"A scholarly treatise on a haunting subject that requires ongoing and thorough examination. America's military actions in Southeast Asia and the resulting turmoil at home created a large and complex set of events that defy simple or easy explanations. Solheim's book will help students of the American war in Vietnam define and understand the issues involved in this tragic Cold War conflict. The volume is timely, gripping and infused with intelligent insight." -- Walter Jones, Assistant Head of Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah-Salt Lake City "Bruce Solheim's 'people's history' reminds us of the human dimensions of warfare. It underscores what Americans too often ignore--the Vietnamese as well as the American side of America's longest war. Solheim provides biographical sketches of a wide range of men and women, whose ideas, experiences, and roles illuminate the war. This is an important contribution." -- Gary R. Hess, Distinguished Research Professor^LBowling Green State University Former President of SHAFR (Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations) "Bruce Solheim's book is ideal for the classroom, with its historical narrative interspersed with profiles of the major players in the U.S. and Vietnam during and surrounding the war. But what gives it special relevance is his personal account of the era, told through child's-eye memoir, letters from his brother in Vietnam, and later musings on how his early experiences shaped the man he has become. It is this that sets it well above histories that deal in dates, battles and statistics, and brings home the persistent influence of this war on the Americans who were touched by it." -- Susan O'Neill, author of Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam "As a participant in the Vietnam War, I was fascinated to read Bruce Solheim's take on what was going on behind the scenes. His personal experiences combined with dead-on historical research add depth and authenticity to this account. The Vietnam War Era is an excellent read for those curious to know how our politicians led us down such an ill-advised and ill-fated path." -- Robert Mason, author, Chickenhawk
Bruce O. Solheim is Professor of History at Citrus College in Glendora, California. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Solheim is the author of The Nordic Nexus: A Lesson in Peaceful Security (Praeger, 1994), and On Top of the World: Women's Political Leadership in Scandinavia and Beyond (Greenwood Press, 2000).
Solheim presents a narrative history of the US war in Vietnam that
generally focuses on the political and military decisions of top
leaders from Eisenhower and Kennedy's early involvement through the
Johnson and Nixon years. Interspersed throughout are short profiles
of important individuals from the era, including General Creighton
Abrams, Jane Fonda, Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap, Abbie
Hoffman, Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara, reporter Seymour Hersh, and Bob Dylan. At the end
of the book, he offers his own autobiographical account of growing
up in the Vietnam War era.
*Reference & Research Book News*
Bruce O. Solheim has taught the history of the Vietnam War for a
dozen years. In his latest book, The Vietnam War Era: A Personal
Journey, Solheim, an Army veteran and a history professor at Citrus
College in California, has come up with a unique and insightful
look at that period. The first three-fourths of the book is an
excellent summary of the history of the Vietnam War with
enlightening sidebars on many people who were involved in itfrom
Gen. Earle Wheeler to Oliver Stone. Solheim completes the book with
a riveting account of his personal story, including details of his
older brothers Vietnam War experiences and his two Army tours of
duty after the Vietnam War.
*Vietnam Veterans of America*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
