tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post5008661360547964279..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien PhuRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-24010248331663617272014-09-14T14:20:48.472-04:002014-09-14T14:20:48.472-04:00Séamus, I know the feeling: Fall's book was gr...Séamus, I know the feeling: Fall's book was great, but I believe I picked up in 2010 or thereabouts!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-52021401134036777492014-09-10T18:04:03.763-04:002014-09-10T18:04:03.763-04:00This sounds really good (says he eyeing the huge p...This sounds really good (says he eyeing the huge pile of non-fiction he has been accumulating without reading for the last number of years)...Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69962824113651930562014-09-02T15:27:07.896-04:002014-09-02T15:27:07.896-04:00Steve/Languagehat, thanks so much for those recomm...Steve/Languagehat, thanks so much for those recommendations--had heard plenty about Fall's <em>Street Without Joy</em> but hardly anything about those other titles. I'm a little "sorry" to say that I enjoyed this first Fall book of mine so much that I'm now eyeing those two LOA <em>Reporting Vietnam</em> journalism anthologies that I was only dimly aware of previously. The backlog (Vietnam War and otherwise) just keeps getting longer and longer...Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-36597109603944269022014-09-02T09:23:26.438-04:002014-09-02T09:23:26.438-04:00I too highly recommend this book, which I read man...I too highly recommend this book, which I read many years ago during a period of obsession with the Vietnam War and still own; I also recommend Fall's <i>The Two Viet-Nams: A Political and Military Analysis</i> and the posthumous collection <i>Last Reflections on a War</i> (I haven't read <i>treet Without Joy</i>. His death was a tragic loss.Languagehathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285708503881129380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-49390949858349896342014-08-25T12:15:16.356-04:002014-08-25T12:15:16.356-04:00Thanks, Brian--glad (but not totally surprised) to...Thanks, Brian--glad (but not totally surprised) to hear you've read this great book already. I think what's most striking about the "paratroop Mafia" takeover other than its novelty is that the division of duties for the command of the defense seemed to work for all parties involved. That is, it wasn't Langlais' or de Castries' fault that Dien Bien Phu ultimately fell given the other problems (supply logistics, the better than anticipated performance of Viet Minh artillery) that can be attributed to central command. Have you read Fall's earlier <em>Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina</em> by any chance? I've heard it's as good as this one, so I'd love to read it someday. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-12600787290051493462014-08-25T10:00:21.464-04:002014-08-25T10:00:21.464-04:00Great commentary Richard.
I read this one a few y...Great commentary Richard.<br /><br />I read this one a few years ago and it made an impression as I still remember it vividly.<br /><br />The story of the takeover by "the paratroop Mafia' is striking.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.com