Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date.
For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.
Narrated by James Patrick Cronin
Howard JonesUnabridged — 17 hours, 2 minutes
Narrated by James Patrick Cronin
Howard JonesUnabridged — 17 hours, 2 minutes
Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
Already Subscribed?
Sign in to Your BN.com Account
FREE
with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription
…a difficult book to read, but essential to understand the modern history of our nation…[Jones's] "just the facts" approach is appropriate. It is a book at once painful and useful, and is likely to become the standard reference work on My Lai.
03/13/2017
Nearly 10 years in the making, this exhaustively researched and well-written narrative bores in on the details of what has become known as the My Lai Massacre—the slaughter of 504 old men, women, and children by American troops in the South Vietnamese village of Son My on Mar. 16, 1968—and the massacre’s legal and political aftermath. Jones (Blue and Gray Diplomacy), professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama, mined an array of sources, including some original oral histories and interviews with Americans and Vietnamese, in producing this authoritative account of a dark moment in American history. To Jones’s credit, he succeeds in his goal of presenting a “balanced and accurate account” of the still-controversial incident. He also tackles the thorny questions of why the massacre took place, and whether it was an aberration. Jones boils down the answer to the former question to character flaws and the lack of “a notion of decency” among the troops who did the killing and raping. As for whether My Lai was a Vietnam War aberration, Jones cites other massacres in Vietnam and previous U.S. wars, but notes that My Lai “stands out, in part because of the numbers” of people killed. Maps & Illus. (June)
"This book about the famous massacre of Vietnamese villagers by American soldiers may be difficult to read - but it is essential for understanding our recent history, and should become the standard reference on the subject." -The New York Times
"Empirically, Jones has succeeded in including the perspective of Vietnamese victims and Viet Cong commanders — a focus that the existing historiography lacks." — Marcel Berni, Journal of Contemporary History"Jones is a versatile historian . . . and here, he successfully accomplishes two tasks: first, he provides as comprehensive a history of My Lai as we are likely to see for some time. Second, he thoughtfully probes the myriad ways that the My Lai story has been told. Jones succeeds on all counts." -Kirkus, Starred Review "Nearly 10 years in the making, this exhaustively researched and well-written narrative bores in on the details of what has become known as the My Lai Massacre. . . . Jones, professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama, mined an array of sources, including some original oral histories and interviews with Americans and Vietnamese, in producing this authoritative account of a dark moment in American history." —Publishers Weekly"This important work deserves a wide audience and is essential for anyone interested in the Vietnam War." -LIBRARY JOURNAL "Jones' volume is a meticulous and detailed review of what happened in My Lai, the subsequent investigations and the courts-martial. His analysis is brutally frank yet fair, objective and balanced . . . Every graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, ROTC and OCS should be required to read this book before pinning on the gold bars." -Brigadier General David T. Zabecki, for HistoryNet"Jones succeeds on all counts in a book that, due to its subject matter, is not pleasant to read but is powerful and important." —Kirkus Starred Review
05/01/2017
In March 1968, U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in an attack on Son My village in South Vietnam; victims included pregnant women, infants, and the elderly. Jones (history, emeritus, Univ. of Alabama; Death of a Generation) offers a thoroughly researched and detailed account of the massacre, and the subsequent cover-up, investigations, and trials. Readers will learn about the complexities of the tragedy and how it became public knowledge more than a year later despite efforts to conceal it. Although investigations found evidence that dozens of soldiers participated in the massacre, only Lt. William Calley was convicted of war crimes. The author explains how this led the public to sympathize with Calley, believing he was a scapegoat for mistakes made by military and government leaders. Ultimately, Calley only served three and a half years of house arrest. VERDICT Vivid descriptions of sexual assault and murder make this an emotionally challenging read at times. However, this important work deserves a wide audience and is essential for anyone interested in the Vietnam War.—Joshua Wallace, Tarleton State Univ. Lib. Stephenville, TX
★ 2017-03-20
A scrupulous history of one of the darkest moments in American military history.On March 16, 1968, troops from the United States Army entered a series of villages in South Vietnam, and what ensued has been called the "My Lai Massacre," one of the most shameful events in the history of U.S. foreign affairs. Although the numbers remain in dispute, perhaps the most reliable indicate 504 dead, more than half of whom were under 20 years of age. The slaughter served no larger strategic or tactical purpose. It was murder in cold blood, and an out-of-his-depth 24-year-old soldier, William Calley, who was guilty of an array of crimes against humanity that day, would serve as the focal point of the criminal investigations that followed. Calley would be found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. This book is part of the publisher's Pivotal Moments in American History series, and the events of My Lai—indeed, all of 1968—certainly fit. "My Lai was a turning point for so many reasons," writes Jones (Blue and Gray Diplomacy: A History of Union and Confederate Foreign Relations, 2010, etc.), "not least for the ways in which it tarnished the image many Americans had of their soldiers, and that the soldiers had of themselves." The story of that day did not emerge, however, until 1969, primarily due to the investigative journalism of Seymour Hersh, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on My Lai. Jones is a versatile historian—his work has ranged from the nation's founding era to the modern U.S.—and here, he successfully accomplishes two tasks: first, he provides as comprehensive a history of My Lai as we are likely to see for some time. Second, he thoughtfully probes the myriad ways that the My Lai story has been told. Jones succeeds on all counts in a book that, due to its subject matter, is not pleasant to read but is powerful and important.
| BN ID: | 2940170574827 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 07/11/2017 |
| Series: | Pivotal Moments in American History |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
