Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy
| Author | Max Hastings |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Milan Bozic |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
Publication date | October 16, 2018 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 857 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-240566-1 |
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975 is a 2018 nonfiction book by the British journalist and military historian Max Hastings. The full text is divided into 28 chapters. The author recounts the beginnings of the First Indochina War up until the end of The Vietnam War.
Overview
Hastings recounts the Vietnam War from supposedly multiple perspectives ranging from military to political to civilian to American, North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, Australian, Chinese, and Soviet.[1]
Reception
The New York Times[2] and The Guardian[3] published positive reviews. Lawrence Freedman in Foreign Affairs described Hastings as being acutely critical of the United States' decision to compensate for South Vietnam's political weaknesses through military means, yet also equally scathing in detailing the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.[4] The Washington Post featured a review by historian Pierre Asselin that leaned slightly negative overall.[5]
References
- ^ C, Leslie. "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975" (PDF). Studies in Intelligence. 63 (1): 47–49.
- ^ Lawrence, Mark Atwood (2018-11-20). "The Disaster That Was the Vietnam War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ Woollacott, Martin (2018-10-01). "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975 by Max Hastings – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ Freedman, Lawrence D. (2018-12-11). "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975; Road to Disaster: A New History of America's Descent Into Vietnam". Foreign Affairs. No. January/February 2019. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ Asselin, Pierre (2018-11-10). "The many flaws and failures of the United States in the Vietnam War". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-07.