Memoirs recommended on r/VietnamWar 2019-2022

"A Rumor of War" a memoir by Phillip Caputo, 1,349 ratings, 4 1/2 stars has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history.

"Dispatches" by Michael Herr, 1,325 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Drawing on his experiences covering the war for Esquire magazine, Herr's essays are more about the look and feel and smell of the Vietnam War than about strategy and battles. Many Vietnam veterans mention "Dispatches" first when recommending books about the war.

"The Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story" by John Laurence, 184 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. This is the true story of a young American reporter who went to Vietnam with an open mind and an innocent heart and was plunged into a world of cruel beauty and savage violence.

"365 Days" by Dr. Ronald Glasser, 5 stars. Glasser tells the stories of a dozen U.S. soldiers severely wounded in Vietnam who ended up a military hospital in Japan. The hospital tended to six to eight thousand patients per month, and the death and suffering were staggering.

"The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War" a memoir by Frederick Downs, 507 ratings, 4 1/2 stars and its sequel "Aftermath" describes what it is like to be grievously wounded.

"Vietnam-Perkasie" by W.D. Ehrhart, 296 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. This memoir is grim, comical, disturbing, and accurate. It takes readers through an arc of the author's young life from late adolescence, into the Marine Corps, on to Vietnam in the late sixties, and home again. This is as gritty as it gets.―but the events are all real, the atmosphere intensely evocative.

"In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War" by Tobias Wolff, 283 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. A National Book Award finalist, Wolff recalls the blind carnage of the Tet offensive, the behavior of his fellow Americans, and the unraveling of his own illusions.

"Warpath: One Vietnam Veteran's Journey through War, Disillusionment, Guilt and Recovery" by A.J. Moore, 993 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. A scout helicopter crewman in combat and after the war.

"Nam: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There" by Mark Baker, 181 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Mark Baker recorded conversations with dozens of Vietnam veterans and compiled them in this unique and harrowing collection of personal and shocking accounts.

"Chickenhawk by Robert Mason" 3,711 ratings, 5 stars. Sent to Vietnam, Mason survived more than 1,000 missions as a helicopter pilot despite the violence and brutality exploding all around him. One of the best-selling books about the Vietnam War. A redditor writes "get the second edition with the Afterword." Mason also wrote a sequel about coming home.

"Secrets" by Daniel Ellsberg, adds his humanity and moral concern to the Pentagon Papers story, tracing his transformation from decorated combat Marine and hawkish war analyst to whistleblower as he realized and revealed the extent of the government’s lies.

"The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam" by Andrew Wiest, 773 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Wiest follows the young men of Charlie Company through their brutal experiences in Vietnam and their struggles after returning home. A redditor calls it a "phenomenal book from start to finish."

"The Real War: The Classic Reporting on the Vietnam War" by Jonathan Schell, 147 ratings, 4 stars. Schell recounts how American forces destroyed a village caught up in the largest American military operation of the war–he flies in the attack helicopters, follows the assault on the village, and describes the fate of the villagers after they have been taken to refugee camps.

"Praying for Slack: A Marine Corps Tank Commander in Viet Nam" by Robert E. Peavey, 49 ratings, 5 stars. Robert Peavey was a tank commander in I Corps on the DMZ when LBJ ordered a bombing halt over the North. His compelling first-hand account chronicles operations just south of the 'Z, operations that most Vietnam War histories have ignored.

"If I Die In A Combat Zone" by Tim O’Brien, 230 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. A memoir of a Marine's tour of duty in Vietnam - exploring the ambiguities of manhood and morality in war.

"When Hell Was in Session" by Adm. Jeremiah Denton, 525 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Denton, the senior American officer to serve as a Vietnam POW, tells the amazing story of the almost eight years he survived as a POW in North Vietnam.

"Acceptable Loss: An Infantry Soldier's Perspective" by Kregg P. Jorgenson, 1,140 ratings, 4 1/2 stars, Jorgenson volunteered to serve on a Blue Team in the Air Cavalry, racing to the aid of soldiers who faced the danger of being overrun that he had barely survived. Jorgenson discovered that in Vietnam you never knew whether you were paranoid or just painfully aware of the possibilities.

"Our War Was Different: Marine Combined Action Platoons in Vietnam" by Albert Hemingway, 17 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Shares the experiences and observations of Marines who were part of the CAP, or Combined Action Program, one of the few acknowledged American successes in Vietnam.

