Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War

by Harry G. Summers Jr.

Book Overview

With more than one hundred four-color maps supplemented by photographs and reconstructions, the Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War provides the first major visualization of that war as well as a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395722233
• ISBN13: 9780395722237
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.6" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

The War in Graphic Detail

All in all, this book is a pretty good narrative of the entire Vietnam War. The text is simple and concise, thus making it a relatively easy read. It is about 213 pages long but the reader will only read half these pages as the other half contain full page maps. The book is broken into seven major sections. Each section starts with a short narrative. Thus, the reader has a quick understanding of the upcoming battles. The only shortcoming of the text is that the descriptions of the various battles are sometimes too brief. The Battle of the Ia Drang is essentially described as the Americans landing on an NVA Regiment, a battle ensued, the Americans called in air strikes and won the day. The reader is forced to look at other sources for any meaningful description of the battle. Nevertheless, this book has some very good qualities. The often vague battlefield descriptions are overcome by excellent graphic maps. These full color maps provide a clear detail of the various units in a battle as well as their line of attack or retreat. The book also contains a good selection of photographs relating to each specific battle. Finally, this book is more than a collection of maps, pictures, and brief battlefield narratives. It also describes events and organizations such as MACV, the Green Berets, and the assassination of President Diem. Bottom line: this book is a quick easy read about the entire Vietnam War. Although the battle narratives are weak, they are compensated by excellent graphic maps. This is a good addition to any home library about the Vietnam War.

A visual diary of the War.

This is a beautifully illustrated book with battlefield plans of the Vietnam Wars and details of all the troop movements. It places the reader right at the center of the war zone. The text on the left handside details the events involved at the time while maps are drawn on the right handside. The texts are concised, focused and give the reader a clear and broad picture of the war.

Excellent

Adds a new dimension sorely lacking in other good books about Vietnam. Good historical coverage all the way back to pre-history, sharp clear graphics and comprehensive coverage. I was there in 1968-69 and think this book is a valuable addition to anyone's Vietnam collection -- or a fine place to start if you are just learning about this country and its wars. Kudos to Colonel Summers, the author, for producing such a fine atlas.

Complete,straight to the point,beautifully illustrated

This book provides much needed information on how the biggest campaigns of both the Indochina War and Vietnam War,referred too (rightly)as the Second Indochina War,were fought.Here you will find detailed maps and narratives showing the development of a given battle or campaign. This book dispels the idea that somehow the military operations in Indochina could not be traced in a clear,coherent way.THE HISTORICAL ATLAS OF THE VIETNAM WAR does just that thanks to excellent,high quality graphics and maps and authoritative commentary from STANLEY KARNOW and HARRY G.SUMMERS.These two historians(in my opinion the top experts on Vietnam)make this book something much more than just a book of maps.From pre-colonial to post-war Indochina,from coverage of set piece battles to Phoenix Program and Naval Forces,to the anti-war movement,My Lai and congress,HISTORICAL ATLAS OF THE VIETNAM WAR is THE new reference about the war. Buy it with confidence.I did and i am not dissapointed. Buy this book...I did and I'm not dissapointed.HARRY G SUMMERS and STANLEY KARNOW deserve recognition for putting together this masterpiece.

clear graphics & pictures; insightful topic sketches

Some battle details that I have seen in no other books on the Vietnam war. Easily deciphered grahics, especially those showing degrees of passification. Photographs capture feeling of the current stage of the war. Victory campaign of '75 section fills void in my library about the Nam. Book feels good in the hand. Some are too bulky or too little to sit and read!