Palmer, Laura [author's website]

Shrapnel in the Heart : Letters and Remembrance from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Here is a collection of letters, essays, journals, and recollections that has made many a non-vet realize the great loss behind each name on the Wall.   I put this book at the top of anyone's reading list. In fact you could say it changed my life. Before seeing an dramatization of the book, I had not read anything on Vietnam and had no interest in the subject --sound familiar?  

Pakis, Vic
Immigrant Soldier : From the Baltics to Vietnam

Memoir of author's family's emigration from Latvia to his service in Vietnam

Parker, James E.
Last Man Out : A Personal Account of the Vietnam War

Published March 1997. The author was an army lieutenant 1965-66, and eventually became a CIA operative. His first memoir was "Codename Mule, Fighting the Secret War in Laos for the CIA" 

Peters, Bill
First Force Recon Company : Sunrise at Midnight

1st Force Marine Recon.  Amazon says: "From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to ensure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed. Peter's accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare . . ."

Peterson, Michael E.
Combined Action Platoons : The U.S. Marines Other War in Vietnam

Phillips, William R.
Night of the Silver Stars : The Battle of Lang Vei (Special Warfare Series)

1997 

Pilon, Charles
Bridging the Gap : Twenty Years After the War in Vietnam

Plumb, Charlie
    I'm No Hero

As recommended by a visitor here:  Charlie was a Navy pilot shot down in May, 1967 and not released until February, 1973.  His story is remarkably free of bitterness and describes ways they worked to establish communication and maintain morale during their long captivity.  He alludes to, but does not describe, the torture endured by the POWs.  

    Last Domino

June 1975 makes this an early memoir, if that is what this is.  It is the cheapest hardback you will find at $7.95.  That's a 1975 price!  

Plaster, John L.
Sog : The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam

Jan 1997. 

Powell, Mary Reynolds A World of Hurt : Between Innocence and Arrogance in Vietnam A very good account by a nurse in Vietnam (Long Binh) in 1970.  This was not the same as pre-Tet Vietnam and is a valuable addition to the literature of the war.  Here you read about a wearying patient load due in part to drug overdoses.  Powell includes the stories of seven of her friends, among them a dustoff helicopter pilot, an infantry captain, a Vietnamese aide, a drug counselor, and an emergency room nurse, who were with her in Vietnam.  April 2000

United States	United Kingdom	Germany	France
[paperback]	[paperback]

Powell, Larry
Hunger of the Heart : Communion at the Wall

Photographs taken at the Wall. Published July 1996. Larry is a dedicated chronicler of visitors to the Wall and you will find him there every Veteran's Day as well as at other times. 

Prados, John
The Trail : Fulcrum of the Vietnam War

Sep 1998 

Pratt, John Clark
Vietnam Voices : Perspectives on the War Years, 1941-1982

Dec 1998  

Prochnau, William [review]
Once upon a Distant War : Young War Correspondents and the Early Vietnam Battles

It is one of the many sad legacies of the war that the reporters are remembered as being disloyal to their country.  Their role seems to me to be more like Cassandra, gifted with the ability to see the future, but cursed in that no one would believe her. A command structure closer to politicians than to the soldiers in the field, that inflated body counts and distorted negative after action reports, would necessarily be at odds with journalists who had a closer view of the war than they did.  

  Pterodactyl Index [website]

Per the website: Fiction and Non-Fiction Military Books, Music and Other Sound Recording Albums, CDs and Tapes, Military Artwork and Other Undistributed Stuff by Military Vets  This is an admirable effort to market small press publications by veterans of all wars.

Puller, Lewis B.
Fortunate Son : The Autobiography of Lewis B. Puller, Jr.

This ironically titled autobiography is very popular. I didn't like it that much, but I seem to be the exception.  

What does mean?  It is just my very subjective list of the top ten books to read about the Vietnam War.  I list them here.

United States Search: All Products Books Popular Music Classical Music Video DVD Toys & Games Computer & Video Games Electronics Software Tools & Hardware Lawn & Patio Kitchen Camera & Photo Wireless Phones Keywords:	United Kingdom Search: All Products Books DVD & Video Popular Music Classical Music Software PC and Video Games Keywords:
Germany Schnellsuche Alle Produkte Bücher Englische Bücher Pop Musik Song Titel Klassik DVD & Video PC- & Videospiele Software Suchbegriff	France Rechercher : Tous les produits Livres en français Livres en anglais Pop, V.F., Jazz... Classique Vidéo DVD Mots-clés :

Still can't find it?  Try Battleground Books: 
Used books and scarce first editions at reasonable prices.

My Vietnam Related Websites:
Women in Vietnam ~ Not only nurses served . . .
Dusty's Home Page ~ Poetry and prose by a woman who was a nurse in Vietnam
Emily's Poetry ~ By a Red Cross Donut Dolly
Battle Dressing ~ The Journey of a Nurse in Vietnam
Tim O'Brien's Home Page ~ National Book Award Winner and Americal Vet
Shrapnel in the Heart ~ The most moving book you will read on Vietnam
The Irish on the Wall ~ An effort to locate the Irish who died in Vietnam
Project Hearts and Minds ~ Help put Viet Nam back together
All About Vietnam   ~ An annotated bibliography of books about Vietnam for sale thru Amazon Worldwide!
Photos from a Holts' Military History Tour ~ My trip to Vietnam, February 1998
Illinois Vietnam Women's Memorial ~ Honoring all the Illinois women who served

Page last updated September 19, 2002	Suggest additions to