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nottheprofileyourelookingfor's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
superike's review
5.0
Even if I knew this book had stellar reviews (an average rating of 4.2 stars over more than 8,000 ratings is nothing to sneer at), it had been shelved on my Vietnam War To-Read list for quite some time. I had never been able to get to it until the last 3 weeks while on vacation. At 900 pages, it is a substantial book, but it rarely feels too long or too down in the weeds.
Of all I have read about Vietnam, Neil Sheehan comes quite close to capture, perhaps, the essence of the Vietnam War: a massive exercise of delusion. What I'm still not sure of is: was it honest or dishonest delusion? It's probably both. In the end, the result is the same.
The subtitle of the book is "John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam", and it is an important subtitle. Neil Sheehan tells the story of the Vietnam war through the life of John Paul Vann, especially his decade in South Vietnam from 1963 to 1972 (with a brief interruption in 1964-1965), first as a lieutenant colonel of the US Army and advisor to AVRN (the South Vietnam armed forces), and hereafter as some kind of civilian expert on counter insurgency/pacification, but able to speak as equal to US and AVRN military officers at the highest levels.
The history of Vann's attitude towards the Vietnam war followed a totally reversed arc from 99% of his peers in military or government. Up to more or less Tet in 1968, he was the skeptic, the guy who could clearly see through the overwhelming problem that the fight against communism in South Vietnam -although really it was a national independence matter- was. He saw through the vast corruption and incompetence of the Saigon regime, the voluntary or involuntary self-blindness of the whole American apparatus in Vietnam and Washington, the misguided war attrition strategy of Westmoreland and the destruction it wrought on Vietnam, and the understanding that the Viet Cong represented a social revolution and national dignity yearned for by a significant portion of the population.
But after Tet 1968, when American public opinion really started to turn against the war, and that the vast majority of military and civilian officials started to lose their illusions about Vietnam, John Paul Vann was actually the one who made a point of saying "wait a minute, it's not as bad as you think". The war became is entire obsession, to the cost of everything else: is family and personal life among other things. Neil Sheehan shows how his energy, drive, intelligence, upbringing and commitment made a difference quite often, but despite that, Vann could not by itself turn the tide of the war. The fact that he was able, as a high official in 1971 and 1972, to have at his fingertips the authority to order and control civilian, US and AVRN military assets at a level worthy of a 2 star general is quite exceptional.
Sheehan covers quite extensively Vann's life prior to Vietnam as it is essential in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the man, and how it impacted his outlook and work in Vietnam. Sheehan expertly merges this with a quite thorough overview of the war militarily and politically, and how it progressed.
There are a number of tidbits that was new to me: for instance, how much the U.S. government unwittingly armed and significantly increased the Viet Cong threat by providing lavish weapons upgrade on the AVRN that often found its way into the hands of Viet Cong resistance through corruption, or wholesale throwing of weapons in panic withdrawals of AVRN soldiers. I had not realized the significance of that until now. Also illuminating for me was how much the "anti-colonialism" mentality of most American officials prevented them from taking over, or at least imposing order and efficiency on the incompetent and corrupted Saigon regime. No one knows how that would have played out, but turning a blind eye to this tremendous problem certainly didn't help at all and made an eventual defeat almost foreordained.
Overall, If I would have to select 10 Vietnam war must reads, well no scratch that, 5 Vietnam war must reads, A Bright Shining Lie would arguably make that short list. Highly recommended.
Of all I have read about Vietnam, Neil Sheehan comes quite close to capture, perhaps, the essence of the Vietnam War: a massive exercise of delusion. What I'm still not sure of is: was it honest or dishonest delusion? It's probably both. In the end, the result is the same.
The subtitle of the book is "John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam", and it is an important subtitle. Neil Sheehan tells the story of the Vietnam war through the life of John Paul Vann, especially his decade in South Vietnam from 1963 to 1972 (with a brief interruption in 1964-1965), first as a lieutenant colonel of the US Army and advisor to AVRN (the South Vietnam armed forces), and hereafter as some kind of civilian expert on counter insurgency/pacification, but able to speak as equal to US and AVRN military officers at the highest levels.
The history of Vann's attitude towards the Vietnam war followed a totally reversed arc from 99% of his peers in military or government. Up to more or less Tet in 1968, he was the skeptic, the guy who could clearly see through the overwhelming problem that the fight against communism in South Vietnam -although really it was a national independence matter- was. He saw through the vast corruption and incompetence of the Saigon regime, the voluntary or involuntary self-blindness of the whole American apparatus in Vietnam and Washington, the misguided war attrition strategy of Westmoreland and the destruction it wrought on Vietnam, and the understanding that the Viet Cong represented a social revolution and national dignity yearned for by a significant portion of the population.
But after Tet 1968, when American public opinion really started to turn against the war, and that the vast majority of military and civilian officials started to lose their illusions about Vietnam, John Paul Vann was actually the one who made a point of saying "wait a minute, it's not as bad as you think". The war became is entire obsession, to the cost of everything else: is family and personal life among other things. Neil Sheehan shows how his energy, drive, intelligence, upbringing and commitment made a difference quite often, but despite that, Vann could not by itself turn the tide of the war. The fact that he was able, as a high official in 1971 and 1972, to have at his fingertips the authority to order and control civilian, US and AVRN military assets at a level worthy of a 2 star general is quite exceptional.
Sheehan covers quite extensively Vann's life prior to Vietnam as it is essential in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the man, and how it impacted his outlook and work in Vietnam. Sheehan expertly merges this with a quite thorough overview of the war militarily and politically, and how it progressed.
