Politics.
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Barbara Timmons. UMI Research Press. 300 N. Zeeb Rd.,
Ann Arbor. Ml 48106. (800) 345-9084 or (313) 973-9821 x.
758. Editing a new series called Challenging the Literary
Canon for UMI Press.
American Audio Pros® Library, PO Box 842. Columbia, MO
65205.
Has recorded interviews and readings by various
contemporary American literary figures. Including
a number of authors of Vietnam literature. These
cassettes are Inexpensive, and Invaluable
resources. Their catalogue Includes Interviews
with, and readings by. Philip Caputo, Larry
Heinemann. Huynh Quang Nhuong, Robert Stone,
Diane Johnson, Bobbie Arm Mason, Carolyn
Forch6, Gloria Emerson, and Ward Just. (VG)
Aspen Institute, Wye Center. PO Box 222. Queenstown.
MD 21658.
Indochina Policy Forum, Recommendations for the
New Adm inistration on United States Policy Toward
Indochina. 1988 .
Atlantic Monthly Press, 19 Unton Square W est, New York,
NY 10003.
Adam s. Jam es. Secret Arm ies: Inside the American.
Soviet, and European Special Forces. 1987
($19.95),ISBN 0-87113-223-0. Ada m s. the Defense
Correspondent for The Sunday Times of London,
offers an Inside took at such secret m ilitary
organizations as the ISA and the Delta Force in
the US; the Spetsnaz forces of the USSR; and the
SAS in Great Britain, and shows how these 'se c re t
arm ies" have been Involved in nearly every case
of sustained armed conflict around the globe
since World War 2. Adams portrays US Special
Forces as lagging far behind those of other
countries. He gives a detailed evaluation of
Grenada, showing that this action was a
complete disaster. In which every one of the tasks
given to the US Special Forces to perform either
failed with heavy toss of life or succeeded by
accident.
W elgl, Bruce. Song o f Napalm. 1988 ($13.95). ISBN 0871134-241-9. The Nation has called W e igl's
poems 'som e of the finest In our language." In
this collection W eigl gives us an Indelible record
of Vietnam , of the aching beauty of the jungle
Juxtaposed with the repulsiveness of war. of
soc ie ty's collective battle scars that can never
heal. The poems collected here represent an
unfolding of consciousness about the Vietnam
War.
W e ig l's poems are an extraordinary
testam ent to ordinary people experiencing hell
on earth. (His title poem, 'So ng of Napalm ." Is
one of the strongest and most moving literary
works about the war. (VG))
Avon Books. 105 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Barron, John, Breaking the Ring: The Rise and Fan o f
the W alker Fam ily Spy Network. 1987 ($3.95), ISBN
0-380-70520-6.
Hadley. A rthur T.. The Straw Giant: A m erica's Arm ed
Forces: Triumphs and Failures. 1987 ($ 10.95), ISBN
0-380-70391-2.
Ballinger Press, a division of Harper and Row, 54 Church
St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge, MA 02138-3730.
Riche Ison. Jeffrey 1.. The US Intelligence Community.
Dr. John E. Trlmpey, Hum anities and American Studies.
Carriage House B, Untv. of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN
37403.
Travelled to Vietnam over Christmas.
Has
established working relationships with some Vietnamese
scholars — exchanging books, reports, journals, etc. Is
happy to share with anyone, and recommend contact to
verify what came of the trip. H e 's Interested In anything
official from any governm ent concerning the US-Vietnam
relationship, during the war era and now.
David A. Willson, Green River Community College. 12401
SE 320th St.. Auburn. WA 98002 (206) 833-9111 x.408.
Vietnam veteran, author of REM F Diary: A Novel o f the
Vietnam W ar Zone. Currently teaching a course, “The
Vietnam War and the M edia.' As reference librarian, he
Is building a collection called The Joe Hooper Vietnam
War Uterature Collection. He Is organizer of the annual
Vietnam War W riters Symposium at GRCC. Work In
progress: 'N a m Porno." a paper to be presented at the
PCA conference In St. Louis, MO, April 5-8.1989. Request
for help: Any Inform ation on pornography using the
Vietnam W ar as context or backdrop.
Wlmmer. Adi, English & American Studies, University of
Klagenfurt.Klagenfurt.Austrla A-9022. Currently engaged
in research on the effectsof the Vietnam War on American
literature and culture. He also teaches courses on Vietnam
War poetry and Vietnam W ar film s at the University of
(Oagenfurt.
Books ANd Audio M a t e r Ia I s
C u r r e n t l y In P
r Int
This special section will be featured at least
once a year. Because it is so difficult for everyone to
keep up to date on the large amount of material
currently available in the field, we have compiled a
list of publishers and distributors of relevant works,
and given mailing addresses, ordering information
and prices whenever we have them. Not all of these
works deal directly with the Vietnam generation.
Some of them, like the works on the Holocaust, are
useful for those interested In comparative studies.
Capsule reviews are included under the entries for
some of these works. All those not labelled *(VG)'
are provided by the promoters of these products. If
you have information which belongs in this column,
please send it along to us. We will return to our
regular book reviews in the next issue. (Film will be
reviewed in a seperate filmography - forthcoming.)
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9
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1985 ($16.95). ISBN 0-88730-025-1. and Foreign
Intelligence Organizations. 1988 ($16.95), ISBN 088730-122-3.
Basic Books, 105 E 53rd St.. New York. NY 10022
Me Q uad. Kim, The Anxious Years: America In the
Vletnam-Watergate Era. 1989 ($19.95), ISBN 0465-00389-3.
A history that confronts the
Institutio na l fa ilure s, p olitical evasions and
constitutional crises of the 1960s and 1970s, and
shows that Tet, Chicago, and Watergate are the
landmarks of a single m ilitary and political disaster.
Vietnam was the hinge on which everything else
sw ung.according to McQuald. McQuaid points
out that N ixo nlte s concocted W atergate
specifically to punish both real and Imagined
enem ies In and outside of the Democratic Party,
In and outside of the antiwar movement, whom
Nixon blamed for the debacle of Vietnam as well
as for his own periodic hum iliations in American
politics.
Black Heron Press, PO Box 95676, Seattle, WA 98145.
Gold. Jerom e. The Negligence o f Death. 1984 ($7.95).
ISBN 0-930773-00-4.
W illson. David. REMF Diary. 1988 ($8.95), ISBN 0-93077306-3.
Bowling Green State Unlv. Popular Press, Bowling Green,
OH 43403.
Anlsfield. Nancy (ed.), Vietnam Anthology: American
War Literature. 1987 ($11.95), ISBN 0-87972-396-3.
Geared to classes dealing w ith the Vietnam War
or Vietnam W ar literature In a short unit. (VG)
Searle. W illiam J.. (ed.). Search and Clear: C ritical
Responses to Selected Literature and Film s o f the
Vietnam War. 1988, ISBN 0-87972-429-3. Critical
anthology containing essays by a group of writers
who w ill be fam iliar to those In the Popular Culture
circuit. (VG)
Cambridgeport Press, 14 Chalk S t., Cambridge, MA 02139.
W hlttem ore, Thom as, The Vietnam War: A Text for
Students. 1988 ($10.75), ISBN 0-944348-00-9. This
text is a sim plistic and reductive summary of the
war geared toward the Junior high level A major
problem Is Its complete lack of bibliographic
notations, and Its tendency to narrate, rather
than to explore, the historic events of the era.
Political tendencies a n from the lukewarm liberal
to the downright conservative, and It carefully
caters to the current social and political climate:
'(D )rug s became a major sym bol of the youth
revolt. Marijuana and LSD were the most popular
drugs, and their use spread from the more
wocked-out (sic) rebels Into middle class America.
Uttle about the harmful effects of these drugs was
then recognized, w ith many young people
believing that their parents' main drug, alcohol,
was far more dangerous. Besides, not everyone
claimed to care. The Who summed up the mood
of many young people wtth their lyric s. “Hope I die
before I get o ld " (p.85). (VG)
Cornell Unlv. Press. 124 Roberts PI., Ithaca. NY 14850.
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Evangelista, Matthew. Innovation and the Arms Race:
How the United States and the Soviet Union
Develop New M ilitary Technologies. 1988, ISBN 08014-1958-1. Evangelista contends that the US
usua lly leads In Introducing new m ilita ry
technology, while the Soviets must typically react
to American Initiatives. He develops a framework
employing the theoretical Insights of political
economy. economics,and organizational theory.
He concludes that the processes of weapons
Innovation In the two nations differ fundamentally:
In the US Impetus for Innovation comes 'fro m the
bottom ," at the Initiative of corporate or
governm ent researchers and m ilitary officials,
whereas the centralized Soviet system processes
Innovations "from the top* In response to foreign
developments. Evangelista presents a detailed
study of the pivotal American and Soviet decisions
to develop tactical nuclear weaponsand deploy
them In Europe In the 1950s.
Huyen Kim Khdn. Vietnamese Communism. 19251945.1982, ISBN 0-8014-9397-8. The author traces
the Vietnamese Communist movement from its
Inception In 1925 to Its victory In 1945.
Rotter, Andrew, The Path to Vietnam: Origins o f the
Am erican Commitment to Southeast Asia. 1987,
ISBN 0-8014-1958-1. Rotter places the US decision
to assist Vietnam in the context of American
foreign policy, looking In particular at the
dilemm as facing US policym akers In 1949. He
asserts that the policym akers, concerned about
the victory of the Communists in China, the
persistent economic difficulties of Japan and
Great Britain, and the fragmentation of Western
Europe, soug ht to re vive Southeast Asia
econom ically and to Inoculate It against
Communist expansion as part of a broader
American effort to reconstruct the global political
economy following W orld W ar 2. By the time the
Korean War broke out in June 1950, Rotter
concludes, the US had In place sophisticated
policy designed not only to support and defend
colonialism in Southeast Asia but also to ensure
the recovery of the developed. non-Communlst
world.
CQ Pres*, 1414 22nd St. NW. W ashington. DC 200376.
Lomperts.Timothy. The War Everyone Lost—And Won,
1984, ISBN 0-87187-409-1. Lomperts exam ines the
struggle for political power In Vietnam as a conflict
fought on two distinct levels for two separate
audiences—one Vietnam ese and the other
global. In Vietnam , It was a 45-year contest for
p o litic a l le g itim a c y betw een Vietnam ese
Nationalists and Communists. Internationally. It
was a duel between A m erica's foreign policy of
containm ent and the Communist strategy of
Maoist people's war.
Delacorte Press, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. New York,
NY 10017.
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Allen, Thom as B., & Norman Polmar. Merchants of
Treason: A m erica's Secrets for Sale from the
Pueblo to the Present. 1988 ($19.95). ISBN 0-38529591-X.
An adamantly Cold War volume
dedicated to proving that ‘ our na tion's most
secret m aterials are being sold at an espionage
bazaar where the Soviets are the most frequent
and generous buyers". Tom C lancy'senthusiastic
endorsement of the book (* ...should be required
reodlng for every security officer In the United
Sta te s') signals quite clearly the authors' pro-CIA
stance. (VG)
Mahoney. Tim . W e're Not There. 1988 ($7.95). ISBN 0440-55004-1. A second novel by the author of
Ha llora n's W orld War. The press release states
that this novel *Is the story of what happens when
generals push pins on a map as though It were a
game."
Dell Books, 1 Dag Hammarskjold PI., New York. NY 10017
Nolan, Keith W illiam . Into Laos: The Story o f Dewey
Canyon 2/Lam Son 719. Vietnam 1971. 1986
($4.95). ISBN 0-440-20044-X.
O 'Brien, Tim . If I Die In a Combat Zone. 1973 ($4.50),
ISBN 0-440-34311-9. The classic autobiography
has been reissued. 1 understand that Dell will
publish a second revised version of O 'Brie n 's
Going A fter Cacciato later this year. (VG)
Donald I Fine, Inc., 128 East 36th St.. New York. NY 10016.
Bradlee. Ben Jr., Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fa ll o f
O liver North. 1988 ($21.95). ISBN 1-55611-053-7.
According to the press release. Bradlee focuses
on ‘ O liver North and his direct and Indirect
Involvem ent In US foreign policy and operations
and the acts that led to his dism issal from the
W hite House...and. ultim a te ly, the recent
Indictm ents against him handed down by the
grand ju ry." Because of the depressing turn of
events In the Iran-Contra prosecutions, readers
might be too dispirited to plow their way through
the 550+ pages of this well-researched pop culture
cash-ln. (VG)
Mltgang. Herbert. Dangerous Dossiers: Exposing the
Secret War Against A m erica's Greatest Authors,
1988 ($ 18.95). ISBN 1-55611 -077-4. A very fine and
unusual book which explores the pattern of FBI
surveillance of American w riters. Mltgang does a
good job of pointing out the ridiculousness of
most of the ‘ Intelligence" gathered on these
w riters, and the unpleasant Im plications of secret
file s maintained by a governm ent agency.
EP Dutton, 2 Park Avenue. New York, NY 10016.
Currey, Richard. Fatal Light. 1988 ($16.95). ISBN 0525-24622-3. First novel by this Vietnam veteran
author. Many people have good things to say
about C urrey's book. Including Tim O 'Brien
GP Putnam's Sons, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.
Em erson, Steve, Secret W arriors: Inside the Covert
M ilitary Operations o f the Reagan Era. 1988
($17.95). ISBN 0-399-13360-7. Based on Steven
Em erson'saccesstourpublished documents and
hundreds of Interviews with Intelligence agents
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and officials from the Pentagon. CIA, NSC, NSA,
White House. Justice [department and State
Departm ent,this Is the story of how the Pentagon,
disgusted at the failure of the 1980 Iran hostage
rescue attem pt, decided It could no longer trust
the capabilities of the CIA and Instead set up a
‘ m iniature C IA ' w ithin Its own walls. (Seymour
Hersh wrote a review praising this book. (VG))
George Bra zllle r, 1 Park Ave.. New York. NY 10016
Carter, Hoddlng. The Reagan Years. 1988 ($17.50).
ISBN 0-8076-1209-X. Grouped them atically and
Introduced by the author, these essays form a
journal of American life over the past 8 years.
They are not lim ited to critiques of the president
and his men.
The long-term effects of
Reaganomics on the poor, the status of blacks
after Jesse Jackson, and the current state of the
media are among the topics he also examines.
G losser. Ronald. 365 Days. 1971 ($7.95), ISBN 0-80760995-1. Reissueofthe classic narrative of a doctor
stationed in Japan, who worked with Americans
wounded in Vietnam .
Greenwood/Praeger, 88 Post Road W est. W estport, CT
06881.
Auster, Albert, & Leonard Quart, How the War was
Remembered: Hollywood and Vietnam. 1988,
ISBN 0-275-92479-3. An Intelligent and acute
analysis of the Vietnam film and the Hollywood
scene. D on't m iss it If this is your area. (VG)
Basford. Christopher, The Spit-Shine Syndrome:
O rganizational Irrationa lity In the American Field
Army. 1988. ISBN 0-313-26215-2. Analysis of Army
organization by a 33-year m ilitary man.
Cecil. Paul Frederick, Herblcldal Warfare: The Ranch
Hand Project In Vietnam. 1986 ($29.95). ISBN 0275-92007-0. This is the history of the herbicidal
op e ra tion—code named Ranch Hand—In
Vietnam .
It describes how the operation
dispensed over 11 m illion gallons of chemicals
over Southeast Asian jungles and croplands.
Based on the author's experiences, hundreds of
Interviews w ith Ranch Hand veterans, and
research o f prim ary sources, this book provides a
view of the men who flew the missions. It also
reviews the scientific reaction to herbicidal
warfare and how the controversy that ensued
eventually caused the cancellation of the
operation. Cecil views chemical herbicides as
viable, useful weapons in conflicts Involving a
guerrilla environm ent, while also citing justifiable
criticism of several elem ents o f the program as It
was practiced In Vietnam .
Dietz, Terry, Republicans and Vetnam . 1961-1966.
1986 ($29.95). ISBN 0-313-24892-3. D ie tz's book
portrays Republicans as ‘the loyal opposition to
the conduct of the Vietnam W ar from 1961 to
1968." Dividing his discussion Into two main areas
of concentration, Dietz first discusses how the
Republican Congressional leadership responded
to American foreign policy vis-a-vis the expansion
11
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of communism, as well as a general review of the
Republican position towards communism since
1945. A central theme is the Republican support
of the philosophical goals of American foreign
policy In Vietnam but rejection of Johnson's
gradual and Incremental m ilitary strategy for
achieving them. Dietz em phasizes that the
Republican leadership labored diligently to
create constructive alternatives to Adm inistration
policy.
G rlnter, Lawrence, & Peter M. D um (eds.). The
Am erican War In Vietnam: Lessons. Legacies,
and Im plications fo rFu tire Conflicts. 1987 ($37.95),
ISBN 0-313-25729-0. According to the promotional
literature: ‘The essays In this collection were
assembled to provide answers to the question of
why the policies and strategies of the US failed In
Vietnam . They examine four major factors that
affected US conduct:
how the war was
perceived, how It was fought, the possible effect
of alternative strategies, and the legacy for future
warfare. The contributors Include both m ilitary
officers and scholars, all but one of whom
participated In the Vietnam War. A ll the authors
reflect the more tempered nature of current
Vietnam W ar scholarship .' Most of the essayists
w ere p re se n t a t the Indochina In stitu te
Conference on Teaching the W ar last February
(W ashington, DC). If you are fam iliar with that
particular crowd, you w ill not waste time looking
for left wing analyses in this particular collection.
(VG)
Lewis, Uoyd B., The Tainted War: Culture and Identity
In Vietnam W ar Narratives. 1985 ($27.95), ISBN 0313-23723-9. Lewis analyzes the processes through
which social reality Is constructed and subjectively
appropriated by Individuals. He attempts to
demonstrate how a war in Southeast Asia became
a young m a n's reality, how Americans found
them selves compelled to scrap the cultural
knowledge they had been taught, how an
Individual went from civilian to combat soldier
and back again and was flung into a cultural
tw ilight zone. To reconstruct their world view,
Lewis dips Into the minds of the young men who
witnessed It first hand. As they tell their stories, he
fo c u se s
on
the
so c lo -p sy c h o lo g lc a l
consequences of their experiences.
MacDonald, J . Fred, Television and the Red Menace:
The Video Road to Vietnam. 1985 ($ 15.95), ISBN 0275-91807-6. Using a broad range of examples
from news broadcasts, public affa irs, and
entertainm ent programming (W esterns and
cartoons among them ), J. Fred MacDonald
concludes that television helped to create a
com placent public that did not question the
governmental policies that led the country Into
Vietnam.
Mayo, Jam es M., W ar Memorials as Political
Landscape, 1988, ISBN 0-275-92812-8. Reviewed
-
In the first Issue of the Newsletter.
Olson, Jam es S. (ed.). Dictionary o f the Vietnam War,
1988 ($65.). ISBN 0-313-24943-1. Includes more
than 900 brief descrlpttve essays on most of the
people—political and m ilitary leaders as well as
antiwar activists, legislation, military operations
and equipm ent, and controversies essential to a
b e tte r u n d e rsta n d in g o f the A m e ric a n
participation In the Vietnam War. References at
the end o f each entry provide access to sources
of additional Inform ation. 5 appendixes are
Included, focusing on a description of the
population of South Vietnam , the m inority groups
of South Vietnam , a glossary of slang expressions
and acronym s, a selected bibliography of the
Vietnam W ar, and a chronology.
Harper & Row, 10 East 53rd St.. New York. NY 10022.
Caute, David, The Year o f the Barricades: A Journey
through 1968. 1988 ($24.95). ISBN 0-06-105870-0.
The tone of the book issummed up In the following
excerpt from the Introduction: "They marched,
dem onstrated, occupied u n ive rsitie s, and
courted police repression...W hat were they—
courageous visionaries or romantic Utopians?
Genuine revolutionaries or posturing spoiled
brats? An authentic resistance movement or a
frivolous carnival by kids who had never known
poverty and the fear of unemployment? An
Idealistic challenge to Imperialism ora pantomime
of rhetorical gestures? A rebirth of the critical
Intelligence or a long, drugged 'trip ' Into
fashionable incoherence? This book alm s to
provide a history that w ill yield tentative answers
to these questions." The best thing about this
book is Its International approach to an
understanding of the year. (VG)
M orris, Charles R., Iron Destinies. Lost O p p ortinlties:
The Arm s Race Between the USA and the USSR.
1988 ($22.95). ISBN 0-06-039082-4.
Salisbury, Harrison E..A Um e o f Change: A Rep orter's
Tale o f Our Time. 1988 ($19.95), ISBN 0-060390832. Reviewed In the first Issue of the Newsletter.
Harvard Unlv. Press, 79 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138.
Weart, Spencer R„ Nuclear Fear: A History o f Images.
1988 ($29.50), ISBN 0-674-62835-7. The Imagery of
nuclear bombs and reactors did not spread by
Itself; It was promoted by p a rflc Ja r people for
their own purposes. Drawing on m aterials ranging
from one e-secret government documents to
comic books, from technical articles to works of
art, W eart tells the story of how and why a special
set of images came to represent what everyone
‘ know s' —or fe els—about nuclear devices.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovlch, 111 Fifth Ave., New York, NY
10003.
Knox, Donald, The Korean War: F\jsan to Chosin,
1985 ($10.95), ISBN 0-15-647200-7. Drawing on his
Interviews w ith hundreds of veterans of Korea—
from riflem en to commanding officers—Knox
12
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weaves personal stories w ith regimental records
and ship s’ logs to crate a day-by-day chronicle
of the w a r's first months of fighting: June to
December, 1950.
Hill 4 Wang, 10 Union Sq. W , New York, NY 10003.
Scheer. Robert, Thinking Tuna Fish. Talking Death:
Essays on the Pornography o fPower, ~\958 9.95).
ISBN 0-8090-9316-2. Gathers together 21 of
Scheer's essays and articles. Including his
controversial profile of the Jews of Los Angeles,
his Interview w ith Orlana Fallacl, and his
exam ination of Gorbachev and the new Soviet
elite. The title of the book Is taken from a piece
that describes a gathering of nuclear eggheads
at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory In California.
Scheer liste n s to (and fa ith fu lly record s)
participants munching on t u x i fish sandwiches
while thoughtfully discussing the pros and cons of
nuclear ‘city busting." The exercise of power,
Scheer find s. Is frequently pornographic.
Holmes 4 Meier, 30 Irving PL, New York, NY 10003.
Lang, Berel (ed.). W riting and the Holocaust. 1988
(S 19.95), ISBN 0-8419-1185-1. Collection of essays
by the finest critics of Holocaust literature.
Extre m e ly use fu l fo r those Inte re ste d In
com parative exam ination of Vietnam war
literature.
Howard Unlv. Press, 2900 Van Ness St. NW, W ashington,
DC 20008.
Davis. George, Coming Home 1971 ($6.95), ISBN 088258-118-X. A well-deserved reissue of one of
the few black novels about Vietnam. Make sure
you buy a copy this time around. (VG)
Indiana Unlv. Press, 10th & Morton Sts., Bloom ington, IN
47405.
Avisar, llan. Screening the Holocaust: Cinem a's
Images o f the Unimaginable. 1988. ISBN 0-25320475-5. This Is a fine book to use fo r building a
comparative methodology between Holocaust
and Vietnam war film s. (VG)
Johnson, Charles. Being & Race: Black W riting Since
1970.1988 ($15.95), ISBN0-253-31165-9.
Rosenfeld, Alvin H., A Double Dying: Reflections on
Holocaust Literature. 1980, ISBN 0-253-20492-5.
One of the strongest works on Holocaust IItera lu re .
(VG)
Young, Ja mes E.. W riting and Rewriting the Holocaust:
N a rra tiv e a n d the C o nse q ue nc e s o f
Interpretation. 1988, ISBN 0-253-36716-6. Has great
bearing on the reading and Interpretation of
Vietnam W ar narratives by combat veterans.
(VG)
Ivy Books/Ballantine, a division of Random House. New
York. NY 10022.
Clark. Johnnie M.. Guns Upl. 1984 ($3.50), ISBN 0-34531507-3. Personal narrative by a disabled Marine
veteran.
Lannlng. Michael Lee. The Only War We Had: A
Platoon Leader's Jo u n a l o f Vietnam, 1987 ($3.50).
ISBN 0-8041-0005-5 and Vietnam. 1969-1970: A
-
Company Com m ander's Journal. 1988 ($3.95).
ISBN 0-8041-0187-6. Autobiographical volumes
by a career officer in the US Army.
Johns Hopkins Unlv. Press, 701 W 40th St., Suite 275.
Baltim ore. MD 21211.
Krepinevich, Andrew F. Jr., The Arm y and Vietnam.
1986. ISBN 0-8018-3657-3.
Intellig ent and
Interesting analysis of the principles which guided
the US A rm y's actions in the Vietnam War.
Krepinevich claim s that the A rm y's failure In
Vietnam is directly linked to its inability to visualize
warfare in any term s other than the "Arm y
C oncept' — the belief that the m id-intensity war
(such as World W ar 2 and Korea) Is the most
Im portant war to prepare for and to conduct.
The c o u n te rin su rg e n c y stra te g ie s w hich
Krepinevich prom otes are fam iliar: Isolating the
population from guerrilla infiltration and retaliation
and a policy which convinces the population
that support of the current regime is to their
b e n e fit.
In a d d itio n , the su c c e ssfu l
counterinsurgency must utilize local param ilitary
groups, and ensure that government troops are
concentrated on "asserted government control
over the population and winning its sup p o rt.'
Krepinevich takes issue with those (such as Richard
Nixon, W illiam Westmoreland, and Harry Summers)
who assert that the Vietnam War could have
been won If only the American Congress and
people had backed the war strongly enough,
providing enough money, troops, and firepower.
The most striking absence In this book is any
attem pt at moral judgem ent on the war, or on
counterinsurgency wars In general. Though the
arguments In this book lead strongly to the
conclusion that counterinsurgency warfare can
be successfully fought, the ethical problems of
fighting a war against a popular resistance
movement are never dealt with. If the population
believed In the guerrilla cause. Kreplnevich's
stra te g y w ould In e vita b ly fa il unle ss the
conquering force practiced the strongest form of
repression, keeping the people under literal lock
and key In the strongest form of m ilitary
dictatorship. Perhaps, In an attempt to avoid this
sticky point, Krepinevich chose to deal only with
Vietnam , and not to draw conclusions from
American m ilitary and m ilitary support policy In El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. (VG)
Lawrence Eriba urn, Inc., 365 Broadway, Suite 102. Hillsdale.
NJ 07642.
Boulanger. Ghlslalne & Charles Kadushln, The
Vietnam Veteran Redefined: Fact and Fiction.
1986, ISBN 0-89859-761 -7. Anthology of psychiatric
and social science articles on Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and readjustment.
Little Sun, PO Box 1850. Monrovia, CA 91016.
Scaff. W illiam , Bong Son Blues. 1969. An unusual
audio cassette, recorded In and around Bong
Son, Northern Binh Dlnh Province, Republic of
13
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Vietnam . 1969. on a Sony portable cassette
recorder. The quality of these recordings Is not
good, and It Is frequently difficult to distinguish
one cut from another, but some of the material Is
fascinating.
Scoff has recorded Malaysian
mercenaries. ARVN soldiers. Vietnamese children,
and sam ples of Aslan radio programming. The
best segment on the tape, however. Is a rambling
rap titled 'Th e Mother Fucker (Joe Blow, the
Kokom o)'. Listen to It, and then re-read the
section In Hasford's The Short-Tim ers where Joker
attem pts to tell the squad a funny story. (VG)
Uttte, Brown, 34 Beacon St.. Boston, MA 02108-9990.
Boettcher. Thom as. Vietnam: The Valor and the
Sorrow . 1985 ($16.95), ISBN 0-316-10081-1.
Boettcher contends that rather than getting us
Into Vietnam , the m ilitary tried to keep us out.
They knew, he asserts, better than Kennedy's
Harvard educated, self-styled m ilitary strategists
from the civilian sector, what the obstacles w ere.
and how unprepared we were for the kind of war
we would have to fight there.
