Vietnam: The Real War: A Photographic History by the Associated Press Hardcover – October 1, 2013

The Associated Press sent its first reporters to Vietnam soon after the French military returned to the country in 1945. During the next thirty years what started out as a distant colonial war grew into the principle military struggle of the Cold War. The whole time, the Associated Press was on the ground writing stories and taking photos. To do this, the AP hired and cultivated the best photojournalists of the era."Vietnam: The Real War" is a photographic history of the conflict. Most of the photos come from AP's archive but when necessary the editors have included photos from non-AP sources. The text lightly covers the history of the war. Its real strength is telling the stories of the AP photographers and journalists. These are the stories of the intrepid journalists who brought the war to the world's newspapers and magazines.The "Golden Age" of photographic journalism is often seen as having taken place during the Spanish Civil War and Second World War. A whole cottage industry has arisen to chronicle the works of the great Magnum photographers, Robert Capa, David Seymour and George Rodgers. The photographic history of the Korean and Vietnam wars have never generated the same interest among historians and authors. Perhaps this is because of our nation's more troubled relationship with these conflicts. Neither the Korean nor the Vietnam War were ever considered "Good Wars" fought by a "Greatest Generation."It is unfortunate that the great photojournalists of the Vietnam War never received the recognition they were due. "Vietnam: The Read War" is a collection of extraordinary photographs that move way beyond merely documenting the horrors of war. There are beautifully composed images that leave the world of illustration and enter the realm of fine art. Those images say as much about the insanity of war as any work by Goya. This is a great book that will be enjoyed by people interested in both history and photography. Highly recommended!

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Upon receiving this today, I had to put it down after just a few minutes because the anger returned looking at these pictures, which rival Matthew Brady's portrayal of the US Civil War in my book as the best photojournalism of war.But after gathering myself and reopening these pages, I feel tearful sorrow.The photos - some searingly graphic, such as the bodies of North Vietnamese dragged to a site for mass burial, others heart rending, including a woman who has just discovered the body of her husband - are grouped into seven chronological chapters, an introduction by Pete Hamill, and an Epilogue. Tet gets its own chapter.Some of the photos of the action, particularly skies filled with menacing choppers, are mind boggling. One photo shows a line of choppers laying machine gun fire into woods surrounding a landing site. Another shows choppers on the ground to the horizon with waves more arriving.There's a sense of hopelessness to US soldiers in the jungle, often waiting for a medivac, sometimes standing beside a wounded comrade, sometimes next to a body bag.Mostly, there is great suffering.This is a book I will keep at hand.

Pete Hamill is the kind of journalist that every student of the craft would love to be. That is until they realize how costly it is to be a person of quality and character. Few will ever measure up to the bar he set in all his work. He was the man for this job and if you ever take the time to READ his work, you will get ink on your brain. You will remember a time when truth and facts mattered. This book is pure quality and truth, combined with a host of unique visions that tell a great story. I was a part of it, I'm in it and he got it right. Buy this for every student you know, put it in libraries and know you did something great. Turn off the talking heads and appreciate it for yourself.

This book is really a copy cat of "The Eyewitness History of the Vietnam War" put together by George Esper and The Associated Press published in 1983 in soft cover. There are very few different photographs in this new book. The 1983 version has more text about our troops, it's not just pics.I was irritated with one pic. On pg 250 the caption refers to soldiers giving a "V" sign, those soldiers are giving the peace sign. The soldier with both fists in the air is a black soldier and he is giving the black power sign. With that off my chest I would highly recommend this hard cover book. Brought back some "fond" memories.

This awesome, many great, iconic photos. I heard an interview (Terry Gross, Fresh Air, maybe?) with the person who put this together and he talked quite a lot about many of the images and of the photographers as well. The AP photographers who made these. photographs rarely of ever saw their work, they shot the film and sent it away to the editors and papers they worked for, and those people developed the film and chose which. images would be. published. These are all really interesting and to think that many were shot in haste under extreme circumstances, in battle or whatever.

Vietnam was unique for reporters & photo journalists compared to recent conflicts in that they could hitch a ride & go where ever they wanted without being embedded as they are required to do now. This resulted in some "tell it like it is" on the ground reporting. These are some of the Associated Press most memorable shots of the war from the early 1960's thru the mid-70s. They are very often heartbreaking but honest. This is not a coffee-table book, but it is a photographic history of the real war in Vietnam from the ground up. It includes a 15 page introduction by journalist Pete Hamill & all pictured are captioned.

With an emerging interest in the Vietnam War I found this book was exactly what I needed. Some of the greatest photographs of the war, capturing the emotion and day to day action of it all.If you're intrigued by this, just buy it. I hadn't seen many of the pictures before and the brief descriptions and chapter notes help to ground the images in the history of the war.

“Vietnam: The Real War: A Photographic History by the Associated Press” is a beautiful oversized, hard covered book with 300 stunning mainly black-and-white and many full-page photographs. The book is organized chronologically starting in the 1950s with the first American boots on the ground and finishing with the dramatic fall of Saigon in 1975. The accompanying text to the photographs provides further excellent background information, adding to the drama of a lot of pictures. It is also an invitation for further investigation. It is easy to get lost in the book as well as in individual pictures.The photos are mainly made by five of the most famous Associated Press (AP) war photographers: Horst Faas, Henri Huet, Eddie Adams, Nick Ut, and Phuoc Van Dang. Their names and faces may not be familiar to everybody, however their photographs in this book are instantly recognizable. Their pictures have become part of the collective memory as well as defining moments in the public perception and political debates in the West of what was going on in Vietnam. This is therefore also a tribute to AP's journalists, who saw more fighting than many Generals they met in briefing rooms and press centers.“Vietnam: The Real War” is not for the faint-hearted. Some pictures are graphic and the stories behind some of them are stomach turning or incredibly sad. I read the book in conjunction with " Dispatches: Picador Classic " to add a psychological dimension. So all in all, this is a beautiful coffee table book, but not suitable for all coffee tables. Dispatches: Picador Classic

The book opens with an Introduction about some of the press and photographers who are included in this very fine book.The book is then split into six chapters covering the length of the war, with appropriate pictures for each part. The narratives give you a very brief history of the main points of the war in each section.Whilst the black & white photos are nearly all from the American or French side, they are nonetheless stunningly poignant, with some being head-shakeingly graphic and sad.There is nothing glamorous about war? The pictures portray the reality of the pain, loss, slog, desperation and ultimately the survival instinct. This is grim and life changing.The book has approximately 200 photos; it of course includes the iconic picture of Kim Pluc - the little naked nine year old girl, running away after a napalm attack. There is also the picture of the Buddhist Monk, Thich Quang Duc, who sets fire to himself in Saigon.One of the most heart wrenching photos `is of a little baby in a shoe box, her little brother (about 3 years old?) is led beside her in the street - by them both is a beggars' bowl!My only surprise is that there are no picture of the infamous `My Lay Massacre,' which is of course, was a major incident of this war?

Not a book for everyone but if you are interested in the war of a generation to which photographers had access that had not been seen before or since then this is a book worth reading.The quality of the photos (predominately shot with Tri-x) have that analogue quality sadly missing from modern reportage but add the grittiness to the scene that complements the horrific scenes captured within.I can't recommend this book enough but prepare to question the reality of war and the pain inflicted on all.

Bought this for my husband, who is really pleased with it. We were teenagers when this war was fought, but still remember some of the graphic scenes that we shown on the news, some of which are in the book and are very moving and sad. The text explains things that we did not know, about the origins of the war etc.

Incredible book showing the brutality of the Vietnam war. Recommend to anyone with an interest in that period.