Browsing in the stacks; Searchiing in the library catalog
Cornell Library's collection on the Vietnam War contains books, microfilms and videos covering all aspects of the war, including history both of the war in Vietnam and the on home front; campaigns and battles; yearbooks of individual regiments and fighting units; the sea, air and land war; chemical warfare; weapons; women in the war; personal stories, fiction and more (PL4379 call number.) Primary sources include items such as reproductions of captured documents, daily reports of the war from the military commands, the Kennedy and Johnson administration papers on the war, various daily bulletins from Saigon and Paris in English, Vietnamese and French; and about 120 local and national Vietnamese newspapers from that time period.
The call number area for browsing books in the stacks is DS 557 - DS 559, on both book stack levels 1 ("oversize") and B1 (regular size.)
To see all the specific categories on the subject of the Vietnam War, use the search box on the library catalog page. Choose the "Subject Browse A-Z" field in the drop-down menu, and type in "Vietnam War." The sub-topics under the Vietnam War heading are in alphabetical order, fortunately, as there are several dozen pages of detailed topics.
Reference and Introductory Works
- Virtual Vietnam Archive"The Virtual Vietnam Archive [at Texas Tech University] currently contains 7 million pages of scanned materials. Types of material include documents, photographs, slides, negatives, oral histories, artifacts, moving images, sound recordings, maps, and collection finding aids.
The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (2nd. ed.) by
A to Z information including many photographs and illustrations, more than 200 primary sources in a separate documents volume, and an extensive chronology of historic events and a glossary of terms. Cross-references and bibliographies facilitate further research
Call Number: REF DS 557.7 E53x 2011 4 vols. (in Kroch Asia reading room)Publication Date: 2011 Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO
Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide by
"Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide" provides a compendium of the key people, places, organizations, treaties, and events that make up the history of the war, explaining its causes, how it was conducted, and its far-reaching consequences. Written by recognized authorities, this ready-reference volume provides essential information all in one place and includes a comprehensive list of additional sources for further study. The work presents a detailed chronology that outlines the numerous battles and campaigns throughout the war, such as the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Operation Rolling Thunder, and the Battle of Hue. Biographies on Lyndon Johnson, William Westmoreland, Robert McNamara, Ngo Dinh Diem, and other major political figures and military leaders provide insight into the individuals who played key roles in the conflict, while primary source documents such as President Nixon's speech on Vietnamization provide invaluable historical context.
Publication Date: 2014 (1 online resource (xliii, 341 pages) illustrations.)
Vietnam War Day by Day by
Beginning with a few significant dates from 1887 to the early 1950's, the book continues with increasingly detailed monthly/daily events, covering the air, ground,sea battles, guerrilla (Viet Cong) warfare, U.S. government and international politics, diplomatic efforts, and home front (& anti-war) happenings.
Call Number: REF DS 557.7 V674 1989 + (in Kroch Asia reading room)Publication Date: 1989 [New York, N.Y.] : Mallard Press
The Road to Dien Bien Phu: A History of the First War for Vietnam by
[This book] tells the story of how Ho Chi Minh turned a ragtag guerrilla army into a modern fighting force capable of bringing down the formidable French army. Taking readers from the outbreak of fighting in 1945 to the epic battle at Dien Bien Phu, [the author] shows how Ho transformed Vietnam from a decentralized guerrilla state based in the countryside to a single-party communist state shaped by a specific form of "War Communism."
Call Number: DS556.54 .G67 2022Publication Date: 2022 (Princeton : Princeton University Press)
Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War by Call Number: REF DS557.7 .S93x 1995 + (in Kroch Asia reading room)Publication Date: 1995: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co
Historical Dictionary of the War in Vietnam by
[This book] emphasizes the international nature of the war .. the military, diplomatic, political, social, and cultural events that made the war unique. All of this is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries.