Boettcher
distinguishes between the lessons the US intended
to teach In Vietnam and those we were forced to
learn about wars of national liberation. (A rather
novel approach to m ilitary apologia. (VG))
Dye, Dale. Outrage: A Novel o f Beirut. 1988 ($17.95),
ISBN 0-316-20010-7. A book In the worst of the de
Borchegrave. Moss, and Clancy disinform ation
tradition. Read It and weep. (VG)
Goodwin, Richard N., Remembering Am erica: A
Voice from the Sixties. 1988 ($19.95), ISBN 031632024-2. A Kennedy sta ff member from 1959,
Goodwin was among the very few Kennedy men
Invited by Lyndon Johnson to Join his circle of
advisers. After leaving the White House at the
end of 1965, Goodwin developed a personal
and political association with Robert Kennedy.
He joined Eugene McCarthy In New Hampshire In
his campaign for an end to the Vietnam War
after breaking w ith the adm inistration on the
Issue. When Johnson withdrew from the prim ary
race. Goodwin rejoined Kennedy fo r his
campaign.
Kunhardt, Philip B. (ed,).U fe ln Cameiot: The Kennedy
Years. 1988 ($40). ISBN 0-316-21089-7. Opening
wide hlsdoors to Life Magazine. Kennedy allowed
an extraordinary picture history to be made of his
years In W ashington. This book Includes more
than 500 photographs—over 150 of them
previously unpublished.
ME Sharpe, Inc., 80 Business Park D r., Armonk, NY 10504.
Ablin, David & Marlowe Hood (eds.). The Cambodian
Agony. 1987 ($35.). ISBN 0-87332-399-8. Scholars
address the major Issues facing Cambodia and
the politics of Indochina since the overthrow of
the Pol Pot regime In 1978.
Frey-W outers, Ellen & Robert S. Laufer, Legacy o f a
War: The Am erican Soldier In Vietnam. 1986
($32.50). ISBN 087332-354-8. Based on over 1200
-
Interviews with men of the Vietnam Generation,
this book examines the social, psychological,
and political effects of the war. The interviews
reveal an enduring Influence of the war on
Vietnam veterans, especially those exposed to
the killing, dying, and brutality of warfare. The
analysis shows that the war Is perceived by a
substantial m ajority. Including a plurality of
Vietnam veterans as a grave mistake. Vietnam
veterans as well as their peers generally see a
need for legal constraints on the conduct of
future wars, and a solid m ajority of the Vietnam
veterans say they oppose future Interventions like
Vietnam.
Macmillan Publishers, 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022.
Cagin. Seth & Philip Dray, We Are Not Afraid: The
Story o f Goodman. Schwerner. and Chaney and
the C ivil Rights Campaign for M ississippi. 1988
($22.50), ISBN 0-02-520260X.
Hutcheson. Richard G. Jr., God in the White House:
How Re lig ion has Changed the Modern
Presidency. 1988 ($ 18.95). ISBN 0-02-557760-3. Can
a president successfully practice his faith In the
Oval Office? Are there dangers to the separation
of church and state? Is religion entirely a private
m atter w ith no im plications for political activity?
Can a sectarian president lead a stubbornly
pluralistic democracy? This book suggests that
the vigorous entry of religion Into the councils of
the p re sid e n c y is a re sp o n se to the
m ultidim ensional moral crisis of the late twentieth
century, compounded of Vietnam . W atergate,
and the overturning of traditional values in the
turm oil of the sixties. (Watch out, all you secular
hum anists out there. (VG))
Madison Books, 4720 Boston W ay, Lanham. MD 20706.
Hannah.N orm anB.,7heKe ytoFa ilure : Laosandthe
Vietnam War. 1987 ($19.95). ISBN 08191^54402.
Another right-wing revisionist fantasy which posits
a world where victory in Vietnam would have
been possible (for *u s") if we had only rolled right
Into Laos, and declared a proper war. Gets
glowing praise from Hany Summers, Jr.. W illiam F.
Buckley, and W illiam P. Bundy. (VG)
MIT Press, 55 Hayward St.. Cambridge, MA 02142.
Flink.Ja m esJ., The Autom obile Age, 1988($25.). ISBN
0 2 6 2 -0 6 1 1 1 -2 .
A c ritic a l survey o f the
development of automotive technologyand the
automotive Industry, and an analysis of the social
effects of 'a uto m o b lllty' on both workers and
consumers. The e m p h a sisIso n th e U S.th e w o rid 's
forem ost automobile culture, with developments
In the rest o f the world analyzed to Illuminate the
American experience.
Naval Institute Press, Annapolis. MD 21402.
Cutler, Thomas J.. Brown Water. Black Berets. 1988
($21.95), ISBN 087021-011-4. Cutler provides a
detailed account of the development and
operation of the N avy's brown-water fleet right
ip to the Vietnamization programs in effect during
14
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the US troop withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
New York Unlv. Press, 136 South Broadway, Irvington, NY
10533.
Basinger, Jeanlne. The World War 2 Combat Film :
Anatom y o f a Genre. 1986 ($30.). ISBN 0-23105952-3. Basinger traces the evolution of the
WW2 combat film through Its various stages.
Establishing 1943 's Bataan as typical, she reveals
how elem ents In this film —characters, settings,
narrative structure, film technique, and cultural
attitudes—were adapted from prior film s and
then readapted and modified for later movies.
The genre’s first film s told stories based on the real
events taking place In the news of the day, but
later film s told stories based on the earlier filmed
versions of those same events. She indicates how
the prim ary form at is changed after the w ar, how
It Is Influenced by the Korean and Vietnam wars,
how docum entaries help shape It, and how,
after a period of epic re-creation. It ultim ately
becomes dominated by parodies and film s
showing Inverted or satirical verslonsof the original
stories. Contains an annotated filmography.
Cable, Larry E.. Conflict o f Myths: The Development
o f American Counterinsurgency Doctrine and
the Vietnam War. 1988 ($ 15.), ISBN 0-8147-1401 -3.
Cable contends that the American under­
standing of guerrilla war and the m llltary’sdoc trine
for fighting the two major and quite different
typesof conflict—the Insurgent and the partisan—
which fall under that general term were the
lo g ic a l c o n se q u e n c e s o f an In c o rre c t
understanding of the experience. Further, he
claim s, the m ilitary not only failed correctly to
appreciate the n a tu e and quality of insurgent
conflict but compounded this failure by believing
that there existed general-purpose ground
combat forces equally capable of fighting
mechanized, nuclear battles and Insurgent
conflicts. (Cable has apparently w ritten this In
response to Sum m ers' arguments. (VG).
Durand, Maurice M. & Nguyen Tran Huan. translated
from the French by DM Hawke, An Introduction to
Vietnamese lite ra tu re . 1985 ($25), ISBN 0-23105852-7. Traces the development of literature in
Vietnam from the earliest tim es to the reunification
of the country In 1975. Period by period the
authors analyze Vietnamese literature In term s of
form ,linguistic base,and the Interaction between
native features and outside Influence—Including
Chinese colonization, European m issionaries,
French occupation, and the US Arm y, all of which
le ft Indelible marks.
Erickson. Paul D.. Reagan Speaks: The Making o f an
Am erican Myth. 1985 ($16.95). ISBN 0-6147-21672. Erickson exposes the techniques used by
Reagan and his sta ff to m anipulate their
audience. We see how Reagan skillfully alters
facts, makes history Into allegory, creates 'sto c k '
-
characters who personify good and evil and uses
metaphors, myths, and anecdotes to convince
the public his way is the only Just and moral way.
He reduces questions about economic planning.
c o nstitutio na l Inte rp re ta tio n, and national
defense to their most basic emotional level. He
forces his public to choose between the forces of
evil (his foes) and the forces of good (the Reagan
adm inistration).
Noonday Press, 19 Union Sq. W , New York, NY 10003.
Dunrance. Dick, Where War Lives: A Photographic
Journal o f Vietnam. 1988 ($14.95), ISBN 0-37452129-8/1445. A moving and unusual collection
of war photographs. Introduced by Ron Kovic.
D urance has a terrific eye for a strong shot. (VG)
Orion Books, a division of Crown Publishers, 225 Park Ave.
S, New York. NY 10003.
Broughton.Jack.Go/ngDownfown: TheW arAgainst
Hanoi and Washington. 1988 ($ 18.95), ISBN 0-51756738-5.
Tom W o lfe's fawning Introduction
Indicates his wholehearted acceptance of the
Judgement of this man with "the right stu ff':
"(Broughton's) angry charge In this book is that
America wasted (the fighter Jocks) sham efully In
Vietnam by not letting them fight hard enough.'
Just another stab-lrvthe-back story. (VG)
Oxford Unlv. Press, 200 Madison A ve., New York, NY 10016.
Jam ieson, Kathleen Hall, Packaging the Presidency:
A History and Criticism o f Presidential Campaign
Advertising. 1984 ($12.95), ISBN 0 19-505656-6.
McAdam. Doug. Freedom Summer. 1988 (24.95),
ISBN 0-19-504367.
McAdam tracked down
hundreds of the original project applicants to the
Freedom Summer campaign organized by SNCC
In 1964, and has combined hard data with a
wealth of personal recollections.
One of
McAdam 's most significant findings b that many
of the participants in Freedom Summer have
remained activists to this day.
Myers, Thom as. W alking Point: American Narratives
o f Vietnam. 1988, ISBN 0-19-505351 -6. Yetanother
critical survey of Vietnam W ar literature. This one,
though better w ritten than most, also m isses the
boat. W hy Is It that no critic feels It very Important
to make the distinction between the work of
w riters who are Vietnam veterans, and those who
are not Vietnam veterans? (VG)
Nichols. J. Bruce. The Uneasy Alliance: Religion.
