Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Stackpole Books (1994), Edition: Revised, Subsequent, 416 pages
Description
In this classic account of the French war in Indochina, Bernard B. Fall vividly captures the sights, sounds, and smells of the savage eight-year conflict in the jungles and mountains of Southeast Asia from 1946 to 1954. The French fought well to the last, but even with the lethal advantages of airpower, they could not stave off the Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists, who countered with a hit-and-run campaign of ambushes, booby traps, and nighttime raids. Defeat came at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, setting the stage for American involvement and opening another tragic chapter in Vietnam's history.
User reviews
LibraryThing member conagher78
It's hard to say anything more that hasn't already been said by the other reviewers. This book basically affirms George Santayana's famous remark that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The book details the French disaster in Vietnam up to the very early days of US
This is not a book that's critical of foreign involvement in Vietnam. Far from it. Fall makes it clear that he has no love whatsoever for Communism in general and the Viet-Minh in particular. It is more a lament at the vast number of men who were sacrificed by the French military leadership because they were unwilling or unable to see that their strategies and tactics were absolutely self-defeating. It was also a warning to the US military and political leadership to learn from France's mistakes. I think you know how that story ends, though ...
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involvement in 1961. He details how badly flawed French strategy and tactics in Vietnam were through the 1950s up to the siege of Dien Bien Phu. He details how the French send mechanized battalions into some of the world's thickest jungles, how they deploy aircraft to support ground troops in foliage so thick that the ground can't be seen, how they drive convoy after convoy along the only and easily ambushable roads, and so on. The fatal flaws of the French involvement are 1) the expectation that a guerilla force will engage them in a traditional "set-piece" battle, and 2) that superior technology makes it unnecessary to have a popular cause. Basically the French brought a howitzer to a gun fight. Although on paper the howitzer possesses far greater firepower, any idiot knows that the party wielding the pistol will have filled the howitzer operator full of lead before he has had any chance at all to bring his "superior" weapon to bear.This is not a book that's critical of foreign involvement in Vietnam. Far from it. Fall makes it clear that he has no love whatsoever for Communism in general and the Viet-Minh in particular. It is more a lament at the vast number of men who were sacrificed by the French military leadership because they were unwilling or unable to see that their strategies and tactics were absolutely self-defeating. It was also a warning to the US military and political leadership to learn from France's mistakes. I think you know how that story ends, though ...
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LibraryThing member Unkletom
It's heartbreaking to think how differently the twentieth century might have ended had the powers that be in the U.S. read and, more importantly, paid attention to this book. Bernard Fall describes brilliantly the strategy and tactics used by Vo Nguyen Giap and the Viet Minh against the French.
This is a classic example of the old axiom that he who fails to learn from history is doomed to repeat it.
What I found particularly disturbing about 'Street Without Joy' is Giap's description of the evolution of his enemies' tactics; an initial offensive, slowing and turning into a defensive war with a growing amount of public sentiment against involvement. Does this sound familiar?
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These tactics changed very little from one war to the next yet we, forewarned (assuming we had read this book), walked right into it.This is a classic example of the old axiom that he who fails to learn from history is doomed to repeat it.
What I found particularly disturbing about 'Street Without Joy' is Giap's description of the evolution of his enemies' tactics; an initial offensive, slowing and turning into a defensive war with a growing amount of public sentiment against involvement. Does this sound familiar?
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LibraryThing member cwhouston
This is best and most detailed account of the Vietnamese struggle for independence prior to the arrival of significant numbers of US advisors and soldiers in the early 60s. Fall describes the bitter and bloody conflict with the French following the defeat of the Japanese in 1945 and the attempted
The book is very readable and is particularly interesting because it was written soon after the events by a journalist with an intimate knowledge of the country / conflict (Fall was killed in Vietnam in 1967 by a landmine). 'Street Without Joy' also has the added lure of having been widely read by the US advisors, counter-insurgency experts etc and journalists involved in the ensuing American escapade.
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restoration of colonial rule, almost entirely bankrolled by the USA. The coverage does not include anything other than a passing reference the siege of Dien Bien Phu, as this is the subject of separate title by the same author, 'Hell in a Very Small Place'.The book is very readable and is particularly interesting because it was written soon after the events by a journalist with an intimate knowledge of the country / conflict (Fall was killed in Vietnam in 1967 by a landmine). 'Street Without Joy' also has the added lure of having been widely read by the US advisors, counter-insurgency experts etc and journalists involved in the ensuing American escapade.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Military history of the French defeat in Indochina, written when American involvement was just beginning to ramp up. If you want to learn about a pointless, painful, and slow defeat, driven by French imperialist assumptions and indifference to the question of whether anybody actually wanted the
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French in control, this book tells that story, with plenty of grim details as the deaths mount in fives and tens, day in and day out. The seeds of the subsequent American defeat were also there, and as apparent to Fall in prospect as they are in restrospect. Show Less
LibraryThing member hellbent
After almost 30 years I have reread this book and together with several trips to Vietnam, including Dien Bien Phu, Hue, Route 1 and Route 9 and have enjoyed it more and value the author's insights. The book is well written and the author enjoyed first hand experience travelling with the French.