Call Number: REF DS 557.7 F735 2011Publication Date: 2011 (Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press)
The Vietnam War: a Concise International History by
Mark Lawrence offers readers a superb short account of this key moment in U.S. as well as world history, based on the latest European and American research and on newly opened archives in China, Russia, and Vietnam. While focusing on the American involvement from 1965 to 1975, Lawrence offers an unprecedentedly complete picture of all sides of the war, drawing on now available communist records to capture the complicated brew of motivations that drove the other side. Moreover, the book reaches back well before American forces set foot in Vietnam, describing for instance how French colonialism sparked the 1945 Vietnamese revolution, and revealing how the Cold War concerns of the 1950s warped Washington's perception of Vietnam, leading the United States to back the French and eventually become involved on the ground itself.
Call Number: DS557.7 .L378 2008Publication Date: 2008 (Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press)
The Vietnam War : the Definitive Illlustrated History by
Fascinating book with "detailed descriptions of every episode, from Operation Passage to Freedom to the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon, are enhanced by the stories of {eyewitnesses]. ... insightful maps, at-a-glance timelines, and incredible archive photography". Biographies of significant people. Special section on POW's., the aftermath of the war, vets' homecoming, and the war as covered in popular culture.
Call Number: DS 557.72 v54 2017 ++Publication Date: 2017 (London : Dorling Kindersley Publishing)
The Illustrated History of the Vietnam War by
The text covers the history of the war from "Seeds of Discontent" to "The Bitter End." Accompanied by many black & white and color photos.
Call Number: DS 557.72 B39 + (in Kroch Asia stacks, level 1)Publication Date: 1985 (New York : Gallery Books)
Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-2010 by
This updated, expanded edition recounts the history of American involvement in Vietnam from the end of World War II, clarifying the political aims, military strategy, and social and economic factors that contributed to the participants' actions. Includes an examination of Vietnam through the point of view of the soldiers, and [provides] a look at how the war has been memorialized. Examines Vietnam through the lens of Oliver Stone's films and opens up a discussion of the War in popular culture
Call Number: DS558 .O45 2014Publication Date: 2013 (Chichester, West Sussex, UK : Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. English. Sixth Edition)
Ho Chi Minh's Blueprint for Revolution: In the Words f Vietnamese Strategists and Operatives by
Using ingenious strategy and tactics, Chi Minh had shown it was possible for a tiny nation to defeat a mighty Western power. The same tactics have been studied and replicated by revolutionary forces and terrorist organizations across the globe. Drawing on recently declassified documents and rare interviews with Chi Minh's strategists and operatives, this book offers fresh perspective on his blueprint and the reasons behind both the French (1945-1954) and the American (1959-1975) failures in Vietnam, concluding with an analysis of the threat this model poses today.
Call Number: DS556.9 .M685 2018 +Publication Date: 2018 (Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publisher)
Bibliographies and Dictionaries
The United States and the Vietnam War, 1954-1975: a Selected Bibliography of English-Language Sources by
Organized by topic: general reference; Southeast Asian countries; Vietnam; Vietnam and the U.S. Gov't.; the Vietnam War; the American Military Experience in the war; the Media War; Literature, Film, Music & Art; the Domestic Impact; the Consequences. Includes a chronology and "list of principle characters"
Call Number: REF Z 3226 P43 2008Publication Date: 2008 ( New York : Routledge)
The Vietnam War: Handbook of the Literature and Research by
James Olson and his contributors offer fascinating insights as they evaluate the significant literature, films, and TV programs, offering different perspectives on the historical background; strategy and conduct of the war; the perspectives of Americans, the Indochinese, women, minorities, and veterans; the impact of the war on the homefront; and major problems and issues in the aftermath of the war.
Call Number: REF DS558 .V58x 1993Publication Date: 1993 (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press)
Vietnam War Slang by
"Vietnam War Slang" outlines the context behind the slang used by members of the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Troops facing and inflicting death display a high degree of linguistic creativity. [The book]... presents around 2000 entries, each one divided into sections giving parts of speech, definitions, glosses, the countries of origin, dates of earliest known citations, and citations [examples of use].
