10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War - Hardcover

Caputo, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689862318 ISBN 13: 9780689862311

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

It was the war that lasted ten thousand days. The war that inspired scores of songs. The war that sparked dozens of riots. And in this stirring chronicle, Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Philip Caputo writes about our country's most controversial war -- the Vietnam War -- for young readers. From the first stirrings of unrest in Vietnam under French colonial rule, to American intervention, to the battle at Hamburger Hill, to the Tet Offensive, to the fall of Saigon, 10,000 Days of Thunder explores the war that changed the lives of a generation of Americans and that still reverberates with us today.
Included within 10,000 Days of Thunder are personal anecdotes from soldiers and civilians, as well as profiles and accounts of the actions of many historical luminaries, both American and Vietnamese, involved in the Vietnam War, such as Richard M. Nixon, General William C. Westmoreland, Ho Chi Minh, Joe Galloway, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson, and General Vo Nguyen Giap. Caputo also explores the rise of Communism in Vietnam, the roles that women played on the battlefield, the antiwar movement at home, the participation of Vietnamese villagers in the war, as well as the far-reaching impact of the war's aftermath.
Caputo's dynamic narrative is highlighted by stunning photographs and key campaign and battlefield maps, making 10,000 Days of Thunder THE consummate book on the Vietnam War for kids.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Caputo shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1973, when he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. A Rumor of War, a memoir of his service during the Vietnam War as a marine lieutenant, has become a classic with more than two million copies sold since its publication in 1977. Philip Caputo's most recent novel is Acts of Faith. He is also the author of nine other books: Horn of Africa, DelCorso's Gallery, Indian Country, Means of Escape, Equation for Evil, Exiles, The Voyage, In the Shadows of the Morning, and Ghosts of Tsavo. He lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

Starred Review. Grade 5 Up–In this truly multifaceted presentation of the conflict, both on the front lines and on the homefront, Caputo has produced what is at once an overview and a sensitive, resonant picture of the war as seen and experienced by American soldiers, the Viet Cong, North Vietnamese guerrillas, and the citizens of both South Vietnam and the United States. Covering the period from the rise of Bolshevism in Russia in the early 20th century to the American normalization of relations with Vietnam in 1995, it's an ideal source for both information and understanding. Beginning with an affecting introduction, the author then gives a history of communism and the origins of the war. Following this, the American involvement in Vietnam is traced in numerous two- to four-page sections dealing with various aspects of the conflict, such as the Viet Cong, the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the DMZ, and the draft. Each section has a quick facts box that highlights the main issues surrounding each topic. Caputo's prose is clear and direct, and the award-winning photos, both black and white and color, add an immediacy that sets this title apart from more conventional treatments. The glossary is detailed and informative, and the bibliography is a veritable gold mine of sound sources. This is the book of choice for libraries serving today's students.–Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gr. 7-10. Caputo, whose 1977 memoir A Rumor of War provided adults with a personal glimpse of the Vietnam War, chooses a more straightforward, wide-angle approach for this introduction to the "most unpopular war in American history and the only war America ever lost." Background comes first, including chapters about the role of Communism and how America became involved. Page-long profiles of various groups taking part in the conflict (tunnel rats, nurses, journalists, villagers, etc.) follow, interspersed with discussions of key battles, the evolving politics, and events on the home front. Sidebars expand the information, and the 10 by 10 trim size allows for large photos, many of which are candid close-ups: a wounded soldier in agony; a paratrooper carrying a Vietnamese toddler out of harm's way. Dramatic and immediate, they humanize the tragedy and celebrate the heroism, which Caputo makes abundantly clear in his thoughtful, articulate text. A time line appears on the endpapers, and the appended material features a bibliography that includes many classic adult books. An excellent way to expand on the highly visual approach Stuart Murray took in his recent Eyewitness Guide The Vietnam War (2005). Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689862318
• ISBN 13: 9780689862311
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128