{"product_id":"the-vietnam-reader-isbn-9780385491181","title":"The Vietnam Reader","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary selection of the finest and best-known art from the American war in Vietnam, from Tim O'Brien to Marvin Gaye, from mainstream bestsellers to radical poetry.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis authoritative and accessible volume includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, film, photography, and popular song lyrics from the Vietnam War era, covering a breadth of experiences and perspectives. Also included are incisive reader's questions--useful for educators and book clubs--in a volume that makes an essential contribution to a wider understanding of the Vietnam War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn indispensable and provocative read for anyone who wants to know more about the war that changed the face of late-twentieth-century America.Map of Vietnam\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003eChronology of the War\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGreen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRobin Moore \u003ci\u003eThe Green Berets\u003c\/i\u003e (1965)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eIf I Die in a Combat Zone\u003c\/i\u003e (1973)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eGoing After Cacciato\u003c\/i\u003e (1978)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEarly Work\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Halberstam \u003ci\u003eone very hot day\u003c\/i\u003e (1967)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eIf I Die in a Combat Zone\u003c\/i\u003e (1973)\u003cbr\u003eMichael Casey \u003ci\u003eObscenities\u003c\/i\u003e (1972)\u003cbr\u003eDavid Rabe \u003ci\u003eSticks and Bones\u003c\/i\u003e (1969)\u003cbr\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eDemilitarized Zones\u003c\/i\u003e, Jan Barry and W.D. Ehrhart, Editors\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFirst Wave of Major Work\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRon Kovac \u003ci\u003eBorn on the Fourth of July\u003c\/i\u003e (1976)\u003cbr\u003eJames Webb \u003ci\u003eFields of Fire\u003c\/i\u003e (1978)\u003cbr\u003ePhilip Capto \u003ci\u003eA Rumor of War\u003c\/i\u003e (1977)\u003cbr\u003eMichael Herr \u003ci\u003eDispatches\u003c\/i\u003e (1977)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eGoing After Cacciato\u003c\/i\u003e (1978)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFirst Wave of Major Films\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Apocalypse Now\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSongs\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The Ballad of the Green Berets\" Barry Sadler and Robin Moore (1966)\u003cbr\u003e\"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixen'-to-Die-Rag\" Country Joe McDonald 1965\u003cbr\u003e\"Fortunate Son\" Creedence Clearwater RevivalJohn Fogerty (1969)\u003cbr\u003e\"The Unknown Soldier\" The DoorsJim Morrison (1968)\u003cbr\u003e\"What's Going on\" Marvin Gaye (1971)\u003cbr\u003e\"War\" Edwin Starr (1970)\u003cbr\u003e\"Born in the U.S.A.\" Bruce Springsteen (1984)\u003cbr\u003e\"The Big Parade\" 10,000 ManiacsNatalie Merchant (1989)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Oral History Boom\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMark Baker \u003ci\u003eNam\u003c\/i\u003e (1981)\u003cbr\u003eWallace Terry \u003ci\u003eBloods\u003c\/i\u003e (1984)\u003cbr\u003eKeith Walker \u003ci\u003eA Piece of My Heart\u003c\/i\u003e (1985)\u003cbr\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eDear America: Letters Home from Vietnam\u003c\/i\u003e, Bernard Edelman, Editor (1985)\u003cbr\u003eAl Santoli \u003ci\u003eEverything We Had\u003c\/i\u003e (1981)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSecond Wave of Major Work\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn M. Del Vecchio \u003ci\u003eThe 13th Valley\u003c\/i\u003e (1982)\u003cbr\u003eStephan Wright \u003ci\u003eMeditations in Green\u003c\/i\u003e (1983)\u003cbr\u003eLarry Heinemann \u003ci\u003ePaco's Story\u003c\/i\u003e (1986)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSecond Wave of Major Films\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlatoon, Full Metal Jacket\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMemoirs\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRonald J. Glasser, M.D. \u003ci\u003e365 Days\u003c\/i\u003e (1971)\u003cbr\u003eFrederick Downs \u003ci\u003eThe Killing Zone\u003c\/i\u003e (1978)\u003cbr\u003eRobert Mason \u003ci\u003eChickenhawk\u003c\/i\u003e (1983)\u003cbr\u003eMichael Lee Lanning \u003ci\u003eThe Only War We Had\u003c\/i\u003e (1987)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMasterwork\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eThe Things They Carried\u003c\/i\u003e (1990)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHomecoming\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLarry Heinemann \u003ci\u003ePaco's Story\u003c\/i\u003e (1986)\u003cbr\u003eLouise Erdrich \u003ci\u003eLove Medicine\u003c\/i\u003e (1984)\u003cbr\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eCarrying the Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e, W.D. Ehrhart, Editor (1985)\u003cbr\u003eBruce Weigl \u003ci\u003eA Romance\u003c\/i\u003e (1979), \u003ci\u003eThe Monkey Wars\u003c\/i\u003e (1985), \u003ci\u003eWhat Saves Us\u003c\/i\u003e (1992)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eThe Things They Carried\u003c\/i\u003e 1990\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMemory\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYusef Komunyakaa \u003ci\u003eDien Cai Dau\u003c\/i\u003e 1988\u003cbr\u003eBobbie Ann Mason \u003ci\u003eIn Country\u003c\/i\u003e (1985)\u003cbr\u003eKevin Bowen \"Incoming\" (1994)\u003cbr\u003eTim O'Brien \u003ci\u003eIn the Lake of the Woods\u003c\/i\u003e (1994)\u003cbr\u003eJohn Balaban \"Mr. Giai's Poem\" (1991)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Wall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eW.D. Ehrhart \"The Invasion of Grenada\" (1984)\u003cbr\u003eStewart O'Nan \u003ci\u003eThe Names of the Dead\u003c\/i\u003e (1996)\u003cbr\u003eYusef Komunyakaa \u003ci\u003eDien Cai Dau\u003c\/i\u003e (1988)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGlossary\u003cbr\u003eSelected Additional Bibliography\u003cbr\u003eSelected Additional Filmography\u003cbr\u003eReading Questions\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003cb\u003eStewart O'Nan\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of numerous books, including \u003ci\u003eWest of Sunset\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e The Odds, Emily Alone, Snow Angels, Songs for the Missing\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e A Prayer for the Dying\u003c\/i\u003e. His 2007 novel, \u003ci\u003eLast Night at the Lobster\u003c\/i\u003e, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Prize. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his family.from the Introduction\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A few years ago when I began teaching the American literature of the Vietnam War, I tried to find an anthology my students could use—a book that collected all the major work in one place. This didn't seem far-fetched; the war had been over for twenty years, and thousands of books had been written about it. But as I searched through libraries and catalogues, new- and used-book shops, I discovered there wasn't one.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Yes, there were anthologies, but most were out of print and none put together all the pieces I considered essential. Some were fitted together like polemics, others relied too heavily on dull reportage. There were solid poetry anthologies, most notably W. D. Ehrhart's \u003ci\u003eCarrying the Darkness, \u003c\/i\u003ebut few books had tried to collect everything—the fiction, the oral histories, the memoirs, the films, the photos—and those that did inevitably had gaps. Imagine a comprehensive Vietnam anthology without the work of Michael Herr or Tim O'Brien or Larry Heinemann, without a healthy sampling of the oral histories, without a single mention of \u003ci\u003ePlatoon, \u003c\/i\u003ewithout Ronald Haeberle's famous picture of the ditch at My Lai.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Instead of ordering a single volume and sending my students to the campus store, I began digging through the individual novels and poetry collections, poring over the photographic essays, watching the films, taking notes, making photocopies. I haunted the used-book stores for sadly out-of-print work, borrowed books from colleagues, sat in the stacks of libraries.  What I finally came up with was a course packet weighing in at around six pounds, the permissions for which were impossible to secure in time for the semester.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e While I've cut a great deal from that original manuscript, this book remains true to its core. I believe I've chosen and hunted down the elusive permissions for the best and best known works about the war, selections that will give the reader both an essential overview and a deep understanding of how America has seen its time in Vietnam over the past thirty years.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Any Vietnam anthology should bring its reader closer to the war, and in teaching my course I found that one way to accomplish that, beyond presenting students with the usual literature, was to include such powerful and immediate material as photographs, films, and popular songs. They bring the war home inescapably, in the same way they inflamed and informed the public when they first appeared. It's one thing to tell a class that the average age of the combat soldier in Vietnam was nineteen, another to show them a roomful of recruits no older than themselves. By examining the films and songs, my students gained a deeper appreciation for how the war, and its representation, has always been debated in a charged, extremely public forum, and how that debate has changed over the years. As with the literary selections, the photos, songs, and films I've chosen to include are the best and best known, some, like Haeberle's shot of My Lai, practically iconic at this point.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Vietnam Reader \u003c\/i\u003eis organized according to two chronological schemes. The first is the typical arc of the Vietnam narrative and traces the tour of duty from induction all the way through returning stateside. The second scheme is the timeframe during which these books and films were released. In certain chapters (such as the popular songs) I found it did more justice to the material to collect works that span a great deal of time but are similar in either theme or genre, thereby illustrating how trends in representing Vietnam echoed the changes in American popular and political culture. This combination of approaches is intended to give the reader a better sense of how both the soldiers' and the public's attitudes toward Vietnam have changed as the years pass.","brand":"Anchor","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304609763557,"sku":"NP9780385491181","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780385491181.jpg?v=1767742076","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-vietnam-reader-isbn-9780385491181","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}