Call Number: PE 3727 S7 D37 2014 (located in Kroch Asia stacks, level B1)Publication Date: 2014 (Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge)
Words of the Vietnam War by
Cu Chi, (body bag), Shit-hook (Chinook helicopter), dink (Vietnamese slang for a G.I.), slope (G.I. slang for a Vietnamese), hose (kill), boom-boom (what's done in a tapioca mill, or whorehouse), Mike-Juliet (marijuana), pogey bait, DO-28, C-2A, L Zed (Aussie for landing zone), rat-turds (oak leaf clusters), thousand yard stare, Samozaryadnyi karabin (Soviet rifle), guerre a outrance (French war to the end--the viewpoint of the North): these and the 10,000 others in this dictionary are the words of the Vietnam era. They were spoken by ground pounders in the boonies and by peaceniks on U.S. campuses, by hawks, doves, Victor Charlies and hoi chanhs, Chinese advisors and the Muong people of the Central Highlands. The period covered is primarily 1963-1975, but there are terms included from as early as 1945 and as late as 1987.
Call Number: REF PE 3727 S7 C59 (In Kroch Asia reading room)Publication Date: 1990 (Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland)
VIETNAM - the War Zone Dictionary in Their Own Words by
[This dictionary] is the first reference to combine the official terms formally adopted by the United States Department of Defense and its allies in NATO, SEATO, CENTO, and IADB with the unofficial slang, abbreviations, radio codes, pro-codes, hospital jargon, weapon abbreviations, acronyms, euphemisms, and commonly used foreign words and phrases used by the men and women who were there. With over 9,800 entries, this is the only source-defined reference to the linguistic complexity of the Vietnam War.
Call Number: PE3727.S7 L54 2016 + (on level 1 stacks)Publication Date: 2016 ( [United States] : Albedo Press, Inc.)
(Introductory works, cont.)
The Air War in Indochina by
(C.U. Program on Peace Studies.) This report analyzes the military and political impact of the U.S. air war and bombings.
Call Number: DS 557 A65 C81 1972+ (Rev. ed.)Publication Date: 1972 (Boston: Beacon Press)
In Honor and Memory: Installations and Facilities of the Vietnam War by
A very unusual and valuable reference source. "A comprehensive record of facilities named in honor of fallen servicemen -- camps, compounds, airfields, and helipads, firebases, landing zones, and bridges; BEQs and BOQs in Saigon and other locations. Allied ANZAC, and U.S. Forces & all services in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand & Okinawa." Includes photos & bios of all servicemen & women. Book has appendices and bibliography.
Call Number: REF DS 558 B688 2015 +Publication Date: 2015 (New Smyrna Beach, Florida : Bows and Co)
Year of the Hawk: America's descent into Vietnam,1965 by
The Vietnam War was the greatest disaster in the history of American foreign policy. The conflict shook the nation to its foundations.. [The book] is a military and political history of the war in Vietnam during 1965--the pivotal first year of the American conflict, when the United States decided to intervene directly with combat units in a struggle between communist and pro-Western forces in South Vietnam that had raged on and off for twenty years.
Call Number: DS557.7 .W377 2021Publication Date: 2021 ( New York, NY : Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc)
The Vietnam Experience: a Concise Encyclopedia of American Literature, Songs, and Films by
"This encyclopedia includes 44 essays, each providing detailed information on an important film, song, or literary work about Vietnam. This book also includes an appendix listing of more than 275 films, songs, and literary works dealing with the war."
Call Number: REF DS 557.73 H55x 1998Publication Date: 1998 (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press)
Not a Gentleman's War: an Inside View of Junior Officers in the Vietnam War by
Written by a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, [this book] is...-a gritty, against-the-grain defense of the much-maligned junior officer. Conventional wisdom holds that the junior officer in Vietnam was a no-talent, poorly trained, unmotivated soldier typified by Lt. William Calley of My Lai infamy. Drawing on oral histories, after-action reports, diaries, letters, and other archival sources, Ron Milam debunks this view, demonstrating that most of the lieutenants who served in combat performed their duties well and effectively, serving with great skill, dedication, and commitment to the men they led. Milam's narrative provides a vivid, on-the-ground portrait of what the platoon leader faced: training his men, keeping racial tensions at bay, and preventing alcohol and drug abuse, all in a war without fronts.
