War Of The Vanquished

by Mieczyslaw Maneli, Maria De Gorgey (Translator)

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read about this book while some other books on the Vietnam Enigma. As the Inspector in Casablanca said..."Line up the Usual Suspects"...This writer....this book...is all about behind the scenes that flourished in the Debacle known as the Vietnam War. Unfortunately....the wars' continuation was in the best interest of China and Russia. What those two countries didn't like was the fact that nationalism had a bigger tinge that the concept of Communism.This guy wrote this story before the end of Vietnam War....yet he was and is very on the money about what would and could happen. The sad part is the collateral consequences of these effects is damaging and mind-numbing. It's bad enough that the c/o of US usage of chemicals and their denial of it (they were using Napalm ) along with the movements of people from the North to the South and vice versa. The end results were harassment /torturing/killing of people who activly disagreed the running goats. There are tidbits of anecdotes that shine a light on the individuals involved .The long game...The treating of Americans as foreign invaders.....The French as a doddering uncle....The Chinese as a frequent conquerer from the North. The admonishment of Mao to his people to unite with Tiawan and his underlings refuses. At that moment Mao was in the developing stages of intermittent dementia ....The Long Game......It was the decision to outlast the invaders because the invaders didn't know anything of the country they were allegedly trying to liberate or save. Then there was the Diem/Nhu faction. There were more factions present that' were puzzling and still part of undiscovered puzzles. The Buddists....the attempt to Christianize South Vietnam.On and on and on.This book was a cross between peeling an onion and finding another layer to the outright encounters with hard core idealists who parroted the movements rigor de jure. Anyone who has had a meeting with a fanatic please raise your hand. No matter what your perspectives are...you will be saddened to read about how directions were made. The best statement is "If you lie...lie well...if you cannot lie well then don't say anything.....or go off on a tangent to blur the view. I owe Leominster Public Library for being able to get this book.