Vietnam Reading List

Being fascinated with a subject leads me to endless reading, bordering on the obsessive, and preparing for Vietnam was no exception.  Although over the years I have read countless titles about the history of the country, this was before I ever knew that I would actually have the opportunity to go there.  The same holds true for WW2, I can’t stop reading about it.

Seeing many of the locations and iconic architecture and monuments of the Vietnam War brought these books to life, in some cases, years after having read them.

This is a short list, everything I read before electronic books remains only in my memory.

If you have a book that we need to add to our list send us a message, we would love to read it.

Books We’ve Read

• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
• Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
• Chickenhawk by Robert Mason
• Saigon by Anthony Gray
• The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
• The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
• The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
• Honor Bound, The History of American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973 by Stuart I. Rochester and Frederick Kiley
• Defiant by Alvin Townley
• When Hell Was in Session by Admiral Jeremiah A. Denton
• In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Howard and Phyllis Rutledge
• Faith of My Fathers by John McCain
• Honorable Exit by Thurston Clarke
• We Were Soldiers Once and Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway

Up Next on our List

• The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam
• Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden
• Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet by Lewis B. Puller, Jr.
• If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O’Brien
• Tap Code, Carlyle “Smitty” Harris
• The Boys of ’67 by Andrew Weist