|
|
Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 > Vietnam War
 |
High Shining Brass
(Paperback)
Don Lomax, Robert Durant; Illustrated by Don Lomax
|
R382
R356
Discovery Miles 3 560
Save R26 (7%)
|
Ships in 18 - 22 working days
|
|
|
An action-filled memoir by Medal of Honor recipient Bennie Adkins,
whose heroic deeds as a Green Beret in Vietnam in March 1966 became
legend in the Army For four days in early March 1966, then-sergeant
Bennie Adkins and sixteen other Green Berets held their undermanned
and unfortified position at Camp A Shau, a small training and
reconnaissance camp located right next to the infamous Ho Chi Minh
Trail, North Vietnam's major supply route. Surrounded 10-to-1, the
Green Berets endured constant mortar and rifle fire, treasonous
allies, and a violent jungle rain storm. But there was one among
them who battled ferociously, like a tiger, and, when they finally
evacuated, carried the wounded to safety. Forty-eight years later,
Bennie Adkins's valor was recognized when he received this nation's
highest military award. A Tiger among Us tells the story of how
this small group of warriors out-fought and out-maneuvered their
enemies, how a remarkable number of them lived to tell about it,
and how that tiger became their savior. It is also the tale of how
Adkins repeatedly risked his life to help save his fellow warriors
through acts of bravery and ingenuity. Filled with the sights,
smells, and sounds of a raging battle fought in the middle of a
tropical forest, A Tiger among Us is alive with the emotional
intensity of the besieged men as they lose many of their own while
inflicting incredible losses on the North Vietnamese forces. A US
pilot flying over the post-battle carnage described it as a "Wall
of Death." A Tiger among Us is a riveting tale of bravery, valor,
skill, resilience, and perhaps just plain luck, brought to vivid
life through the oral histories of Adkins and five of his fellow
soldiers who fought in the Battle of A Shau.
Taking the reader in the mountains and forests that the Americans
called 'Indian country,' Stevens presents the Viet Nam War as an
extension of the romantic myth of the American frontier. In seven
operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the reader enters an exotic,
exhilarating, terrifying world. Documented by military reports,
Steven's powerful and poetic prose and his complex examination of
the Viet Nam War elevate his Trail journey into the realm of myth.
After 27 years of conflict it seemed that peace would finally
settle on the Indochina peninsula on 27January 1973 with the
signing of a peace accord in Paris. The North Vietnamese had
previously launched their greatest offensive against South Vietnam
but fell short of their objectives, the destruction of the Army of
the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the destruction of the Saigon
regime. They now proposed, in exchange for the release of the US
prisoners of war, the withdrawal of the remaining American forces
in Vietnam. Far from feeling committed by the agreement, the Hanoi
leadership prepared the next round, the ultimate conquest of South
Vietnam now that Washington had completely evacuated its last
troops from the country. That first volume sets the scene, by
making an assessment of the situation on the field, in both
tactical and strategic perspectives. It also examines the last
episode of the US gradual withdrawal as well as the implementation
of part of the Peace Accords with the removal by the US Navy of the
mines sown by its aircraft from the North Vietnamese ports and
inland waters. It then presents the respective opposing armed
forces and will particularly focus on the North Vietnamese
rebuilding after the havoc wrought by the American aerial campaign
of 1972. Furthermore, the expansion of the famous Ho Chi Minh
Trail, vital for the logistical support of the communist troops, is
thoroughly detailed. The South Vietnamese on their part placed
great emphasis on developing their own air force in order to try to
replace the withdrawal of American airpower. Most at all, it also
details the initial fighting that not only resumed but soon
escalated into divisional-level battles where the South Vietnamese
still prevailed.
Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam? What led US policy
makers to become convinced that Vietnam posed a threat to American
interests? In The Road to Vietnam, Pablo de Orellana traces the
origins of the US-Vietnam War back to 1945-1948 and the diplomatic
relations fostered in this period between the US, France and
Vietnam, during the First Vietnam War that pitted imperial France
against the anti-colonial Vietminh rebel alliance. With specific
focus on the representation of the parties involved through the
processes of diplomatic production, the book examines how the
groundwork was laid for the US-Vietnam War of the 60's and 70's.
Examining the France-Vietminh conflict through poststructuralist
and postcolonial lenses, de Orellana reveals the processes by which
the US and France built up the perception of Vietnam as a communist
threat. Drawing on archival diplomatic texts, the representation of
political identity between diplomatic actors is examined as a cause
leading up to American involvement in the First Vietnam War, and
will be sure to interest scholars in the fields of fields of
diplomatic studies, international relations, diplomatic history and
Cold War history.
|
|