Vietnam: A history (1983; Penguin, 2nd rev. upd. ed. 1997)

“A landmark work…The most complete account to date of the Vietnam tragedy.” –The Washington Post Book World
This monumental narrative clarifies, analyzes, and demystifies the tragic ordeal of the Vietnam war. Free of ideological bias, profound in its understanding, and compassionate in its human portrayals, it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with participants-French, American, Vietnamese, Chinese: diplomats, military commanders, high government officials, journalists, nurses, workers, and soldiers. Originally published a companion to the Emmy-winning PBS series, Karnow’s defining book is a precursor to Ken Burns’s ten-part forthcoming documentary series, The Vietnam War. Vietnam: A History puts events and decisions into such sharp focus that we come to understand – and make peace with – a convulsive epoch of our recent history.
(bibliographical info from inside this ed.):
First published in the United States of America by The Viking Press 1983
Published in Penguin Books 1984
Revised and updated edition published in simultaneous hardcover and paperback
formats by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc. 1991
This second revised and updated edition published in Penguin Books 1997