Legacy of Discord: Voices of the Vietnam War Era - Book Report/Review Example

208727 Legacy of discord: Voices of the Vietnam War Era Introduction: The pages of historyof the Vietnam War, daubed in bloodshed are asking the crying question. How to make this Planet Earth, including Vietnam and USA, heaven-like? The answer is simple and direct. Eyes full of understanding, hearts full of love and the life that refuses conflicts—enough, these alone are enough! The nineteen interview-articles in the book, cover complimentary and contradictory aspects of the War, and throw light on the grim situation that was prevailing in the battle-front in Vietnam, and the war planning room in USA. Is war the appropriate solution to the vexed problem that a country faces when its people are vertically divided on ideological lines and whether third-party military intervention is desirable? Headline: Legacy of Discord: Voices of the Vietnam War Era (Hardcover) by Gil Dorland (Author) Format: Trade Paperback Published: March 1, 2001 Published By: Potomac Books ISBN: 1574882155 The book contains searching interviews with the following leading lights, and critical observers of, the Vietnam War: Table of Contents: Preface Acknowledgements Peter Arnett Mike Davison Daniel Ellsberg Alexander Haig David Halberstam Tom Hayden Le Ly Hayslip Roger Hilsman John Kerry Henry Kissinger Anthony Lake Cau Le Barry McCaffrey John McCain H. R. McMaster Thomas Polgar Norman Schwarzkopf James Webb William Westmoreland Glossary Index The Reader introduced to the Book: The Book is about the long and courageous war that the people of Vietnam fought against the American invasion on their territory. About three decades have passed since the fall of Saigon. The war did not solve the problems for which it was supposed to have been fought, and it has left many unresolved issues. The highlight of the book is, not two heads, but nineteen heads are better than one! Eminent personalities who were involved in the Viet Nam war, planning, execution and its conclusion give their opinions about the then prevailing situation in Vietnam and the American Warfront. What went wrong, how it went wrong and why it went wrong! The articles serve the purpose of review and post-mortem, of pre-war and post-war conditions. The articles give good introduction about the entire gamut of the great national tragedy the Vietnamese people had to face. Discuss the nature of the book, what main points the author was trying to make: Gil Dorland is eminently suited to write the present book related to Vietnam War. He has graduated from the U.S Military Academy and served two Vietnam tours. He is the recipient of Distinguished Service Cross. He has tried to understand the Vietnam War from many perspectives, through his writings and live coverage from the front. He has interviewed top world leaders and such interviews have appeared in many important publications. Presently he is an independent film producer and screenwriter. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. The author of this dispassionate and balanced book has something special about his background. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1963, and he is the first of the four brothers and their father was the Colonel. The two brothers had two terms in Vietnam, and were wounded, and the author seriously twice. His background gave him access to many of the personalities, whose articles he was able to get for his book Army generals generally would not like to be quoted on record. Summary and narrative of the book, the author’s purpose, theme and the conclusions. In Dorland’s writings, one can find the perfect combination of military genius and the analytical skill of a Reporter. The debate about the merits and demerits of the Vietnam War has not ended. It still continues. The book gives the detailed account of the highly controversial war of the era and the articles cover different perspectives. The war is now part of the history, but as one reads the book one gets the correct picture of the war-front. Each author of the article was/is an eminent personality in the subject that he has covered and Dorland has intelligently gathered the information from their knowledge on the subject. His series of interviews add something substantial and interesting to the existing literature on Vietnam War. He has provided the viewpoint of the warring factions of the country, Viet Cong and an ARVN Officer, both now in USA. They provide vital clues about the war-situation. Dorland’s writing is clever. Instead of airing views about the Vietnam War and possible solutions directly, he has done so by eliciting the views of the journalists, policymakers and military men and the two sections of the Vietnamese. The reading becomes provocative for the serious students of Vietnam War. As already stated, Vietnam War had the possibility of turning into a world-conflict inviting the major powers to confront each other. The quality of weapons used by the army, the prospect of Chinese direct intervention (indirectly the Chinese supported the Vietcong), the use of nuclear weapons etc. Vietnam War was a great theatre of experience for the American soldiers, who used that experience later in the Iraq war. Dorland steers away from direct controversy, by making one author in the book provide answer to the query and criticism of the other author. Peter Arnett’s response to the observation by General William C. Westmoreland and others was pointed. He objected that journalists Malcolm Brown, Neil Sheehan, Arnett and David Habersham were too young and inexperienced to cover the Vietnam War. The objection was overruled by citing the facts that the World War II correspondents were young as well, and such youngsters are needed to rush from one war-front to the other, they have the sense of adventure, and are willing to get shot! Certain interesting facts are also revealed as for the personal life of General Westmoreland. He took command in 1964, had a Vietnamese woman as his wife, and his brother-in-law was an ARVN colonel. Critical evaluation, strong and weak points of the book: Voluminous literature is available about the Vietnam War, but Dorland’s Legacy of Discord, gives the reader an opportunity to go through 19 books as if, simultaneously. The key figures of the era speak on the highly controversial subject. With the crisp interviews Dorland is able to extract maximum information. Varied viewpoints make the reading interesting and the subject matter kindles curiosity. This period of history is well-covered in the book. It is a fast-paced informative book, and the non-essential descriptions are discarded. He goes to the subject matter straightaway, without beating about the bush. He writes the essay from the point of view of the interviewer and is quick to grasp his demand relating to the issue. The introduction to the subject is not more than two pages, but it covers the core matter of the article well. Some debatable points about the book: The author has included, on the basis of the telephonic interview, excerpts from Westmoreland’s writings. Perhaps one to one personal interview with the General was not possible, due to his position of importance, health and age factors. Considerable lapse of time seems to have diminished the importance of the General’s answers and observations about the Vietnam War. His editorializing about the prospect and merit of John McCain as the would be President of USA has proved to be prophetic, ( he is the Republican choice for Presidency)though for once it seemed that he is moving away from the subject matter of the book. Vietnam War is a highly sensitive subject that once had the potentiality of threatening the world-peace. Dorland has put appropriate questions to the interviewers, as per the merit of their background and it is reasonable to assume that he got the right answers. Most of the interviewed individuals are from the military audience or intimately connected to the War in the advisory capacity, in planning or its execution. Conclusion: In fine, as for the Vietnam War, Dorland’s book is like the single-window facility. You get answers for all your queries. The contents set you thinking. You also wonder how a small country, smaller than one of the States of USA, could offer such high quality resistance and ultimately defeat the Number 1 military power of the world. It highlights the grit and determination of the people. The contents of the book are highly educative and they are of historical importance. It was one of the rare instances in the war-history of USA, when it militarily intervened and was defeated and recalled its army. The Vietcong army stood its ground under the most hostile conditions, faced the superior fire-power , with its guerrilla warfare tactics and inflicted severe blows on the American army at the most unsuspected place and at the most unsuspected moment. Some of the articles give vivid details, how they did it to achieve the ultimate success. ============= Read More