The Vietnam Reader

by O'NAN, STEWART

• ISBN13: 9780385491181
• ISBN10: 0385491182
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1998-10-20
• Publisher: Anchor

Summary

The Vietnam Readeris a selection of the finest and best-known art from the American war in Vietnam, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, film, still photos, and popular song lyrics. All the strongest work is here, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry, from Tim O'Brien to Marvin Gaye. Also included are incisive reader's questions--useful for educators and book clubs--in a volume that makes an essential contribution to a wider understanding of the Vietnam War. This authoritative and accessible volume is sure to become a classic reference, as well as indispensable and provocative reading for anyone who wants to know more about the war that changed the face of late-twentieth-century America.

Author Biography

Stewart O'Nan is the author of numerous books, including West of Sunset, The Odds, Emily Alone, Snow Angels, Songs for the Missing, and A Prayer for the Dying. His 2007 novel, Last Night at the Lobster, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his family.

Table of Contents

Map of Vietnam	xii
Introduction	1	(6)
Chronology of the War	7	(4)
1 GREEN	11	(40)
ROBIN MOORE
The Green Berets (1965)	17	(24)
TIM O'BRIEN
If I Die in a Combat Zone (1973)	41	(6)
TIM O'BRIEN
Going After Cacciato (1978)	47	(4)
2 EARLY WORK	51	(62)
DAVID HALBERSTAM
one very hot day (1967)	57	(16)
TIM O'BRIEN
If I Die in a Combat Zone (1973)	73	(8)
MICHAEL CASEY
Obscenities (1972)	81	(8)
DAVID RABE
Sticks and Bones (1969)	89	(18)
From Demilitarized Zones (1976)	107	(6)
JAN BARRY
W.D. EHRHART
3 FIRST WAVE OF MAJOR WORK	113	(144)
RON KOVIC
Born on the Fourth of July (1976)	119	(11)
JAMES WEBB
Fields of Fire (1978)	130	(20)
PHILIP CAPUTO
A Rumor of War (1977)	150	(50)
MICHAEL HERR
Dispatches (1977)	200	(34)
TIM O'BRIEN
Going After Cacciato (1978)	234	(23)
4 FIRST WAVE OF MAJOR FILMS	257	(22)
The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Apocalypse Now	259	(20)
5 SONGS	279	(18)
"The Ballad of the Green Berets (1966)	285	(1)
BARRY SADLER
ROBIN MOORE
"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" (1965)	286	(2)
COUNTRY JOE McDONALD
"Fortunate Son" (1969)	288	(1)
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL/JOHN FOGERTY
"The Unknown Soldier" (1968)	289	(1)
THE DOORS/JIM MORRISON
"What's Going On" (1971)	290	(2)
MARVIN GAYE
"War" (1970)	292	(2)
EDWIN STARR
"Born in the U.S.A." (1904)	294	(2)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
"The Big Parade" (1989)	296	(1)
10,000 MANIACS/NATALIE MERCHANT
6. THE ORAL HISTORY BOOM	297	(92)
MARK BAKER
Nam (1981)	303	(21)
WALLACE TERRY
Bloods (1984)	324	(14)
KEITH WALKER
A Piece of My Heart (1985)	338	(13)
From Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1985)	351	(14)
BERNARD EDELMAN
AL SANTOLI
Everything We Had (1981)	365	(24)
7. SECOND WAVE OF MAJOR WORK	389	(50)
JOHN M. DEL VECCHIO
The 13th Valley (1982)	395	(19)
STEPHEN WRIGHT
Meditations in Green (1983)	414	(13)
LARRY HEINEMANN
Paco's Story (1986)	427	(12)
8. SECOND WAVE OF MAJOR FILMS	439	(18)
Platoon, Full Metal Jacket	441	(16)
9. MEMOIRS	457	(46)
RONALD J. GLASSER, M.D.
365 Days (1971)	461	(9)
FREDERICK DOWNS
The Killing Zone (1978)	470	(13)
ROBERT MASON
Chickenhawk (1983)	483	(12)
MICHAEL LEE LANNING
The Only War We Had (1987)	495	(8)
10. MASTERWORK	503	(36)
TIM O'BRIEN
The Things They Carried (1990)	507	(32)
11. HOMECOMING	539	(74)
LARRY HEINEMANN
Paco's Story (1986)	545	(16)
LOUISE ERDRICH
Love Medicine (1984)	561	(12)
From Carrying the Darkness (1985)	573	(6)
W.D. EHRHART
BRUCE WEIGL
A Romance (1979), The Monkey Wars (1985), What Saves Us (1992)	579	(14)
TIM O'BRIEN
The Things They Carried (1990)	593	(20)
12. MEMORY	613	(62)
YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA
Dien Cai Dau (1988)	619	(13)
BOBBIE ANN MASON
In Country (1985)	632	(21)
KEVIN BOWEN
"Incoming" (1994)	653	(2)
TIM O'BRIEN
In the Lake of the Woods (1994)	655	(17)
JOHN BALABAN
"Mr. Giai's Poem" (1991)	672	(3)
13. THE WALL	675	(18)
W.D. EHRHART
"The Invasion of Grenada" (1984)	679	(1)
STEWART O'NAN
The Names of the Dead (1996)	680	(7)
YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA
Dien Cai Dau (1988)	687	(6)
Glossary	693	(4)
Selected Additional Bibliography	697	(2)
Selected Additional Filmography	699	(2)
Reading Questions	701	(14)
Acknowledgments	715	(4)
Index	719