ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. North Vietnamese Sources - Books

Dung, Van Tien. Our Great Spring Victory. New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1977.

Extremely readable and straightforward account of the 1975 North Vietnamese offensive that conquered South Vietnam by the NVA's field army commander.

Giap, Vo Nguyen. How We Won the War . Philadelphia: Recon Publications, 1976. Provides excellent information about the Communist Party's participation in the 1975 offensive. Clearly describes how the NVA used surprise in the timing and direction of attack to cause the RVNAF to make costly mistakes.

Giap, Vo Nguyen. The Military Art of People's War. New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1970.

Laced with ideological rhetoric, but provides a good background of the Vietnam struggle from the North Vietnamese perspective by the NVA's chief strategist.

B. South Vietnamese Sources - Books

Don, Tran Van. Our Endless War. San Rafael, CA and London: Presidio Press, 1978. Provides a thorough background of the Vietnam War from the South Vietnamese viewpoint by South Vietnam's last Minister of Defense.

Hosmer, Stephen T., Konrad Kellen and Brian M. Jenkins. The Fall of South Vietnam: Statements by Vietnamese Military and Civilian Leaders. New York: Crane, Russak, 1980.

A summary of oral and written statements by 27 former high-ranking South Vietnamese military officers and civilians on their perceptions of the causes of the collapse of South Vietnam.

Vien, Cao Van. The Final Collapse. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1983.

Detailed account of RVNAF actions during the 1975 NVA offensive by the last chairman of the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff.

C. American and Other Non-Vietnamese Sources - Books

Amter, Joseph A. Vietnam Verdict. New York: Continuum Publishing, 1982.

Although sympathetic towards North Vietnam, provides useful background information on the political arguments during the Vietnam War from 1945-1975.

Fanning, Louis A. Betrayal in Vietnam. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington Press, 1976.

Extremely critical of the U.S. Congress' actions in dealing with the government of South Vietnam. However, it provides a very detailed and accurate account of the clash between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government during the period prior to the collapse of South Vietnam.

Goodman, Allan E. The Lost Peace. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1978.

Provides excellent insight into the reasons for the failure of the 1973 Paris Agreements to keep the peace in Vietnam.

Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979.

Provides a useful and informative account of both U.S. and South Vietnamese actions and policies from the earliest periods to the final collapse in 1975.

Isaacs, Arnold R. Without Honor. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.

Extremely detached and honest account of the post Paris Agreements period. Clearly examines events from the viewpoints of the North and South Vietnamese and the Americans. Provides very interesting reading.

Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: The Viking Press, 1983.

From the fifteenth century until the final collapse, this book provides the most comprehensive and balanced history of the Vietnam struggle ever written. By studying Vietnam's past and culture, as well as the political and military events that occurred in Vietnam after America's involvement, the book provided a great perspective to the Vietnam War.

Kissinger, Henry A. White House Years. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, 1979.

The memoirs of the former National Security Advisor to President Nixon and Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford Administrations covering the period 1969-1973. Provides a personal account of the peace negotiations and the U.S. position on achieving peace in Vietnam.

Le Gro, William E. Vietnam from Cease-Fire to Capitulation. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1981.

Provides an extremely detailed and accurate account of RVNAF, NVA and PRG military battles from the signing of the Paris Agreements until the battle for Saigon in April 1975.

Lomperis, Timothy J. The War Everyone Lost--And Won. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1984.

Fairly useful analysis of the U.S. role in Indochina. The book analyzes U.S. tactics in Vietnam and concludes that in losing a people's war, the Communists went on to win the war by adopting a conventional strategy. Consequently, the U.S. won a war it thought it lost, and lost by default what it could have won.

Nixon, Richard M. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1978. Provides an interesting personal account by an American President and gives some insight into how domestic events affected U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam.

Papp, Daniel S. Vietnam: The View from Moscow, Peking, Washington. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1981.

Superb detailed analysis of the Vietnam War from the global perspective of the U.S., Soviet Union, and China.

Porter, Gareth. A Peace Denied. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1975. Detailed account of how the numerous treaty violations sabotaged the Paris Agreements and prevented the achievement of a lasting peace in Vietnam.

Porter, Gareth. Vietnam: The Definitive Documentation of Human Decisions. Stanfordville, NY: Earl M. Coleman Enterprises, 1979.

Extremely useful account of original message traffic, speeches and other documents during the Vietnam War which provided a unique insight into the events occurring in 1973-1975.

Snepp, Frank. Decent Interval. New York: Random House, 1977.

Extremely vivid reading about events and decisions made during the final period inside South Vietnam.

The BDM Corporation. A Study of Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam. Vol. II. South Vietnam. Defense Technical Information Center Technical Report. Alexandria, VA: Defense Logistics Agency, 1980.

Provides extremely useful information on various U.S. and South Vietnamese policies during the Vietnam War. Also contains discussions with many of the senior civilian and military decision-makers of the Vietnam era.

Thompson, Sir Robert. Peace Is Not At Hand. New York: David McKay, 1974.

Extremely accurate account of Communist treaty violations after the signing of the Paris Agreements. Provides a unique insight into the Communist negotiating strategy by the former head of the British Advisory Mission to Vietnam.

Thompson, W. Scott and Donaldson D. Frizell. The Lessons of Vietnam. New York: Crane, Russak, 1977.

Excerpts from a 1973-1974 colloquium on the Vietnam War at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy which included 31 distinguished military and civilian panelists.

Warner, Denis. Certain Victory: How Hanoi Won the War. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977.

Extremely readable and detailed account of events during the final collapse by an Australian news reporter.