Call Number: DS558.2 .M55 2009Publication Date: 2009 ( Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press,)
Primary Source Documents
- Know Your Enemy - The Viet Cong1966 Department of the Defense pamphlet for the armed forces in Vietnam. (online; click on title)
- The Vietnam War (1956-1975)Part of "Defining Documents in American History" series. Covers Kennedy, Jonson & Nixon; original documents with summaries, analysis and impact.
The Vietnam War (The New York Times Twentieth Century in Review series) by
"...Through a compilation of more than 600 articles [including wire service reports] and 150 photos taken from the New York Times, [these volumes] trace the origins, the strategies, the successes, the failures, and the bitter legacy of this war for the United States, Vietnam and the world [1945-2000]
Call Number: DS557.4 .V57 2001 + 2 vols. (Kroch Asia library, level 1)Publication Date: 2002 (Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn Publisher)
Vietnam War: Primary Sources by
"Vietnam War: Primary Sources features excerpts from screenplays, literature, speeches and hearings representing pro and con viewpoints during and after the conflict." Includes eyewitness accounts.
Call Number: DS 557.4 H55x 2001 (in Kroch Asia stacks level B)Publication Date: 2001 (Detroit : U.X.L)
Vietnam Documents: American and Vietnamese Views of the War by
Fifty documents, from Vietnam's declaration of independence in 1945 to the Paris Peace Agreement in 1973. Includes CIA reports, US presidential addresses, anti-war leaflets, and statements by the Vietnamese government and NLF (National Liberation Front).
Call Number: DS557.4 .V55x 1992 (in Kroch Asia stacks level B)Publication Date: 1992 (Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe)
The Vietnam War : a History in Documents by
"[This book] tells the story of one of the most divisive episodes in modern American history through primary sources, ranging from government documents, news reports, speeches, popular songs to memoirs, writings by Vietnam veterans (including coauthor John Fitzgerald), and poetry by Vietnamese and Americans on matching themes. (Black and white photos and reproductions.) The book begins in the 19th century when Vietnam became a French colony..."
Call Number: DS 557.7 Y677x 2002 + (in Kroch Asia stacks, level 1)Publication Date: 2002 (Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press)
Vietnam War: A Topical Exploration and Primary Source Collection by
(2 vols.online) This detailed two-volume set considers the Vietnam War, one of America's longest and bloodiest wars, from a topical perspective, addressing the main characters and key events of the war and supplying many relevant primary source documents. *
Publication Date: 2017 (Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC)
My Lai: A Brief History with Documents by
The My Lai massacre occurred in 1968 when a company of American soldiers killed c.400 Vietnamese civilians in four hours with young girls and women raped and mutilated. The authors discuss the ramifications of the cover-up, which did not become public until 1969. The causes of the massacre and the outrage it caused are described, and the book includes 70 primary documents drawn mainly from testimony and reports from the government enquiry.
Call Number: DS557.8.M9 O576x 1998ISBN: 0312177674Publication Date: 1998 (Boston : Bedford Books)
The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations by
This is the story of the Vietnam War told through quotations in chronological sequence. All sides of the controversy are represented. Here are the voices of warriors, presidents, generals, government leaders, civilians, aid workers, pilots, infantrymen, nurses, historians, war correspondents, sociologists, POWs, peasants, draft dodgers, guerillas, and war resisters. They talk of firefights, ambushes in the jungle, bombing raids, coups, assassinations, suicides, demonstrations, atrocities, and teach-ins. Includes a chronology, biographical sketches, Medal of Honor winners, bibliography, nineteen photos, and an index.
Call Number: DS558 .L354 2005 +Publication Date: 2005 (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press)
