First published 2018
Elizabeth Partridge examines America's Vietnam conflict through the eyes of eight individuals who lived through it. Six soldiers, one military nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee tell their stories of jungle warfare, helicopter evacuations, and narrow escapes. The author weaves these personal accounts with profiles of political leaders and major events from 1964 to 1975. She covers the peace movement, presidential crises, and the difficulties veterans faced returning home. The war killed over 58,000 American troops and troubled four presidents during more than ten years of fighting. Partridge uses more than one hundred photographs to document this turbulent chapter. Her approach reveals how individual experiences illuminate the broader conflict that divided the nation. The book shows readers both the immediate dangers of combat and the long-term effects on those who served.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, military-history, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: America, Vietnam
Period: 1964-1975
224 pages · Hardcover · Viking Books for Young Readers
Content warnings: violence, war