Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War

Nguyen, Viet Thanh

ISBN 10: 067466034X / ISBN 13: 9780674660342

Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2016

About this Item

This copy of "Nothing Ever Dies" has been SIGNED by Viet Thanh Nguyen on the title page! WINNER of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel "The Sympathizer." The author considers this work as a "bookend" with "The Sympathizer." All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. This is a searching exploration of the conflict Americans call the Vietnam War and Vietnamese call the American War - a conflict that lives on in the collective memory of both nations. A Finalist for the National Book Award for Non-Fiction 2016. Seller Inventory # 8247

Bibliographic Details

Title: Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of...

Publisher: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

Publication Date: 2016

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: First Edition/First Printing

About this title

Synopsis:

All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. From the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Sympathizer comes a searching exploration of the conflict Americans call the Vietnam War and Vietnamese call the American War―a conflict that lives on in the collective memory of both nations.

From a kaleidoscope of cultural forms―novels, memoirs, cemeteries, monuments, films, photography, museum exhibits, video games, souvenirs, and more―Nothing Ever Dies brings a comprehensive vision of the war into sharp focus. At stake are ethical questions about how the war should be remembered by participants that include not only Americans and Vietnamese but also Laotians, Cambodians, South Koreans, and Southeast Asian Americans. Too often, memorials valorize the experience of one’s own people above all else, honoring their sacrifices while demonizing the “enemy”―or, most often, ignoring combatants and civilians on the other side altogether. Visiting sites across the United States, Southeast Asia, and Korea, Viet Thanh Nguyen provides penetrating interpretations of the way memories of the war help to enable future wars or struggle to prevent them.

Drawing from this war, Nguyen offers a lesson for all wars by calling on us to recognize not only our shared humanity but our ever-present inhumanity. This is the only path to reconciliation with our foes, and with ourselves. Without reconciliation, war’s truth will be impossible to remember, and war’s trauma impossible to forget.

About the Author:

Viet Thanh Nguyen is Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. His novel The Sympathizer won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.