Cruel April: The Fall of Saigon

by Olivier Todd

Book Overview

Cruel April is much more than a riveting account of the fall of Saigon. In the current reassessment of the Vietnam War, it is a revelation--a revisionist view that documents Todd's belief that, for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393027872
• ISBN13: 9780393027877
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 470 Pages
• Weight: 1.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Primarily Political...

The book is mostly about the political circumstances surrounding the fall of Saigon (and political events well before April 1975). If you're interested in the military and social aspect of the defeat (as I was), this probably won't be for you. Very dry reading.

Memories and Questions

Our nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when The Paris Peace Accord was signed in 1973. It was supposed to be the end of the Vietnam War. As we would learn 2 years later, it was not. Olivier Todd originally covered the war from 1965-1973. After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, he decided it was time to summarize the final days of the conflict. His book covers the infamous 4-month period from January to April in 1975 and the total collapse of South Vietnam. In reading this book, it is quite obvious he invested a great deal of time into interviews and research. The book not only reviews the final days but also raises many questions about the events surrounding them. The reader will find himself mixing memories with those questions in every chapter.