The Vietnam Reader: The Definitive Collection of Fiction and Nonfiction on the War

I read this when it came out, and it pointed me toward buying and reading several works I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Of course, this work contains fiction and nonfiction, plus movie reviews, and song lyrics. I'm kind of confused why some earlier reviewers are upset. If there are some mistaken captions, so be it. The direction the book steers readers is ultimately what matters. It is a noble effort indeed to try and waken the consciousness of some readers who would otherwise be ignorant of the important works herein, and/or the Vietnam war era. If O'Nan's book helps the reading public to pick up other books on Vietnam, then he has succeeded admirably. The movie reviews are his own with supplementary comments by others. If readers have a problem with the content, direct that ire toward the individual authors, and not the compilator. Buy the book, it's great!

The title says it all: FICTION and NON FICTION and if you read the intro to this book it says that O'Nan is a teacher of Vietnam LITERATURE not history. The selections in the book are examples of popular vietnam some are fiction. The picture of the little girl and the napalm bombing is one of the most famous pictures concerning the war. I think this book is a great overview of vietnam era literature and reccommend it to anyone interested in vietnam lit. It also contains photos, poetry, song lyrics ( remember country joe and the fish?), and commentary on several movies. it is also seperated into categories like the first major wave of work that came towards the end of the war and the second major wave of work which can about a decade after the war which gives a nice chronological view.

... O'Nan has put together some of the best literature written by Americans about the Vietnam War since the late '60s. A quick look at the table of contents should put anyone's doubts to rest--especially since O'Nan has included a generous amount of space to Tim O'Brien, certainly the finest American writer about the Vietnam War. I had two problems with this book, besides the fact that this should be available in hardback. 1) O'Nan has failed to include anything from Thom Jones's book "The Pugilist at Rest"--an excellent writer, close on O'Brien's tail in terms of sheer storytelling. 2) This book includes nothing by Vietnamese writers--which I find a huge oversight... This book does not pretend to be history...

Stewart O'Nan has managed to fashion a thematic collection of excerpts from many of the most significant literature to come out of the Vietnam War. These excerpts encourage a new generation to reasssess the war in the context of the nation's identity. O'Nan frames the excerpts within a chronology of when the works were first published. Also, O'Nan includes wonderful essays on the films that created our images of Vietnam. O'Nan's collection seems designed as a core textbook for any teacher who wants students to understand that the Vietnam War lives on in some of the best American writing. One drawback: only a few selections or perspectives from women writers or participants.

THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THIS BOOK. AND ITS A BIG PROBLEM. IT'S ONLY IN PAPERBACK.THIS IS A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE KEPT, READ, RE READ, AND THOUGHT ABOUT, FOR YEARS. IT SHOULD BE A REMINDER AND A TRIBUTE FOR AS LONG AS THE GENERATION THAT FOUGHT THE WAR, AND FOUGHT AGAINST IT, LIVES. TO DO THAT, IT SHOULD BE HARDBOUND.