The University of Texas at Tyler Libraries

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Assembling a corps of experts on every aspect‘military, political, economic, and social‘of America's involvement in Vietnam's War for Independence, editor Tucker (John Biggs Professor of Military History, Virginia Military Inst.) has produced a remarkable resource, though one that is not without echoes of the controversies produced by the conflict. Nearly 1000 entries by over 138 contributors‘with documents from all periods and sources, some never seen before‘make this encyclopedia a central resource for information and analysis of this turning point in modern history. The text is illustrated‘rather sparingly for such a visible conflict‘with black-and-white photos. Libraries with Stanley Kutler's recent single-volume Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (LJ 1/97) could still benefit from the coverage here, as extensive as anything we'll likely see in several years. Recommended for all but the most specialized military and political collections. [Over the next 16 months, ABC-CLIO hopes to put this entire encyclopedia online on its own website, which will include a growing "diary" of E-mailed accounts from veterans.‘Ed.]‘Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up‘Providing interesting, well-researched articles on everything from the historical context to the important figures and key battles of this lengthiest of U.S. wars, this is a fine reference work that should be on every library shelf. The first two volumes contain more than 900 signed articles ranging in length from several paragraphs to several pages. Volume three provides a representative selection of documents pertaining to the war, beginning with a speech by Hô Chí Minh in 1920 and ending with President Clinton's announcement of normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1995. These primary sources add enormous value to the set. The writing is clear, unbiased, and informative. While protesters, activists, and movements are covered (e.g., Bobby Seale, the Berrigan brothers, the Black Panthers), there are some omissions. (Sidney Schanberg and Dith Pran, whose story was the basis for the movie, The Killing Fields, are not included). Though the black-and-white photos are not indexed, most of the images are evocative, dramatic, and well chosen. Unfortunately, the cross-referencing is disappointing; for example, names like Hô Chí Minh and Pol Pot are accessed by the first letter of the first name and students treating Minh or Pot as last names might miss these articles completely. Though this may not be the comprehensive encyclopedia it aspires to be, it is still the best there is on the subject.‘Herman Sutter, Saint Pius X High School, Houston, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Some 135 contributors with a variety of backgrounds provide more than 900 alphabetically arranged entries covering US and Vietnamese perspectives on the war's military and political fronts; weapons, strategies and tactics; key figures on all sides; the US antiwar movement; international repercussions; and the impact of the war on US culture. Articles vary in length from a single paragraph to several pages, depending on the importance of the topic. Bibliographies and see also references are provided with each article. Tucker (military history, Virginia Military Institute and author of several other books on military history) also edited Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (3v., 1998), of which the present title is an abridgement. The parent work is more useful for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. The downsizing was achieved by omitting a section of maps, photographs, chronology of events, and most documents from the three-volume edition, but the abridgement includes an extensive bibliography and 39 documents. It is somewhat briefer than Vietnam War Encyclopedia, ed. by Stanley I. Kutler (CH, July'96), but has over 300 more entries. Suitable for users of all levels and highly recommended for all libraries that lack an encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. P. Brush; Vanderbilt University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Spencer C. Tucker , PhD, is senior fellow in military history for ABC-CLIO and the author or editor of more than 40 books and encyclopedias, many of which have been recognized by awards.