Vietnam: A Television History

Probably the most divisive episode in recent American history has been the Vietnam conflict. In this probing, hard-hitting series, the producers attempt to explain how the United States became involved in a colonial war half a world away, why we continued to fight despite heavy losses and violent public protest, and ways in which the war changed American life and thought forever. Graphic documentary and news footage combined with interviews and reminiscences from participants on both sides presents a somewhat illuminating, often horrifying, and always unforgettable parade of images. We see wave after wave of bombings, American and South Vietnamese troops trying to fight an enemy they can't see, racial tension as black and white soldiers refuse to live in the same sections of Saigon, people burned and buried alive as they flee their villages through a series of underground tunnels, a devastated President Johnson telling the country he will not seek re-election, grueling peace negotiations, cease fire, release of American P.O.W.'s from "The Hanoi Hilton", and finally, pandemonium as the Americans evacuate the country and try to take as many refugees as possible with them. Vietnam: A Television History presents to the viewers a brilliant, in-depth analysis of the war and its implications. The story is presented in thirteen episodes, each of which concentrates on a major aspect of the war. The series is far more than just a look at the military engagements and political maneuvering, but rather it advances a many-sided picture of what it meant to live through such a difficult and often highly confusing series of events. Highly recommended. (Ruth Webb, Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA).