Review: The Diligent by Robert Harms
Robert Harms, The Diligent (Basic Books, 2002) A review of Robert Harm’s newest work, Land of Tears, was posted here last January. Many of you have bought the book, and since I think his work is phenomenal, I wanted to showcase his prior work that introduced me to his writing. Since the beginning for the […]
Book Review: Patriots by Christian Appy
The conflict in Vietnam between the United States and Vietnamese nationalists from the 1950’s to the mid-1970’s generated a narrative in America traditionally focused on American geopolitics and societal cause-and-effect, often eschewing the role their Vietnamese combatants played in deciding the conflict. Under this structure, historians often severely underplay the role of the Vietnamese civilians, […]
The Vietnam War Remembered Part I: Ho by David Halberstam
Note: As we come up on the 50th Anniversary of the Pentagon Papers, and with the recent release of the Afghanistan Papers, we felt it was timely to look back at the conflict in Vietnam. Over the next month, I am doing an examination of several Vietnam-era historical works that examine both sides of the […]
Review: Unworthy Republic by Claudio Saunt
Progress is a funny little word. As we have trudged forth with our comprehension of “other” United States history – that is a sort of bottom-up, from the margins view of those that have been discriminated and oppressed, we have uncovered uncomfortable truths and perspectives. These views have widened our focus on the American story […]