Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land ― The Vietnam War Revisited

From the Colonial War with France in the 1940s and 50s, through to the final evacuation of Saigon and beyond, each chapter of Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land: The Vietnam War Revisited, focuses on a different aspect of the Vietnam War. The 15 chapters are written by a diverse set of expert authors including participants in the war, journalists and historians who give startling and, in some cases exclusive, insights into one of the most controversial conflicts of the 20th century. Officers from both the NVA and ARVN take a first-hand look at the strategy and tactics of both sides and give critical assessments of where the war went wrong; Le Ly Hayslip, a Vietnamese civilian trapped between the Viet Cong and Southern authorities provides a harrowing account of life for the typical South Vietnamese civilian caught up in the war; and acclaimed historians and journalists, such as Bernard Edelman and Arnold Isaacs, take a critical look at the many aspects of the war from the river war and the air war through to the strategy and doctrine used by the USA forces. Illustrated with contemporary colour photography that evocatively complements the text, this book will show the Vietnam War in a whole new light even for those who have 'read it all' before.

TOC: Contributors /Chronology /Introduction: An American War? /The French Indochina War /Fight for the Long Haul /The South Road /The War Outside Vietnam /A View from the Other Side of the Story /Caught in the Crossfire /Diggers and Kiwis /The Conduct of War /On the Ground /"Swatting Flies with a Sledgehammer" /Battle for Mekong /Tactics in a Different War /The Living Room War /The Final Act - And After /Endnotes /Bibliography /Glossary /Index

Dr Andrew Wiest is Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi and is also the founding director of the Center for the Study of War and Society. After attending the University of Southern Mississippi for his undergraduate and masters degrees, Dr Wiest went on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1990. Specializing in the study of World War I and Vietnam, he has served as a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Warfighting Strategy in the United States Air Force Air War College. Since 1992 Dr Wiest has been active in international education, developing the award-winning Vietnam Study Abroad Program. A widely published author, Wiest's titles include Vietnam's Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN (New York University), which won the Society for Military History's Distinguished Book Award; America and the Vietnam War (Routledge); Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land (Osprey); and Passchendaele and the Royal Navy (Greenwood Press). Additionally Dr Wiest has appeared in and consulted on several historical documentaries for the History Channel, Granada Television, PBS, the BBC, and for Lucasfilm. Wiest lives in Hattiesburg with his wife Jill and their three children Abigail, Luke and Wyatt. The author lives in Hattiesburg, MS.