The Soldier's Story: Vietnam in Their Own Words. - Review - book review

The Soldier's Story: Vietnam in Their Own Words. By Ron Steinman (TV Books, 1999. 367 Pages. $27.95. Reviewed by Dr. Joe P. Dunn, Converse College.

Several dozen collective Vietnam memoirs now exist. Because each individual's story adds to our knowledge of the multifarious experience, each collection has value. But these books do not differ much one from another, and one wonders how many more of this genre can possibly appear. This particular contribution is the companion volume to The Learning Channel's six-hour documentary series, "Vietnam: The Soldier's Story," produced by ABC News. Averaging more than 2.1 million viewers for each of the three nights of its initial showing, the program tied for the most watched series on The Learning Channel. The book's compiler, a news producer for ABC and NBC News, served as NBC Bureau Chief in Saigon for two years during the late 1960s and covered the Tet Offensive.

More than 150 veterans and subject matter experts were interviewed on and off camera for the documentary series, and 77 of these appear in the book. The interviews are divided into six topical chapters on some of the most dramatic events of the war: the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, the Siege of Khe Sanh, the Tet Offensive, the Secret War, the Air War, and the Fall of Saigon. The essays are brief but quite interesting. Although all the military services are represented, the collection is less diverse than most books of this type. Non-combat troops (who made up 90 percent of Vietnam veterans), women, and combat soldiers during less high-profile periods of the war are excluded.

A captivating feature of this volume is that each interview includes a picture of the individual at the time, and the concluding section gives a current lengthy one-paragraph biography of that person today, with a current picture. I find these updates particularly engaging and instructive.

Is this volume better than the many others in this genre? Not Really. It is well worth reading, but it is fairly standard for the field. For those who saw the television series, however, it will have special appeal.

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