"an amazing book"
Here's what Carleton Ross had to say about The Only War We've Got: Early Days in South Vietnam when it was first published in a large-format paperback edition:
"This is an amazing book. Before Vietnam became a household word, Ford bought a ticket to Saigon so he could see the war for himself. There were only a few Americans in Vietnam at the time, reporters and advisors and helo crews--no combat troops tho they all saw combat from time to time, including Ford. He goes on an armored invasion of a seashore town, slogs through the jungle with Vietnamese Rangers, patrols with the American Green Berets, and celebrates the Fourth of July by shooting up the Saigon River with a gang from the U.S. Navy. Ford's Vietnam isn't the one you generally read about. He loves the country and admires the Americans he meets in his travels. They in turn love their work, at least the men in the field do. But between the lines you can see that things will go terribly wrong with America's adventure in South Vietnam. Belongs on the shelf of every student of the Vietnam War."
Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
A good read
Okay, so one good reporter went to Vietnam before the war escalated. So much of the reporting as the war went on was a "soda straw" view of events. The ultimate arrogance of reporting came when Walter Cronkite declared we had lost the war. Nevermind that the VietCong had been destroyed in the 68 Tet Offensive. Reporters seeing only one side gave Ho Chi Minh the propaganda to the American people that Ho Chi Minh needed to win the war politically.
Ultimately, the domino theory proved correct. And contrary to the belief of John Kerry and Clark Clifford, the North Vietnamese took revenge on the South. There was a blood bath.
If you can find a copy of the following book and you were an antiwar protestor in the 60's and 70's, the consequences of your behavior on our political decisions in Vietnam should make you feel ashamed:
Nguyen Ngoc Ngan and E. E. Richie. The Will of Heaven: A Story of One Vietnamese and the End of His World. New York: Dutton, 1982.
Very good job
"The Only War We,ve Got" is an important book. I read it in virtually two sittings; so, it surely held my interest. I'm surprised I have not read about it elsewhere. Like most thoughtful Americans, my opinions, feeling and prejudices about the Vietnam War have morphed a lot over the past 36 years. Presently, this book catches me right in the middle. The War provided much to be angry over but even more to be sad about. Truly, good intentions in the hands of fools (aren't we all) can be the cobblestones for the road to Hell. I hope this book will serve the folks who take George Santayanas famous comment to heart. However, I have seen in my lifetime the "best and the brightest" can be the biggest fools of all.
Very good job.
I really got caught up in this book
War stories aren't usually my cup of tea, but once I picked up this book I just couldn't put it down again. Maybe it was the "journal" style. But I really got the feeling that I was there with the reporter, traveling from base to base in Vietnam. Most books about the war give you the feeling of a filthy war fought in a rotten climate by men who hated every minute of it. That's not the war that Mr. Ford saw. In fact, he loved the country, and so did most of the American soldiers he traveled with. Good photographs too. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in how the Vietnam war came to be.
-- Bonnie
Did you ever wonder how the war began?
This is an amazing book. Before Vietnam became a household word, Ford bought a ticket to Saigon so he could see the war for himself. There were only a few Americans in Vietnam at the time, reporters and advisors and helo crews--no combat troops tho they all saw combat from time to time, including Ford. He goes on an armored invasion of a seashore town, slogs through the jungle with Vietnamese Rangers, patrols with the American Green Berets, and celebrates the Fourth of July by shooting up the Saigon River with a gang from the U.S. Navy. Ford's Vietnam isn't the one you generally read about. He loves the country and admires the Americans he meets in his travels. They in turn love their work, at least the men in the field do. But between the lines you can see that things will go terribly wrong with America's adventure in South Vietnam.
Belongs on the shelf of every student of the Vietnam War.
Carleton Ross
