Avis sur le produitValley of Death : The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Vietnam War by Ted Morgan (2010, Hardcover)

Valley of Death by Ted Morgan ( 2010, Hardcover)

Some day I'm going to read a book about Dien Bien Phu where the French win this battle. No, probably not.
While the book describes the battle to some extent, the bulk of it deals with the politics behind the negotiations at Geneva and the conferences leading up to it. This is what sets this examination of the battle apart from other books on the same subject. The battle is somewhat glossed over but the -who said what to whom - is very detailed. The character of the leading political and governmental figures is well drawn and the morass of duplicity, double dealing, lying, cheating and just bad behaviour of some of these people is eye opening.
If you want more details of the actual battle, Martin Windrow's " The Last Valley " is probably a better choice. Jules Roy's " Battle of Dien Bien Phu " and Bernard Fall's " Hell in a Very Small Place " also give excellent descriptions of the battle, Roy's being somewhat more angry. Any examination of this period should probably be started with Fall's " Street Without Joy " as it give a good over all picture of the whole conflict.
Given the amount of political insight in Ted Morgans book, I think the picture selection could have been better. Photos of John Foster Dulles,Georges Bidault and Anthony Eden as a minimum should have been added. No photos of Uncle Ho or General Giap either. Hmmm...a lot of the action shots are Vietminh propaganda pictures taken after the battle - nice to see but... they're still propaganda.
There are a number of small technical errors which could have been caught by a perhaps more military minded editor. Bearcat fighters do not fire " 20mm rockets " , water is not carried in " 25 gallon jerry cans " and there is no such thing as a "Hellfire" aircraft. As Oliver Stone observed - if you see an error in a story that you know is wrong, you question every thing else that you may not have first hand knowledge of.
Notwithstanding the above, if you have an interest in this conflict this is a good book to add to your library.Lire l'avis complet...

Dien Bien Phu History

Excellent background information starting before WW II. Explaining how and why the US got involved in Vietnam. I highly recommend this book.

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : hpb-red

Battle plus diplomacy

Excellent history of the battle and diplomatic maneuvering behind it.

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : neuf | Vendu par : deadstare4life