Vietnam: A War on Two Fronts

A history of American involvement in the Vietnam War, including a discussion of the antiwar movement in the United States.

Grade 7-10-- A look at both the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement in this country in alternating chapters. This is a good premise, but the book does little to enlighten readers about either topic. There is not enough background about either place, and although Lens mentions that all American wars have had domestic opposition, he fails to explain adequately why the antiwar movement became so large and insistent during the Vietnam conflict. Instead, he spends too much time listing names of leaders and his friends in the movement. His discussion of the war itself is too shallow for any real understanding. The worst flaw, however, is the lack of objectivity. In spite of recent historical scholarship that has been providing a balanced look at the war, Lens persists in viewing the U. S. as the aggressor against a small, peace-loving North Vietnam. There is never any mention of atrocities committed by North Vietnam or of its severe repression of its citizens after the war. Few events in our history have been as divisive as the war in Vietnam, and there is a great need for books about the war at home. However, this one does not adequately serve that purpose. The Hooblers' Vietnam: Why We Fought (Knopf), and Warren's Portrait of a Tragedy (Lothrop, both 1990) do a much better job of examining the conflict. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

More impassioned and less inclusive than Vietnam: Why We Fought (see review above), this short volume by a leader of the 1960s peace movement concentrates on American protest against the war in Vietnam. Lens quickly reviews the history of Vietnam in the 20th century, outlines U.S. military strategy (neglecting, however, the heroism or specific contributions of individual soldiers) and analyzes LBJ's motives for escalating the war. As Gen. Westmoreland and Henry Kissinger in particular earn Lens's fury, the founders of the peace movement draw especial praise and their tactics are singled out: rallies; teach-ins; resistance to the draft, including the burning of draft cards; refusal to pay federal taxes; etc. While some adults may sympathize with Lens's politics, his ideology is perhaps too much in evidence: for example, his discussion of the police brutality during the 1968 Chicago Democratic Party convention begins with the observation that "the authorities were incapable of dealing with the Yippies' sense of fun." Photographs, confined to two inserts (of six and eight pages, respectively), are both badly laid out and poorly reproduced. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.