Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam Orphan Became an American Boy
By Andrea Warren
Over a million South Vietnamese children were orphaned by the Vietnam War. This true account tells the story of Long, who, like more than 40,000 other orphans, is Amerasian — a mixed-race child — with little future in Vietnam. Escape from Saigon allows readers to experience Long’s struggle to survive in war-torn Vietnam, his dramatic escape to America as part of “Operation Babylift” during the last chaotic days before the fall of Saigon, and his life in the United States as “Matt,” part of a loving Ohio family. Finally, as a young doctor, he journeys back to Vietnam, ready to reconcile his Vietnamese past with his American present. 10-14 years
Vietnam War: Discover the People, Places, Battles, and Weapons of America’s Indochina Struggle
By DK Eyewitness Books
Explore the people, places, battles, and weapons of America’s Indochina struggle with DK Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War. See campaigns in the air and battles in jungles, cities, and rice paddies, from Saigon to the Mekong Delta. Learn about the most powerful combat weapons of the age, including napalm bombs and M-60 machine guns. From the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the Viet Cong to the war’s aftermath, discover the Vietnam War, why America went to war in Indochina, and who fought there. 8-12 years
What Was the Vietnam War?
By Jim O’Connor, Illustrated by Tim Foley
The Vietnam War was as much a part of the tumultuous Sixties as Flower Power and the Civil Rights Movement. Five US presidents were convinced that American troops could end a war in the small, divided country of Vietnam and stop Communism from spreading in Southeast Asia. But they were wrong, and the result was the death of 58,000 American troops. Presenting all sides of a complicated and tragic chapter in recent history, Jim O’Connor explains why the US got involved, what the human cost was, and how defeat in Vietnam left a lasting scar on America. 8-12 years
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam
By Elizabeth Partridge
America’s war in Vietnam. In over a decade of bitter fighting, it claimed the lives of more than 58,000 American soldiers and beleaguered four US presidents. More than forty years after America left Vietnam in defeat in 1975, the war remains controversial and divisive both in the United States and abroad.
The history of this era is complex; the cultural impact extraordinary. But it’s the personal stories of eight people—six American soldiers, one American military nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee—that create the heartbeat of Boots on the Ground. From dense jungles and terrifying firefights to chaotic helicopter rescues and harrowing escapes, each individual experience reveals a different facet of the war and moves us forward in time. Alternating with these chapters are profiles of key American leaders and events, reminding us of all that was happening at home during the war, including peace protests, presidential scandals, and veterans’ struggles to acclimate to life after Vietnam.
With more than one hundred photographs, award-winning author Elizabeth Partridge captures the intensity, frustration, and lasting impacts of one of the most tumultuous periods of American history. 12-17 years
Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam
By Walter Dean Myers, Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
In a gripping and powerful story-poem, award-winning author Walter Dean Myers takes readers into the heart and mind of a young soldier in an alien land who comes face-to-face with the enemy. This portrait captures one American G.L’s haunting experience.
A young American soldier waits for his enemy, rifle in hand, finger on the trigger. He is afraid to move and yet afraid not to move. Gunshots crackle in the still air. The soldier fires blindly into the distant trees at an unseen enemy. He crouches and waits — heart pounding, tense and trembling, biting back tears. When will it all be over? 6-10 years
Vietnam: A History of the War
By Russell Freedman
Russell Freedman presents a detailed overview of the Vietnam war. Beginning with the rise of communism in Vietnam and detailing the increase of American involvement, Freedman then explains why an exit was so difficult.
In addition to explaining the complex beginnings of the conflict through the catastrophic damage the war caused, Freedman concludes with a hopeful epilogue on modern Vietnam. This is a definitive resource for young history readers as well as anyone who wants a concise and authoritative understanding of the Vietnam War, exploring both the American and Vietnamese perspectives.
Freedman chronicles the history leading up to the war and the unfolding events in Vietnam and in the U.S. as increasing numbers of young men were sent into the jungles to fight. Coverage includes the French war in Vietnam, the rise of Ho Chi Minh, the fall of President Diem, the Tonkin Gulf, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai massacre, the bombing of Cambodia, and the fall of Saigon, as well as the US anti-war movement.
The book includes nearly 100 historic photographs and illustrations, as well as candid photographs showcasing the state of Vietnam today. A glossary, source notes, bibliography and index are included. 10-17 years
The Vietnam War: An Interactive Modern History Adventure
By Michael Burgan
It’s the 1960s, and the Vietnam War is raging. You find yourself in the midst of the turmoil. Will you: Enlist in the Marines and volunteer to go to war? Join your fellow young Americans eager to protest the war? Be a young Vietnamese man forced to choose between the communist North and the capitalist South? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to jail, to the jungles of Vietnam, or even to death. 8-11 years
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam
By Cynthia Kadohata
Cracker is a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She’s a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.
Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn’t so sure about this new owner. He’s going to have to prove himself to her before she’s going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.
Told in part through the point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker! is a glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler. 8-12 years
Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
By Steve Sheikin
In 1964, Daniel Ellsberg was a U.S. government analyst, helping to plan a war in Vietnam. It was the height of the Cold War, and the government would do anything to stop the spread of communism―with or without the consent of the American people.
As the fighting in Vietnam escalated, Ellsberg turned against the war. He had access a top-secret government report known as the Pentagon Papers, and he knew it could blow the lid off of years of government lies. But did he have the right to expose decades of presidential secrets? And what would happen to him if he did it? 10-14 years