There are a number of tidbits that was new to me: for instance, how much the U.S. government unwittingly armed and significantly increased the Viet Cong threat by providing lavish weapons upgrade on the AVRN that often found its way into the hands of Viet Cong resistance through corruption, or wholesale throwing of weapons in panic withdrawals of AVRN soldiers. I had not realized the significance of that until now. Also illuminating for me was how much the "anti-colonialism" mentality of most American officials prevented them from taking over, or at least imposing order and efficiency on the incompetent and corrupted Saigon regime. No one knows how that would have played out, but turning a blind eye to this tremendous problem certainly didn't help at all and made an eventual defeat almost foreordained.
Overall, If I would have to select 10 Vietnam war must reads, well no scratch that, 5 Vietnam war must reads, A Bright Shining Lie would arguably make that short list. Highly recommended.
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
4.0
In some ways, Sheehan's A Bright Shining Lie is the best of the Big Three works on the war from the American viewpoint, the other two being Stanley Karnow's history of Vietnam and David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest. Like the other two, Sheehan was there. And as a result, his description of the corruption, incompetence, and egotistical vanity of the South Vietnamese and the Americans rings all too true. His detailed description of how the war moved from a a handful of American advisors to a cataclysm involving over half a million American servicemen is invaluable.
Sheehan's particular hook in this book was to center the history around the biography of maverick American Lt. Col. John Paul Vann, whose early criticisms of the conduct of the war influenced Sheehan, Halberstam, and Karnow. As a biography, the work does a good sell. Vann was a rapist, child abuser, serial adulterer, wife abuser, liar, and victim of an horrific childhood. Sheehan never moralizes or excuses, he simply describes. And whatever it was that made Vann who he was, it also made him uniquely suited to the war in Vietnam. As Sheehan makes clear, Vann couldn't imagine life outside the war.
A couple of problems, in my view. Sheehan is far too eager to picture the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong as completely clear headed and superior in their strategy and tactics. They were not. They were just as capable of fooling themselves and misreading the populace as were the Americans. Tet showed that. I think Sheehan gives North Vietnam and the NLF in the south unearned praise for their concept of honorable mission and purity of purpose.
Sheehan's particular hook in this book was to center the history around the biography of maverick American Lt. Col. John Paul Vann, whose early criticisms of the conduct of the war influenced Sheehan, Halberstam, and Karnow. As a biography, the work does a good sell. Vann was a rapist, child abuser, serial adulterer, wife abuser, liar, and victim of an horrific childhood. Sheehan never moralizes or excuses, he simply describes. And whatever it was that made Vann who he was, it also made him uniquely suited to the war in Vietnam. As Sheehan makes clear, Vann couldn't imagine life outside the war.
A couple of problems, in my view. Sheehan is far too eager to picture the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong as completely clear headed and superior in their strategy and tactics. They were not. They were just as capable of fooling themselves and misreading the populace as were the Americans. Tet showed that. I think Sheehan gives North Vietnam and the NLF in the south unearned praise for their concept of honorable mission and purity of purpose.
jeffphilly's review
4.0
An immense amount of research
Well written description of principally of 3 things. First this was largely a biography of the principal character in the book, John Paul Vann. Following him from childhood and into his service in world war two, Korea and Vietnam secondly it provides a very detailed description of the Korean war largely from vann's perspective. Lastly the main focus of the book is on Vietnam again from the perspective of Vann
Well written description of principally of 3 things. First this was largely a biography of the principal character in the book, John Paul Vann. Following him from childhood and into his service in world war two, Korea and Vietnam secondly it provides a very detailed description of the Korean war largely from vann's perspective. Lastly the main focus of the book is on Vietnam again from the perspective of Vann
offquilter's review against another edition
5.0
This was a beefy, hard book. I don’t read non-fiction about war usually. I wish I didn’t know some of the things I learned while reading this but they’re important for me to grapple with. I liked the narrative being centered around one character, which made it somehow easier to follow and digest this horrific debacle of history.
jeffthink's review against another edition
4.0
Wow - I read this book while traveling in Vietnam and to say it was eye opening would be a huge understatement. It is equal parts a historical account of military operations in Vietnam and a gripping personal tale of triumph and despair, but above everything else, it illuminates a layer of American history that has been frustratingly glossed over; this book should be required reading in American history classes.
patrickkanouse's review against another edition
5.0
A stunning piece of biography and history. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this book is the way Sheehan constructs the book. The first part of the main body of the book starts with Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann landing in Vietnam and discovering the substantial difficulties the U.S. faces in defeating the Viet Cong. In this first part, Vann comes off as the unlistened to, wise sage who, if we the generals and politicians had only listened, would have provided a real opportunity to preserve the independence of South Vietnam. Part II explores the biography of Vann up to his return to Vietnam in 1965. What this section does is the really stunning part. As Sheehan describes Vann's life and you learn of his character, the complexity of Vann is starkly contrasted against the "hero" of part I. Vann still seemed much more in touch with the difficulties of a South Vietnamese victory, but his complexity mirrors the complexity of the war. The simplicity of right and wrong in part I is revealed to be not so. Again, Sheehan uses Vann's biography to demonstrate this.
For an excellent primer on the Vietnam War and an thoughtful interpretation of all that went right and wrong, you cannot start off with a better book. Highly recommended.
For an excellent primer on the Vietnam War and an thoughtful interpretation of all that went right and wrong, you cannot start off with a better book. Highly recommended.