Refugee Work, and US Foreign Policy. 1988
($24.95). ISBN 0-19-504274-3. After reviewing the
history of US governm ent relations with religious
re lief agencies, the author closely examines three
politically explosive refugee situations: Honduras,
Tha ila nd , and the Sudan.
Treatm ent of
Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees has been
greatly com plicated by the conflicting attitudes
of liberal religious groups and the US and
Honduran governm ents.
By contrast, an
evangelical group working with Loottan refugees
In Thailand found Itself Inadvertently embroiled In
15
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US policy debates over Laos and Vietnam. And
In the Sudan Nichols discovers close ties between
re lig io u s re lie f o rg a niza tio ns and the US
government In the surreptitious and extralegal
maneuvering to remove the Falashas to Israel.
Nichols concludes that Increasing political and
moral disagreem ent between the government
and the religious community now threatens the
American tradition of worldwide humanitarian
assistance and at the same time m irrors the wider
loss of consensus In American foreign policy.
Paterson.Thom as G .. Meeting the Communist Threat:
Truman to Reagan. 1988 ($24.95), ISBN 0-19504533-5.
Paterson expbres why and how
Am ericans have perceived and exaggerated
the Communist threat In the last half century. He
offers a review of postwar American attitudes
toward totalitarianism , the causes of international
c o n flic t, and fo re ig n a id , and he then
dem onstrates how Truman acted upon these
views, launched the containment doctrine, and
exercised American power In both Europe and
Asia. He continues with a look at Elsenhow er's
Middle East policy. Kennedy's foreign policy, CIA
covert actions, and the failure of congressional
oversight from the 1940s to the present. He also
examines Reagan's rewritten history of the
Vietnam War .and attacks the argument that the
war could have been won. In his last chapter he
probes the analogy between Vietnam and
Central America In the 1980s.
Pacific Books. PO Box 558. Palo Alto. CA 94302.
Lowenthal, Leo & Norbert Guterman. Prophets o f
Deceit: A Study o f the Techniques o f the American
Agitator. 1970 ($ 1.95) (Yes. really. They still have
some copies from the original printing.) This was
a 1970 revision of the original study, published In
1949. of the American demagogue. It explores
racist tactics employed by these politician In
term s of anti-Sem itism , and attacks on third world
peoples. Including Vietnam ese and North
Koreans. (VG)
Van Dyke. Jon M.. North Vietnam 's Strategy for
Survival. 1972($18.95).ISBN 0-87015-191-6. Analysis
of the effect of the war on North Vietnamese life,
with particular em phasis on the evacuation of
people and Industry from the d tle s to the rural
areas, the labor shortages caused by the Increase
In the size of the arm y and by the need for
manpower to repair transportation routes, and
the changes which have been necessitated In
the country's agricultural and Industrial sectors.
Pantheon Books, a division of Random House. New York,
NY 10022.
Dower, John W ., W ar W ithout Mercy: Race & Power
In the Pacific W ar, 1986 ($9.95). ISBN 0-394-751728. Drawing on American and Japanese songs,
slogans, cartoons, propaganda film s, secret
reports, and a wealth of other documents of the
tim e. Dower opens up a whole new way of
-
looking at the Pocific W ar and Its ram ifications.
Stem. Philip M., The Best Congress Money Can Buy.
1988 ($18.95). ISBN 0-394-56628-9. This volume Is
re p lete w ith exam ples and evidence of
politicians' growing dependence on PACs and
special Interests fo r their campaign funds.
Included are sections listing the largest PACs and
a restaurant-style guide ranking each member of
Congress from most to least dependent on
special-interest money. Stem doesn't hesitate to
name names.
Pergamon-Brassey’s International Defense Publishers, 8000
Westpark Dr., 4th floor, McLean, VA 22102-3101.
Bowman. W illiam , etal. (eds.), The All- Volunteer Force
A fter a Decade: Retrospect and Prospect, 1986.
ISBN 0-08-032409-6.
Matthews. Uoyd B.. et al. (eds.). Assessing the Vietnam
War. 1987. ISBN 0-08-035181-6. A collection of
essays from the US A rm y's W ar College. All the
m ilitary types love this volume:
Matthew
Ridgeway, Ronald Spector.and Douglas Klnnard.
General Bruce Palmer, Jr. wrote the Introduction.
(VG)
Moskos, Charles C. & Frank Wood (eds.). The M ilitary:
More than Just a Job? 1988.0-08-034321 -X. You
can get the drift from this promotional paragraph:
*ln what has become a worldwide trend, service
In the armed forces Is drifting from an institutional
form at to one resembling a civilian occupation In
which many personnel are motivated by mere
careerism .
Th is book provides the defense
professional w ith a solid foundation on which to
base organizational and personnel policies. It
also has much to tell the general reader about
what life is really like in toda y's m ilitary and how it
can differ around the w orld."
Tyroler. Charles II (ed.). A lerting Am erica: The Papers
o f the Committee on the Present Danger. 1984,
ISBN 0-08-031925-4. W ell, here you go. Ifyouw ant
to know your enemy, this is where It's at. I read it
a little at a time and Intersperse sections of this
book with good doses of fantasy or science
fiction to take the edge off. Th e re 's a great list In
the front of the book which names members of
the Committee and their posts In the Reagan
government. D o n't ju st shrug your shoulders. Pick
this one up; It's an Important document. (VG)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends, 1515 Cherry St.,
Philadelphia. PA 19102.
Jackson. Laura (producer). A fter Our War. How W ill
Love Speak?. ($50 video).
This half-hour
docum entary, made fo r public tele vision.
Interviews Vietnam writers: John Bala ban, Lady
Borton. Arthur Egendorf, Bill Ehrhardt. Jerry Genesio
and W ally Terry. The w riters talk about coming to
term s with their experience of the war through
the books they have w ritten. Scenes from the war
run as the w riters read excerpts of their work.
16
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Q uill P re ss, 105 Madison Ave.. New York, NY 10016.
Riche Ison. Jeffrey. Am erican Espionage and the
Soviet Target. 1987 ($8.95). ISBN 0-688-7954-7. An
account of how the US spies on the USSR. From
HUMINT (human Intelligence) to ground stations
to a ir and satellite reconnaissance to a whole
smorgasbord of high-tech electronic survellonce
techniques. Rlchelson describes Just how the CIA
and other Intelligence organizations find out what
the Soviets are doing. Rlchelson suggests that the
Impetus to collect massive am ounts of data and
develop highly sophisticated collection system s
has eclipsed the most Im portant function of an
Intelligence network: to provide the data and
analysis required to address the most Important
Issues of foreign, economic, and defense policy.
Recon Publications,PO Box 14602.Philadelphia, PA 19184.
Vo Nguyen Glap. How We Won the W ar($5.). ISBN 0916894-01-0. Recon has republished this classic
text, which has been out of print since 1980. Get
your copies while they last. (VG)
Salem House, 462 Boston Street, Topsfield. MA 01983.
Steadman, Ralph. Scar-Strangled Banger. 1988
($29.95). ISBN 0-88162-314-8. Steadman turns his
satirical attentions to Am erica, the Land of the
Free, where even God can be acquired with a
credit card. In this land of seem ingly lim itless
opportunities, of AII-NIte Uquor stores, aerobic
work-outs, silicone lifts, and Saturday Night
Specials, a country where lettuce Is served with
everything, he finds that the quality of life Is
dependent m ainly on personal wealth and alrconditionlng. Includes portraits of the Nixon years,
Vietnam and W atergate, and the Reagan years.
Pearlygate and the 1988 Presidential election.
Scarecrow Press, 52 Uberty S t.. PO Box4167, Metuchen, NJ
08840.
Einstein. Daniel, Special Edition: A Guide to Network
Television Docum entary Series and Special News
Reports. 1955-1979.1987. ISBN 0-8108-1898-1. An
Indispensable reference for anyone who studies
television. I find m yself running to It at least once
a week. (VG)
Levy, Emanuel, John Wayne:
Prophet o f the
Am erican Way o f Life. 1988. ISBN 0-8108-2054-4. If
you do p o p Ja r culture and Vietnam , d o n't miss
this. (VG)
Newman. John, Vietnam War Literature. 1988, ISBN
0-8108-2155-9. Still another edltionof the Newman
bibliography. This one has a glowing Intro by
John Clark Pratt. Newman has done us all a favor
by keeping track of the publication of even the
m ost obscure Vietnam novels.
The new
chronological arrangem ent Is very useful. Those
who have difficulty tolerating his Inane plot
reductions of favorite novels can sim ply skip
thesum marles and use the references. (VG)
Palmer, W illiam J„ The Film s o f the Seventies: A So c ia l
History. 1987, ISBN 0-8108-1955-4. O f the ten film s
upon which Palmer concentrates, three are
Vietnam Aims: The Deer Hunter. Go Tell the
-
S p a rta n s, and A p o c a lyp se Now .
The
entirevolum e w ill be Interesting to Vietnam
generation scholars, but of particular note are
chapters 6-9: ‘ The Vietnam War Film s." "The
Forgotten Vietnam W ar Rim ," ‘ Superimposed
Realities," and ‘The Australian W ar Film s'. (VG)
Schocken Book*, 62 Cooper Sq., New York. NY 10003.
Lens, Sidney. Perm anent War: The M ilitarization of
Am erica. 1987 ($18.95). ISBN 0-8052-4025-X.
Completed shortly before Lens' death In 1986.
this book warns that the path of permanent war
waged since 1945 leads to losses far beyond
territorial boundaries and spheres of political
influence, to the corrosion of the foundations of
our democratic society. He argues that the
weakening o f our legal and moral values has led
us to this crossroads. Lens Argues that the
‘ National Security State Is an authoritarian state
which has removed Itself from m ost popular
controls....To function as a democracy would
make It impossible to continue the w ar."