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When now visits Vietnam and meets the now happy and industrious people, one can only feel regret at the many years the French and then Americans futilely attempting to impose first colonial rule and then imported western political system, which itself evolved out of past revolutionary wars. The Vietnamese people can stand proudly with any in the world in the knowledge that they have justly earned their national freedom in spite of the huge obstacles thrown in its path. Show Less
LibraryThing member JPodlaski
I found "Street Without Joy" fascinating - a cross between the summation of after-action battle reports and a history book outlining the French debacle in Indochina. Readers clearly see that Laos and Vietnam were trying to free themselves from French colonial rule after World War II...the French,
It was obvious that the French did not have enough troops, equipment and supplies to support their mission within Indochina,and were not trained or ready to fight a guerrilla style jungle war. Conventional thinking and fighting were no match against an elusive enemy in the thick jungles, who chose the time and place for battle. As time went on, there were so many lessons to be learned and opportunities for change, yet the French insisted on the status quo - going so far as to train their Vietnamese allies in those same methods and tactics. As a result, almost 100,000 French soldiers lost their lives during their 8 year battle against those forces loyal to Ho Chi Minh.
When the French were defeated in 1954, Laos received sovernty and Vietnam was split at the 17th parallel; the southern half of the country still opposing those communist of the North. The United States came into the picture soon afterwards, providing advisors, equipment and funds to support the South's battle against the North Communists. However, there was no interest in studying the French battles and learning from their mistakes, so, history was to repeat itself...and so it did!
When Bernard Fall published this book in 1961, he states in it that the South had already lost the war with the North and cites examples of why it will happen - including outright lies by both the press and government to name a few.
I learned so much from reading "Street Without Joy" and feel that if the U.S. Government would have listened to this author or read his work, then acting upon the many lessons learned, I might not have had to serve in that war as an infantry soldier during 1970 and many of those 58,000+ soldiers might still be living.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about Indochina and the French occupation.
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
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Chinese and Japanese were all defeated and kicked out during the war; the author maintains that if France would have granted both Laos and Vietnam their independence in 1945 - so many lives could have been saved.It was obvious that the French did not have enough troops, equipment and supplies to support their mission within Indochina,and were not trained or ready to fight a guerrilla style jungle war. Conventional thinking and fighting were no match against an elusive enemy in the thick jungles, who chose the time and place for battle. As time went on, there were so many lessons to be learned and opportunities for change, yet the French insisted on the status quo - going so far as to train their Vietnamese allies in those same methods and tactics. As a result, almost 100,000 French soldiers lost their lives during their 8 year battle against those forces loyal to Ho Chi Minh.
When the French were defeated in 1954, Laos received sovernty and Vietnam was split at the 17th parallel; the southern half of the country still opposing those communist of the North. The United States came into the picture soon afterwards, providing advisors, equipment and funds to support the South's battle against the North Communists. However, there was no interest in studying the French battles and learning from their mistakes, so, history was to repeat itself...and so it did!
When Bernard Fall published this book in 1961, he states in it that the South had already lost the war with the North and cites examples of why it will happen - including outright lies by both the press and government to name a few.
I learned so much from reading "Street Without Joy" and feel that if the U.S. Government would have listened to this author or read his work, then acting upon the many lessons learned, I might not have had to serve in that war as an infantry soldier during 1970 and many of those 58,000+ soldiers might still be living.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about Indochina and the French occupation.
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Bernard Fall was a Jewish refugee into France from Austria in 1938. Losing both his parents to the gestapo in WWii, Fall, a resistance fighter ended WWii in the Ftrench Army. He then gained his PHD while writing this in-the-field account of the Indo Chinese war 1646 - 54. He correctly predicted the
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French collapse there. Returning to the USA, he combined University teaching with War Corresponding in thr 1950's and 1960's. This book was a success at the time. A keen critic of American involvmewnt in the Vietnam War, he was killed by a land mine in 1967 in Vietnam. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1961
Physical description
416 p.; 5.75 inches
ISBN
0811717003 / 9780811717007
UPC
011557017007