Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
60th out of 100 books
—
31 voters
The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam
by
Tom Bissell
In April 1975, as Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, John Bissell, a former Marine officer living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, was glued to his television. Struggling to save his marriage, raise his sons, and live with his memories of the war in Vietnam, Bissell found himself racked with anguish and horror as his country abandoned a cause for which so many of...more
Hardcover, 407 pages
Published
March 6th 2007
by Pantheon
(first published March 1st 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
315)
I learned a lot more about the history of the end of the Vietnam War than I knew before, but the book was oddly (and I thought jarringly) constructed. The interweaving of very detailed history with personal story was not fully successful, especially in the first part of the book. And the very final section (brief personal testimonies from the children of Vietnam War vets, from both sides), which I found to be one of the most interesting parts of the book, was too short and, structurally speaking...more
If you are a history fan, you need to read this book. Initially picked up because it was on sale, I was absolutely blown away. i have attempted in the past to read books about the causes and effects of Vietnam, but they always were too dry. This book tells the story of the war through the experience of a son and his veteran father returning to Vietnam. The author does a great job balancing the autobiographical narrative and his descriptions of the war, as well as tying the two together. His desc...more
My wife and I are leaving for a 3 week trip to Vietnam tomorrow and this book was recommended to me by a friend of hers. It was a mix of a memoir, travel guide, father-son story and history of Vietnam framed around a trip the liberal author son takes with his dad a Marine Vietnam vet. The father has been haunted by his experience there in 1965 which contributed to his drinking an divorce and the son is interested in finding out about and helping heal his dad. The writing is casual, touching, pro...more
As part of Citizen Reader's Book Menage, I read Tom Bissell's The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam. Bissell addresses the first question I had about this book in the opening sentences of the book. Do we really need yet another book on Vietnam? Bissell says that he has grown up with the war because of how it changed and affected his father. Although the book centers on a trip to Vietnam that Bissell takes with his father, it is also a book with rich analysis of t...more
I learned that I must go to the 'right' places when visiting Viet Nam (five times) because I've not experienced the begging, pushing, not-so-nice things that this father and son experienced.
Good history writing but the personal side reminds me of my mother-in-law asking (often) why my husband doesn't talk about his experiences as a young Marine in the Chu Lai area. He doesn't but he loves visiting Viet Nam and we've been to Chu Lai.
For anyone who hasn't been...some of the tales of unpleasant exp...more
Good history writing but the personal side reminds me of my mother-in-law asking (often) why my husband doesn't talk about his experiences as a young Marine in the Chu Lai area. He doesn't but he loves visiting Viet Nam and we've been to Chu Lai.
For anyone who hasn't been...some of the tales of unpleasant exp...more
Tom Bissell is a tremendous writer. I first learned of his existence through his video-games book Extra Lives. More than anything, I was impressed by his ability to criticize a game's faults, reward its successes, and avoid hyperbole, demonization, and hagiography. So I was very keen to see how he would approach the contentious topic of Vietnam.
I am woefully ignorant about that conflict, and I found this book to be a superb introduction. Intensely personal, it follows a trip Bissell took to Viet...more
I am woefully ignorant about that conflict, and I found this book to be a superb introduction. Intensely personal, it follows a trip Bissell took to Viet...more
Sep 18, 2007
Audrey
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
vietnam war buffs, those interested in vietnamese history
I really enjoyed this book largely because I'll be going to Vietnam shortly. Tom Bissell has an amazing writing style and knows how to improbably place some of the funnier one-liners in his historical commentary. His interpretation of seemingly unimportant facts can lead to some interesting insights:
"Today Hanoi really DID have a Hilton - called, naturally, the Hanoi Hilton. What was strange was how little comment such ironies elicited from the Vietnamese themselves. Hien, for instance, saw not...more
"Today Hanoi really DID have a Hilton - called, naturally, the Hanoi Hilton. What was strange was how little comment such ironies elicited from the Vietnamese themselves. Hien, for instance, saw not...more
I've read lots of Vietname books, both fiction and non-fiction, and while this wasn't my favorite, it definitely belongs in the canon. Of course, I'm biased, since I spend lots of time kicking Tom's butt in video games, but he really does write beautifully, and his style blossoms in this book. Tom also did an amount of research that would put any doctoral student to shame, and perhaps even more impressive--and I say this as someone who wrote a 500-page dissertation based primarily on secondary s...more
If you can get a hold of it, read Tom Bissell's article, "War Wounds," in the December 2004 issue of Harper's Magazine. It has all the best bits of this book, distilled into 4 or so tightly written pages. The book has moments of genuine insight or emotion, but they get overwhelmed by Bissell's need to add so much historical context to his personal journey with his father. If I wanted to read an hour-by-hour account of the fall of Saigon, I would pick up a straight-forward nonfiction history book...more
I had to read this book to do a review for the Oral History Review- and while it could be disputed as lacking the neutraility of a good piece of oral history writing, I think it would waste my breath. This story is true to its title- a journalist son is given the opportunity to travel to Vietnam with his veteran father. Bissell provides social commentary and reflects on the altogether outrageous political dealings during the Vietnam era. More importantly, he and his father experience intense emo...more
This is really two books in one. One part is the authors synthesis of certain aspects of the Vietnam War. If one is unfamiliar with the history, it is a good introduction. However, if you already know the history, you can skim right past those sections.
The second part is the story of the author and his father's (a Vietnam veteran) trip back to Vietnam. I throughly enjoyed this part of the book. The conversations between father and son were very touching -- so honest and at times very raw. The fi...more
The second part is the story of the author and his father's (a Vietnam veteran) trip back to Vietnam. I throughly enjoyed this part of the book. The conversations between father and son were very touching -- so honest and at times very raw. The fi...more
Jun 07, 2012
Michael O'leary
added it
Makes all the right connections and plants Bissell as a young man to watch and grow. Great stuff.