Scribner’s, a division of Macmillan Publishing. 866 Third
Ave.. New York. NY 10022.
Ledeen. Michael A .. Perilous Statecraft: An Insid er's
Account o f the Iran-Contra A ffair. 1988 (S 19.95).
ISBN 0-684-18994-1. The idea of Ledeen offering
to ‘tell a ll' about the Iran-Contra affair is pretty
amusing. The Fall 1984 Covert Action Information
Bulletin describes him as ‘In tight with the Reagan
adm inistration. (A) contract consultant on
terrorism for the State Department ever since
Reagan and Ledeen's mentor Alexander Haig
took office. (T)he Pentagon has confirmed to
CAIB that Ledeen has a consultant contract with
the Defense Department... It has been widely
reported that Ledeen has been put In charge of
the US governm ent's ‘analysis' of the captued
Grenada p a p e rs....' (p.41). Along with Arnaud
deBorchegrave. Robert Moss, and Claire Sterling.
h e 's one of the top CIA disinform ation pushers In
this country. The prom otional material promises
that ‘ ihe record Is uncovered, supplemented,
and corrected again and again in Ledeen's
unique a ccount...'
Unger, Irwin & Debl, Turning Point: 1968.1988(524.95).
ISBN 0-684-18696-9. Yet another 60s cash-ln. (VG)
Shameless Hussy Press, Box 3092, Berkeley, CA 94703.
Byrd. Barthy. Home Front: Women and Vietnam.
1986 (S7.95), ISBN 0-915288-52-4. Interviews with
nine American women. Including a Vietnamese
refugee.about the Vietnam War. Thisshortvolum e
Is definitely worth taking a look at. particularly if
you are looking for exam ples of oral histories
which differ from the m ale-oriented, warriorworshipping norm. Look fo r a longer review In the
Newsle tie r accompanying our Issue on Gender
and the War. (VG)
Simon ft Schuster, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Ave. of the
Americas. New York, NY 10020.
Becker. Elizabeth, When the War Was Over:
Cam bodia's Revolution and the Voices o f Its
17
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People. 1987 ($9.95). ISBN 671-64559-5. Becker,
who covered Cambodia for the WasNngton Post.
describes the Khmer Rouge revolution and Its
aftermath.
Doan Van Toal, & David Chanoff, The Vietnamese
Gulag. 1986 ($18.95). ISBN 0-671-60350-7. This
*gee. was I disillusioned with the revolution'
Vietnam ese autobiography was co-authored by
the dynamic disinform ation duo. David Dellinger,
In Vietnam Revisited (South End Press, 1986)
mentions that ‘ I happen to know some things
about Toal and they all lead to the C IA ' (p.138).
But. ju st as Dellinger cautions his readers not to
Interpret Vietcong Memoir too sim pllstically, this
second book can 'p rovid e us w ith some
interesting Insights into some of the people who
once worked together and now are In opposing
cam p s.' (VG)
Gutman, Roy, Banana Diplomacy: The Making of
American Policy In Nicaragua. 1981-1987, 1988
($.19.95), ISBN0-671-60626-3. Gutman believes
that Reagan's Nicaraguan obsession exemplified
his adm inistration's flawed foreign policy. In the
White House and the State Department, rival
power centers relied on Intrigues, backstabblng.
and conspiracy to fu lfill their conflicting visions of
Reagan foreign policy. Gutman explores the roles
of Casey and North In the form ulation o f policy In
Nicaragua and other third world trouble spots.
He traces the controversial tenures of Thomas
Enders. Tony Motley, and Elliott Abrams, and the
roles played by hardliners like Kirkpatrick and
Caspar W einberger.
Schoenbaum. Thom as J„ Waging Peace & War:
Dean Rusk in the Truman. Kennedy & Johnson
Years. 1988 ($22.9 5), ISBN 0-671-60351-5.
Schoenbaum 's book Is both an account of one
of A m erica's most Influential statesmen and a
look at our country's most significant foreign policy
decisions, from the Korean War to the conflict In
Vietnam.
Thom pson, Hunter S., Generation o f Swine: Gonzo
Papers. Vol. 2. Tales o f Shame and Degradation
In the '80s. 1988 ($19.95), ISBN 0-671-66147-7.
Another priceless Hunter Thompson collection.
Who could resist? (VG)
Soundprint.WJHU, Johns Hopkins Unlv.,2216 North Charles
St.. Baltim ore. MD 21218 (301)333-9548.
Borton. Lady, A fte r Sorrow. 1987 ($10). Edited from
Interviews taped fo r Public Radio. A fter Sorrow
p o rtra ys o rd in a ry no rthe rn and southern
Vietnamese women who fought against the
Americans. The docum entary, which ran on 120
public radio stations, em phasizes the wom en's
stories.
St. Martin’* Pres*, 175 Fifth Ave„ New York. NY 10010.
Berry, Henry, Hey. Mac. Where Ya Been? Living
Memoirs o f the US M arines In the Korean War.
1988 ($22.95), ISBN 0-312-01772-3. Cashing In on
the oral history book boom. this new collection by
-
the author of Sem per Fi. Mac. has no surprises. But
If you want oral histories from the Korean War,
here they are. (VG)
Coleman, JD.Pteiku: The Dawn o f Helicopter Warfare
In Vietnam. 1988 ($19.95), ISBN 0-312-01807-X.
Unit history of the 1st A ir Cavalry by a man who
served as an Inform ation officer and participated
In the Plelku Campaign. (For hardcore m ilitary
history buffs. (VG))
Javna, John and Gordon. 60s!: A Catalog of
Memories and Artifacts. 1988 ($ 14.95). ISBN 0-31201725-1. Its back cover blurb babbles. 'N o t a
serious book about drugs or Vietnam, 60s! Is a
light-hearted, affectionate look at the real [sic)
60s—the Laugh-In Years, the Silly Putty Decade,
when America drove like Jam es Bond, dressed
like Twiggy, danced to the Beatles, and watched
The Man From UN C LE....' Reviewed by such lofty
journals as People Magazine and the Los Angeles
Weekly. Though the text is predictably insipid, this
volume Is worth It for the pictures alone. (VG)
Parker. T. Jefferson. Uttle Saigon. 1988 ($18.95), ISBN
0-312-02245-X. Detective novel by the author of
Laguna Heat, set In a Vietnamese refugee
community In Orange County. CA.
Stackpole Books, Cameron and Kelker Sts.. Harrisburg,
PA.
Reflections on the W all: The Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, photographs by the Smithsonian
Institutio n's Office of Printing and Photographic
Services. 1987 ($16.95). ISBN 0-8117-1846-8. A
sentim ental promo piece about the Memorial
W a ll. A portion of the proceeds of each copy go
to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Some
nice photos, but you'd think from this piece that
there was no such thing as an antiwar Vietnam
vet. (VG)
Thunder’s Mouth Press, 93-99 Greene St„ New York. NY
10012
Jacob. John, Long Ride Back. 1988 ($9.95). ISBN 0938410-46-6. An excellent novel by a Vietnam
veteran about readjusting after the war. Extremely
well w ritten; not one of the current crop of
*Vietnam -chic" cash-ins. (VG)
Wllens, John O liver, 'Sippi. 1967 ($9.95). ISBN 0-93841055-5. Republicatlon of the classic civil rights novel.
Times Books, a division of Random House, New York. NY
10022.
Blair, Clay, The Forgotten War: America In Korea
1950-1953. 1987 ($29.95), ISBN0-8129-167CK). A
truly enormous study of the Korean War. Worth
taking a look at. (VG)
Hayden. Tom. Reunion: A Memoir. 1988 ($22.50).
ISBN 0-394-56533-9. Another 60s activist memoir.
(VG)
Sm ith, Hedrick. The Power Game: How WasNngton
Works. 1988 (24.95). ISBN 0-394-5547-7. The author
of The Russians uses the same epic style In an
analysis of the W ashington scene. He claim s that
a revolutionary explosion of power In the mld-
18
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1970s turned W ashington inside out, and that
there is a new breed of winner with new political
styles and new sets of rules—and new talents and
techniques are required If the American system
of government Is to work effectively.
Wise, David, The Spy Who Got Away: The Inside Story
o f Edward Lee Howard. 1988 ($18.95).ISBN 0-39456281-X. W ise managed to make contact with
Howard and met secretty w ith him for six days In
Budapest.
Union for Radical Political Economics, 122 W 27th St., New
York. NY 10001.
Cherry, Robert, e ta l. (eds.). The Im periled Economy.
Book 1: Macroeconomics from a Left Perspective,
1987 ($9.50). ISBN 0-933306-50-4.
And The
Im periled Economy. Book 2: Through the Safety
Net. 1988($8.50).ISBN 0-933306-51-2. Som eofthe
best alternative economic theorists have written
for these two volumes. An essential read for
anyone Interested In alternate perspectives on
American and world economy. (VG)
Univ. of British Columbia Press, 303-6344 Memorial Rd..
Vancouver. BC Canada V6T 1W5.
M iller, Mary Jane, Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television
Drama since 1952.1987, ISBN 0-7748-0278-2.
Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Lazere, Donald (ed.). Am erican Media and Mass
Culture: Left Perspectives. 1987. ISBN 0-520-044959. The authors Include scholars from a dozen
academic disciplines as well as leading leftist
media activists. They present a counterstatement
to the conservatism that has been ascendent
since the 70s In both American cultural criticism
and electoral politics, providing evidence In
refutation of conservative claim s that American
media are biased in favor of the left. (Though
there unfortunately are not any essays devoted
to media representations of the Vietnam War.
this volume should prove useful to those of us who
study the subject. (VG))
Marx. Gary T., Under Cover: Police Surveillance in
Am erica. 1988. ISBN
0-520-06286-8.