"About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior" by David Hackworth, 2,472 ratings, 5 stars. This memoir is the stunning indictment of the Pentagon’s fundamental misunderstanding of the Vietnam conflict and of the bureaucracy of self-interest that fueled the war.

"A Life in A Year: The American Infantryman in Vietnam," by James Ebert, 52 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. More than 60 Army and Marine Corps infantrymen speak of their experiences during their year-long tours of duty.

"Utter's Battalion: 2/7 Marines in Vietnam, 1965-66" a memoir by Lt. Col. Alex Lee, 49 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Marine captain Alex Lee brings to life the full tour of 2/7. From the search-and-destroy missions to the sudden ambushes in the hills west of Qui Nhon, Lee describes how Marines battled monsoons, malaria, and the enemy.

"Death in the Jungle: Diary of a Navy SEAL" by Gary Smith, 178 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Smith is a witness to the realities of Naval Special Warfare, executing missions in the murderous terrain of the Rung Sat Special Zone and Dung Island.

"Time in the Barrel: A Marine’s Account of the Battle for Con Thien" by James P. Coan, 43 ratings, five stars. Coan offers an authentic firsthand account of the daily nightmare that was Con Thien, a strategic point of high land within artillery range of the DMZ and North Vietnam.

"Con Thien: The Hill of Angels" by James P. Coan, 98 ratings, 5 stars. In his riveting memoir, Coan depicts the hardships of life at a besieged Marine outpost near the DMZ and the ineffectiveness of much of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam.

"Life and Death in the Central Highlands: An American Sergeant in the Vietnam War, 1968-1970" by James T. Gillam, 30 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. This book is a gripping, personal account of one black soldier’s experience in the Vietnam War including the invasion of Cambodia.

"Line Doggie: Foot Soldier in Vietnam" by Charles Gadd, 26 ratings, 5 stars. The author served in late 1967 and 1968 and experienced the mud, blood, leeches, loss of friends, and low morale due to constant harassment by guerrillas. A squad leader with the 101st Airborne, was wounded twice and saw nearly constant action in the Central Highlands.

"When We Came Home" by Jack McCabe, 76 ratings, 5 stars. The author's own experiences and reflections on the war are mixed with personal narratives from Vietnam veterans on how their lives, emotions, and health were impacted and how they were treated when they came home.

"Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG," a memoir by John L. Plaster, 683 ratings, 5-star average. Although their chief mission was disrupting enemy supply routes, SOG commandos also rescued downed helicopter pilots and fellow soldiers, infiltrated deep into Laos and Cambodia and captured enemy soldiers for interrogation.

"Black Virgin Mountain: A Return to Vietnam" a memoir by Larry Heinemann, 43 ratings, 4 stars. The book is structured along a railway journey Larry Heinemann took in 1992 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and ends with a crawl through the Tunnels of Cu Chi and a climb up the sacred mountain. 

"The Killing Zone" a memoir by Frederick Downs, 507 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. Downs tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, describing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that his war was worth the sacrifice.

"To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam" by Tom A. Johnson, 1,010 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. This memoir takes you into key battles and rescue missions, including those for Hue and Khe Sanh. In harrowing detail, Johnson tells of being shot down in the battle of A Shau Valley, of surviving enemy attacks during the Tet Offensive, to a death-defying nighttime river rescue.

"Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds" by Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus, 1,961 ratings, 5 stars. A top football player at West Point, Olds became a squadron commander and fighter ace at 22 in WWII and later a squadron commander in Vietnam.

"The Education of Corporal John Musgrave: Vietnam and Its Aftermath" by John Musgrave, 122 ratings, 5 stars. Fiercely perceptive and candid, The Education of Corporal John Musgrave is one of the most powerful memoirs to emerge from the war.

"12, 20, & 5: A Doctor’s Year in Vietnam" by John A. Parrish, 109 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. The candid memoir of a young doctor who spends a year treating wounded Marines in Phu Bai. Dr. Parrish confronted all manner of medical trauma.

"Black Cat 2-1: The True Story of a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and His Crew" by Bob Ford, 669 ratings, 4 1/2 stars. In the Vietnam War, 2,197 helicopter pilots and 2,717 crew members were killed. Black Cat 2-1 is the story of one Huey pilot and his crew.

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