Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975 is a 2018 nonfiction book by the British 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.

Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975
AuthorMax Hastings
Cover artistMilan Bozic
LanguageEnglish
GenreNonfiction
PublisherHarper Collins
Publication date
October 16, 2018
Publication placeUnited States
Pages857
ISBN978-0-06-240566-1

Overview

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Hastings recounts the Vietnam War from multiple perspectives ranging from military to political to civilian to American, North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, Australian, Chinese, and Soviet.[1]

Reception

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The New York Times,[2] The Washington Post,[3] Foreign Affairs,[4] and The Guardian[5] published positive reviews. Lawrence Freedman 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 Vietcong.[4]

References

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  1. ^ C, Leslie. "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975" (PDF). Studies in Intelligence. 63 (1): 47–49.
  2. ^ Lawrence, Mark Atwood (2018-11-20). "The Disaster That Was the Vietnam War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  3. ^ Asselin, Pierre (2018-11-10). "The many flaws and failures of the United States in the Vietnam War". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ Woollacott, Martin (2018-10-01). "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945–1975 by Max Hastings – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-02-07.