Marx
exam ines the variety of undercover operations
and the ethical Issues and em pirical assum ptions
raised when the state o ffic ia lly sanctions
deception and trickery and allows Its agents to
participate In crime. The consequences that
undercover operations can have for surveillance
targets, third parties. Inform ers, and police are
exam ined. Marx proposes that the tactic be one
o f last resort, and he specifies the conditions and
controls that should be present before It Is used.
He argues that If our democratic rights are not to
be compromised by new form s of surveillance,
greater vigllanceand more sensible and sensitive
laws and policies are required.
Rice. Edward E., Wars o f the Third Kind: Conflict in
Underdeveloped Countries. 1988, ISBN 0-52006236-1. Rice exam ines a host of conflicts,
beginning with the American Revolution, but
concentrating on the Chinese CMI W ar. the Huk
-
rebellion,the Malaysian Insurrection.the Algerian
W ar, and the Vietnamese W ar, and the repeated
conflicts in Central and Latin America. He explores
the origin of these w ars, the motivation and
organization of the people who fight them, their
rural and popular na tixe . how and why guerrilla
arm ies may be converted Into regular arm ies,
conceptual approaches to counterinsurgency,
and the 'na tura l h isto ry' of these wars.
Rogln. Michael, Ronald Reaaan. the Movie and
O ther Episodes In Political Demonology. 1987.
ISBN 0-520-05937-9. Political demonology. Rogin
argues, Is found not sim ply among extrem ists and
outsiders but among the political and cultural
elites at the center of American politics. Movies
have linked elite and mass m entalities In our
century. Rogln looks at the relationships between
movies and politics, from the origin of motion
pictures In the racial fantasies of The Birth of a
Nation to the origins of Ronald Reagan In motion
pictures. Rogln traces the sources of Reagan's
confusion between politics and the movies to the
roles the actor played on screen. To trace the
genealogy of the Reagan phenomenon, Rogln
examines the roles of Indian rem oval. the myth of
the W est, and political repression In creating an
American political Identity, and looks at the cold
war film s that formed the world view of the
president.
Rouqui6. Alain, The M ilitary and the State In Latin
Am erica, translated by Paul E. Sigmund. 1982/
1988. ISBN 0-520-05559-4.
After tracing the
background of Latin American m ilitarism In the
19th c e n tu ry. R o u q ul6 d istin g u ish e s the
Institutionalized m ilitary interventions of the mld20th century from the earlier personalized caudlllo
rule that still exits In a few countries in Latin America.
He explains the phenomenon of Institutionalized
m ilitary Intervention as the result of early
modernization and professionallzatlonofthe Latin
American m ilitary. He also evaluates the impact
of foreign influences, especially that of the US
since WW2. and develops a typology to describe
the relation of the m ilitary to the state in different
countries.
Univ. of Chicago Press, 5801 South Ellis Ave.. Chicago, IL
60637.
Farber. David. Chicago '68. 1988 ($19.95). ISBN 0226-23800-8. Farber reconstructs the bloody
confrontation at the 1968 Democratic Convention
by drawing on primary sources: interviews, private
papers, organizational records, newspapers,
magazines, film s and film ed accounts,and books
o f the tim es. He tells and retells the story from the
perspectives of each of the major protagonists:
the Ylpples. the Mobe. and the Daley machine.
He argues that the c risis of the tim es was driven by
the unavoidable discovery, by both protesters
and defenders of order, of categorical cultural
and ideological differences In a society grown
19
-
politically dependent on the appearance and
operation of national consensus. He concludes
by exam ining the consequences of democratic
participation built on a charismatic national
leader and bureaucratized Interest groups.
Unlv. of Iowa Press, Iowa City, IO 52242.
Coles. Robert. That Red Wheelbarrow: Selecfed
Uterary Essays. 1988 ($24.95). IS8N 087745-208-3.
Unlv. of North Carolina Press, PO Box2288, Chapel HIII.NC
27515-2288.
Bennett. David H.. The Party o f Fear: From Nativist
Movement to the New Right In American History.
1988. ISBN 08078-1772-4. Bennet asserts that the
A m erican Rig ht em erged from a n tla lle n
movem ents, repeatedly fueled by the burning
desire to answer the question. 'W ho are the real
A m ericans?' Beginning with the Know-Nothings
and the American Protective Ass. of the 19th
century, through the Red Scare of 1919 and Ku
Klux Klan of the 20s. to the Coughlin movement of
the 30s. McCarthylsm and the Birch Society In
postwar Am erica, and, finally, the neofascists
and New Right of the 80s. Bennett views the
concern of right-wing movements from the
perspective of their own fears and anxieties. He
dem o nstra tes how rig ht-w ing m ovem ents
evolved from movements against 'un-A m erican'
peoples to movements against 'un-A m erican'
Ideas. He examines toda y's religious Right and
political 'ha rd right* (Falw ell.Robertson.Vlguerie.
W eyrlch. etc.). This political force, which arose
out of the upheavals of the 60s and the
disappointm ents of the 70s, differs from the earlier
ones In that the target Is no longer foreign
Influences but perceived evils within our own
society. Bennett concludes that the political
extrem ism of the Right w ill remain a powerful
force In American life.
Unlv. of Wisconsin Press, 114 N. Murray St., Madison. Wl
53715.
MacDonald, Sharon, et al. (eds.). Images o f Women
In Peace and War: Cross-Cultural and Historical
Perspectives. 1987, ISBN 0-299-11764-2. This book
explores w om en's relationships to war, peace,
and revolution. The contributors consider the
reality o f w om en's participation and also look at
how their actions have been perceived and
represented across cultures and through history.
They examl ne how sexua 11imagery Is constructed,
how It Is used to delineate w om en's relation to
warfare and how these Images have sometimes
been subverted In order to challenge the status
quo. (Unfortunately, there Is nothing here about
Vietnam , but the collection is nonetheless useful
for providing methodological comparisons. (VG))
UMI Research Press, 300 N. Zeeb Rd.. Arm Arbor. Ml 48106.
Renov, Michael, Hollyw ood's Wartime Woman:
Representation and Ideology. 1988, ISBN 0-83571813-1.
Simone. Sam P., Hitchcock as A ctivist: Politics and
-
the War Films. 1985. ISBN 0-8357-1654-6.
Vietnamese Studies at Yale, Yale Southeast Asia Studies,
Box 13A Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520
Vietnam Forum, a sem iannual review of Vietnamese
culture and history ($12 a year in the US; $14
elsewhere). See advertisement In this issue.
Viking Kestrel/Penguln, 40W 23rd St.. New York, NY 10010
Heinem am , Larry, Close Quarters. 1977 ($6.95), ISBN
0-14-008578-5. One of the better Vietnam War
novels, notable fo r the transform ation of Its
protagonist from brutality back to humanity. And
Paco's Story. 1987 ($4.50). ISBN 0-14-010085-7.
Helnem ann's Incredibly over-rated second novel.
W inner of that oh-so-polltical prize, the National
Book Award;
Vietnam vet authors were
apparently " in ' this year, while black women (like
Toni M orrison) have fallen out of favor. (VG)
Kamow. Stanley. Vietnam: A History. 1983 ($12.95),
ISBN 0-14-007324-8. You can buy this from the
publisher, but you can probably pick It up cheaper
off the rem nantrack On hardcover, even) atyour
local college bookstore. Though Kamow has the
nerve to subtitle his book 'Th e First Complete
Account of Vietnam at W ar," a number of
respectable critics have questioned his ultimate
authority. (VG)
Pratt, John Clark, Vietnam Voices: Perspectives on
the War Years. 1941-1982.1984 (12.95). ISBN 0-14006359-5. One of the classic 'representative
view p oint' collections on the Vietnam War. (VG)
W.W. Norton, 500 Fifth Ave.. New York. NY 10010
D igglns.John Patrick, The Proud Decades: America
In War and Peace. 1941-1960.1988 ($19.95). ISBN
0-393-02548-9. Diggins tells the story of these
decades In a narrative form , a story w ith a
beginning (the w ar), a middle (the economic
victory at home and the struggle to keep the
peace abroad), and an end (the passing of
these days Into the tumultuous sixties). The cover
blurb reads: 'It Is a time when, by conquering In
a great war, by battling the evils within Itself, and
by going on to prosperity, America had good
reason to be proud and. In the end, good reason
to ask 'W hat shall we do with our greatness?''
Dougan. Clark & Stephen W eiss. The American
Experience In Vietnam. 1988 ($39.95), ISBN 0-39302598-5. This large picture book was w ritten and
edited by the same team that produced the 25
volume Illustrated history of the W ar, The Vietnam
Experience. Beautiful photos, but d o n't expect
much out of the text. (VG)
Eddy, Paul, with Hugo Sabogal and Sara Walden,
The Cocaine Wars. 1988 ($18.95). ISBN 0-39302579-9. Books about m ultim lllion dollar drug
profits, corrupt cops and crime fam ilies more
powerful than governments are bound to be
sensational. Unfortunately, most such books are
also of dubious credibility. The Cocaine Wars
addresses this problem both by providing
abundant detail from Interviews and official
20
-
records, and by Including a long and forthright
'N o te s and Sources" section which Illum inates
the author's own biases as well as their subject's.