I listened to this on CD, mostly in my car. I liked the personal aspects of the book (I took a class from the writer), especially the father's history. Bissell's history of the Viet Nam war was hard to follow at the same time I was driving on I-5, but the parts I could pay strict attention to taught me things about that war I never knew, or took the trouble to know. The individual fall out and the bigger picture of the current wars will be in the same pattern for those of us at home who read a b...more
Excellent writer who doesn't try to milk from the relationship with his father what isn't there. No Hollywood ending, but educational on both their parts. Especially educational for me to return to those years that I've ignored of Vietnam's horrors and what the vets returned to after fighting with too few of the right weapons against a country that, after all, was the only one to beat Genghis Khan in ancient history and the Chinese in recent history. Highly recommended as a book written with a c...more
Great job weaving together historical fact and personal accounts.
The book shines when discussing the effect Vietnam war had on the American psyche, although, distinct from previous works, the effect talked about here focuses on the younger generation who grew up in the shadow of their father's struggle with Vietnam memories. Alex Garland made a similar, albeit less serious, point in The Beach. The historical accounts I thought were somewhat of a weakness, but the contemporary reminiscences, the examination of the father-son relationship, and the book's final...more
Really superb
This one dragged a bit in the middle. The idea appeals to me - son is brought up in a stressed out home. Dad is a Vietnam vet and struggles upon coming home. Relationships not so great. Cut to 20 years later, son is now a writer and takes his father on a trip to Vietnam. Enjoyed the history of the war, liked the father-son scenes. The last part of the book (the final 10%) did not work at all for me, otherwise this was a 4-star offering.
I did not expect this book to focus so much on Vietnam War history. I blame the NPR interview that focused on the part that is interesting to me, the growth of understanding in a difficult father-son relationship. I did learn a lot from the history parts, and I did enjoy the parts that were more relationship oriented. Overall, I did not enjoy this book but I must admit that it was exceptionally well written, well researched, and well presented.
I am still plowing through this books slowly b/c I find myself rereading many parts of it b/c I am not very knowledgeable on the Vietnam War.
I love the idea that this book was written by someone from my generation. Besides giving an awesome overview of parts of the war and the exit from Saigon, the author's relationship with his father adds a perspective that is invaluable.
I will update this when I finally finish the book!
I love the idea that this book was written by someone from my generation. Besides giving an awesome overview of parts of the war and the exit from Saigon, the author's relationship with his father adds a perspective that is invaluable.
I will update this when I finally finish the book!
I just couldn't get through this one. The author goes back and forth between the history of the end of the vietnam war and what he imagines the actons of his father to be at that time. What I read of it was okay I realized picking it up to read it was starting to feel like an assignment not something I wanted to do. Maybe it's just me and I will finish it one day when I am more ready for this book.
May 27, 2008
Rebecca
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoiresque,
nonfiction
Well, in truth I did not quite finish it before I accidentally left this library book in New Jersey over the weekend. But I had read 9/10ths of it by then. Has anyone else seen Little Dieter Needs to Fly? Taken together the book and the documentary complement each other quite well. The emotion in this book is so complex that I cannot do justice to it in this short review. Beatiful writing Tom.
Mar 31, 2007
Peter Helff
marked it as to-read
Just underway with this. Read an article about Tom Bissel in the latest issuce of "Poets & Writers" and the book caught my eye. It's a travelogue of a man and his father, and I thought it might help give me inspiration to write a similar tale when I'm finished writing my fantasy novel. I'll keep you posted.
Didn't care for the way the book was laid out.
The author was speaking for his father, and his feelings. Statistics and Political information to me got in the way. At times I felt like I was reading a chronological account of the Vietnam War.
The author was speaking for his father, and his feelings. Statistics and Political information to me got in the way. At times I felt like I was reading a chronological account of the Vietnam War.
I wanted to read this one because of a good review in the Wall Street Journal. I thought it might bring some insight to my own father's experience in Vietnam. Interesting read about a terrible US experience.
The strongest moments of this incisive memoir and history will not fail to move any reader. Given the wars America now finds itself in, The Father of All Things becomes even more sobering.
Bissel covers some new territory and it is certainly a novel approach to the war. He gets a little preachy which is annoying but this is a good book worth a read if you are interested in vietnam.
Very detailed account of the VietNam ward-too detailed sometimes but maybe necessary.. Many passages remind of the war we're in now; poorly planned, poorly equipped and government dishonesty.
Tom Bissel is possibly my favorite modern writer. He beautifully blends illuminating historical insight with a true travelers exploration in to a culture.
somehow I wanted less war and more dad, but then, that would've been a different book. heartbreaking nonetheless.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“In the emergency of growing up, we all need heroes. But the father I grew up with was no hero to me, not then. He was too wounded in the head, too endlessly and terribly sad. Too funny, too explosive, too confusing. Heroes are uncomplicated. *This* makes them do *that*… But the war does not make sense. War senselessly wounds everyone right down the line. A body bag fits more than just its intended corpse. Take the 58,000 American soldiers lost in Vietnam and multiply by four, five, six—and only then does one begin to realize the damage this war has done… War when necessary, is unspeakable. When unnecessary, it is unforgivable. It is not an occasion for heroism. It is an occasion only for survival and death. To regard war in any other way only guarantees its inevitable reappearance.”
—
5 people liked it
More quotes…
Jul 17, 2007 08:43pm