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A review by dlberglund
Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge
5.0
This is not a traditional nonfiction book, or an encyclopedia of the events of the Vietnam War. It is not a political treatise. It is not a factual rendering of the causes of effects of the war. It is personal, and memorable.
It is a linear telling of some of the stories of a few of the people involved. A few pivotal sections focus on the three US Presidents who made decisions about the war. The other stories filled in the intervening years with what their experiences were like “in country”. Many were soldiers, both volunteers and draftees, with the additional inclusion of a nurse, a musician, and a refugee. The stories bring us forward through the creation of the Wall. Most of them break your heart at least a little. There were photographs included, and it came together logically. An excellent way to get at the diversity of the people affected and involved, rather than only a political or military history.
Almost 5 stars.
It is a linear telling of some of the stories of a few of the people involved. A few pivotal sections focus on the three US Presidents who made decisions about the war. The other stories filled in the intervening years with what their experiences were like “in country”. Many were soldiers, both volunteers and draftees, with the additional inclusion of a nurse, a musician, and a refugee. The stories bring us forward through the creation of the Wall. Most of them break your heart at least a little. There were photographs included, and it came together logically. An excellent way to get at the diversity of the people affected and involved, rather than only a political or military history.
Almost 5 stars.