This credibility makes the CIA Involvem ent, the
widespread corruption and the utterly Ineffectual
U.S. response to the problem described seem all
the more troubling. Perhaps most surprising Is the
suggestion that "Am erica (is) no longer engaged
In an all-out battle against a massive conspiracy,
but that. In a subtle way. It (has) become part of
that conspiracy." (VG)
Edelman. Bernard. for the New York Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Commission, Dear Am erica: Letters
Home from Vietnam. 1985 ($13.95), ISBN 0-39301998-5. Edited collection of the letters compiled
during the search for m aterial to engrave on the
New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Gardner, Lloyd C„ Approaching Vietnam: From
World W ar2 through Dienbienphu. 1988 ($22.50),
ISBN 0-393-02540-3. Thestoryofthe "other Vietnam
w a r,"—a diplomatic and unequivocally American
war that began In 1941 as the fires of WW2 raged.
Koning, Hans, Nineteen Sixty-Eight: A Personal Report.
1987 ($15.95), ISBN 0-393-02471-1. Another 60s
personal narrative. This, however. Is one of the
best. (VG)
Kwltny, Jonathan, The Crimes o f the Patriots: A True
Story o f Dope. D irty Money, and the CIA. 1987
($19.95), ISBN 0-393-02387-7. In his last book.
Endless Enemies. Kwltny demonstrated that our
anti-com m unist based foreign policy undermines
American security. Here he exposes the crim es
committed against American citizens In pursuit of
that policy. He shows how some of the biggest
names In American defense and Intelligence
were Involved in an operation that promoted the
drug trade, tax evasion, and gun running, and
swindled American citizens and citizens of allied
counWes out of m illions of dollars. Kw ltny's tale of
the Nugan Hand bank affair demonstrates that
the Iran-Contra affair was only the tip of the
Iceberg.
LaFeber, W alter. Inevitable Revolutions: The United
States In Central Am erica. 1984 ($7.95). ISBN 0393-30212-1.
Sm ith, Wayne S., The Closest o f Enemies: A Personal
and Diplom atic Account o f US-Cuban Relations
Since 1957. 1987 ($8.95). ISBN 0-393-30530-9.
W alter LaFeber called It "The most provocative
and Inform ative in sid e r's account we have on US
policy toward Cuba and Central America during
the Carter and Reagan years."
Weldenfleld & Nlcolson, 10 E 53rd St.. New York, NY 10022
Crittenden, Arm. Sanctuary: A Story o f American
Conscience and Law In Collision. 1988 ($21.95),
ISBN 1-55584-039-6.
Crittenden follows the
sanctuary movement from Its obscure beginning
In 1980 to Its headline-m aking clim ax in federal
court In 1986. She also casts light on the America
of Ronald Reagan—not ju st on the effect of Its
-21
official policy, but on the everyday people who
remain ready, as In the time of slavery, the civil
rights movement, and the Vietnam war, to
challenge a government they Judge to be acting
contrary to conscience and the best American
traditions.
Kaiser. Charles, 1968 in Am erica: Music. Politics.
Chaos. Counterculture, and the Shaping o f a
Generation. 1988 ($19.95). ISBN 1-55584-242-9.
Largely based on unpublished Interviews and
documents (Including In-depth conversations with
McCarthy and Dylan, among many others, and
the late Theodore W hite's archives, to which the
author had sole access).
Simpson. Christopher. Blowback: The FirstFJIA ccount
o f A m erica's Recruitm ent o f Nazis, and Its
Disastrous Effect on our Domestic and Foreign
Policy. 1988 ($19.95). ISBN 1-55584-106-6. Among
the wealth of new material In this book, Simpson
brings to light for the first time how senior members
of the State Department and the CIA helped
organize clandestine programs that brought highranking Nazis and Axis governm ent officials to
Am erica—and how the State Department has
covered up the evidence ever since; how the
Pentagon falsified its own files to bring form er Nazi
scientists, some of the SS officers such as Werner
von Braun, Into the country; how in 1948 Nazis on
the US intelligence payroll seriously misrepresented
the nature and extent of the Soviet threa t. there by
m aterially heightening the cold war; how the
Pentagon trained and equipped former Nazi
collaborators for use as antt-Communist guerrillas
in the event of a nuclear confrontation; how the
CIA has spent m illions to bankroll anti-Sem itic
6m igr6 political groups inside the US—and has
consistently hidden the part played by leaders of
these groups during the Holocaust. (If you a re n't
com pletely appalled when you read this, you're
probably part of the problem. (VG))
W illiam Morrow, Inc., 105 Madison Ave., New York. NY
10016.
Sheehy, Gall. Character: A m erica's Search for
Leadership. 1988 ($17.95), ISBN CH688-08072-3. A
pop-psychosocial exploration of what has sha ped
the character of George Bush, Bob Dole, Mike
Dukakis. Albert Gore. Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson,
and Ronald Reagan. (VG)
Monroe, Sylvester & Peter Goldman, Brothers: Black
and Poor—A True Story o f Courage and Survival.
1988 ($18.95), ISBN 0-688-076220-X.
Brothers
chronicles the lives of 12 men who grew up
together In two of the toughest housing projects
on Chicago's south side. In the summer of 1986,
Sylvester Monroe (who grew up In the same
ghetto), along w ith three other correspondents
and a photographer from Newsweek, spent four
months w ith the brothers at the Robert Taylor
Homes and Prairie Courts. The stories that ran In
Newsweek have been greatly expanded.
W inks, Robin W „ Cloak & Gown: Scholars In the
Secret War. 1<?39-1961.1987 ($22.95), ISBN 0 h$8807300-X. W inks establishes the paternity of the
CIA by the OSS. O f the 13,000 men and women
who worked for the OSS, a great number helped
establish the CIA. O f these. Yale men, and a few
women, were numerous.
O verall, the OSS
recruited from the Ivy League universities and
from the largest of the state universities as well.
Yale Unlv. Press, 92A Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520.
H u rt. Michael H.. Ideology and US Foreign Policy.
1987,ISBN 0-300-03717-1. Huntsuggeststhatthere
are three enduring elements that have shaped
the American vision of the word: A conception of
national m ission defined In term s of the vigorous
prom otion of liberty abroad; A classification of
other peoples In a racial hierarchy that reflects
the class and elhnlc preferences handed down
from our founding fathers; A hostility toward
revolutions that diverge from the American norm ,
especially those on the Left. According to Hunt,
this ideology Is conceptually and operationally
bankrupt and—as dram atically demonstrated in
the Vietnam W ar—Imposes excessively high costs
In American lives, resources, and fundamental
values. He argues for a foreign policy based on
a new 're p u b lic a n ' Ideology. Such a foreign
policy 'w ould not be a vehicle for the pursuit of
national greatness abroad but a buffer against
outside shocks and threats to our pursuit of
greatness at home. It would have to be guided
above all by the recognition that Am ericans can
work toward a Just, equitable society only by
restraining the impulse toward global reform .'
THE VIETNAM WAR NEWSLETTER K
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V ietnamese S tudies at T ale
S enior E ditor :
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E xecutive E ditor :
a collection o f
V ietnam
Huten S ank T hors
monographs
1. Nguyln Chi Thien,H©A P lA Ng I,IC/FL0WERS FROM HELL. A bilingual collection
of poems edited and translated by Huynh Sanh Thong. [The poet won the 1985 Poetry
International Prize for this book.] $7.00
2. johnK. Whitmore,V ietnam , Ho Out Lt, and the W ing
The
first book-length study in English devoted to an important figure and a critical period
in Vietnamese history. $12.00
3. Dang Tran Con & Phan Huy Ich, C HINH PHU NGAM/THE SONG OF A SOLDIER’S
W i f e , a classic ofVietnamese poetry in a bilingual edition, translated by Huyen Sanh
Thong and illustrated by Trung Duong. $7.00
4. Anonymous,LUC SUC TRANH CONG/THE QUARREL OF THE SlX BEASTS. A
bilingual edition of the classic of Vietnamese satire in verse, introduced by Nguyen Ngqc
Huy, translated by Huyen Sanh Thong, and illustrated by Manh Quyrih. $7.00
5. Huynh Sanh Thong (trans.) T© B e MADE OVER:
TALES OF SOCIALIST
R eeducation in V ietnam . Sixteen stories by Nhat Tien, Nguyen Mong Giac,
Nguyln Ngoc Ngan, Vo KyDien, and others. $12.00
6. Louis-Jacques Dorais, Lise Pilon-Le&Nguyln Huy. EXILE IN A COLD LAND: A
V ietnam ese C ommunity in C anada . $ 12.00
7. Pham Van Ky. B lood BROTHERS. A novel translated from the French (Fr'eresdesang)
by Margaret Mauldon and introduced by Lucy Nguyln. A young intellectual caught
between East and West. $9.00
8. Vinh Sinh (ed.) PHAN B o i CHAU AND THE PONG**Du MOVEMENT. Essays by
Vietnamese and Japanese scholars. $10.00
9. O.W. Wolters, T WO ESSA7S ON & A I VlET IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURA
Textual Criticism applied to a study of the Tran Dynasty. $12.00
F orthcoming
10. Stephen B. Young & Nguyln Ngoc Huy, THE TRADITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
in C hina and V ietnam .
11. Nguyln Thi Thu-Lim, F allen Le a v e s : M em oirs o f a V ietnam ese
WOMAN FROM 7 ^ 4 0 T O j ^ l S .
12. Anonymous, BfCH CAU Kt T<GO/THE MARVELOUS ENCOUNTER AT BLUE
CREEK, a bilingual edition, translated by Huyen Sanh Thong and illustrated by
Nguyen Thi Hop & Nguyln Dong.
T ale S outheast A sia S tudies
B ox 73A T ale S tation
New Haven , CT 0 6 5 2 0