CW: Pretty graphic
I'm reading "The Phoenix Program" by Douglas Valentine right now, and the author has mentioned the brutality of the Viet Cong, in morbid detail (in one section he mentions a pregnant woman having a fetus cut out of her and put on display in a village). This is only really glossed over, since it is beyond the scope of the book. I'm wondering if there is a book or something detailing the history of the VC that I might check out that isn't packed with lies. I'm specifically wondering why they chose to use "terror" against civilians so frequently as well as who they were hitting exactly. I'm also wondering if they made any measurable difference compared to the North Vietnamese Army. Any complete histories that I might check out?
I'm familiar with most of the famous photos from Vietnam, but I've never seen most of these. Consider uploading this to LibGen if you do manage to scan all of it, since it isn't on there.
For any rare or obscure book it is always worth going to the library and asking the librarians if they can find it through inter library loan. There are some amazing librarians out there who have a surprisingly long reach when it comes to procuring just the book you need.
People's War, People's Army by Vo Nguyen Giap
I haven't read it yet but it's in my Big Stack of Theory and History that keeps getting taller.
I'll take a look at this when I get a chance. Unfortunately, this seems to stop at Dien Bien Phu, which is a little before the timeframe that I'm looking for.
Not a good book but this post reminded me of the time when I was like 10 when I read some half fiction war stories book by a Vietnam vet looking for cool action and instead I got really fucked up on horrifying war crimes told as heroism.
The Sorrow of War, a novel by Bao Ninh, was recommended to me here, and I read it and absolutely loved it. The author fought for the Viet Cong (or the NVA...I'm not sure) but is honestly kind of a lib. He's super bitter about the war (understandably) but doesn't really blame the colonial powers for it. Across hundreds of pages the Americans only make a few appearances. Mostly he's just really bitter about how his life was ruined and how so many friends perished—for nothing, in his mind, though we know that their sacrifice was not in vain, terrible as it was.
When Heaven And Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip is also really good, but unlike the last author, this one is a hardcore lib who grew up in the Vietnamese countryside and basically blames everyone for the war. She has some nasty stories about what the Viet Cong did, but I have no idea how true they are. (She herself was imprisoned by the ARVN even though her brother was working for them.) She eventually left the country and married a white dude. Still, the book was actually really good and had a lot of interesting moments, you just have to be ready for the lib brainworms. I didn't finish it but it's kind of a regret of mine.
Long story short, it seems like people had to do some nasty shit to get rid of the Americans.
I will put these on my to read list, thanks. Do you remember which had the better description of tactics and philosophy?
Gotcha. I'll still check them out. I probably need something less dense after what I'm slogging through now.
