Bernard B. Fall

"In this new, extensively revised and updated edition, Bernard Fall analyzes major developments since 1964, discussing such aspects as: the U.S. bombing of North Viet-Nam, and the corresponding shift in tactics of the insurgents; the gradual escalation of the war; the effect of U.S. air operations on Vietnamese civilians; the continued ability of the Viet-C?ng to control rural areas; the mounting of casualties on both sides; the political fortunes of the various Saigon regimes; and the Manila and Honolulu conferences. Utilizing material not available for earlier editions, Dr. Fall documents the origin, structure, and operations of the political arm of the Viet-C?ng -- the elusive National Liberation Front -- its relationship to Hanoi, and its role in a possible resolution of the conflict"--Dust jacket.

It is "the" definitive book on the battle for Dien Bien Phu. Bernard Falls telling of the battle puts you right in the trenches with the French soldiers. His vivid description of the French paratroopers and their heroic but futile defense of a totally indefensible position, gives the reader a first hand account of what it is to fight a desperate but hopeless action with true bravery and indefatigable spirit. Hell in a Very Small Place shows what happens when errors and miscalculations at the highest levels, and completely under estimating the capabilities and resolve of your enemy can lead to. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the first Indochina war.

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. - Back cover. Originally published in 1961, before the United States escalated its involvement in South Vietnam, Street without Joy offered a clear warning about what American forces would face in the jungles of Southeast Asia: a costly and protracted revolutionary war fought without fronts against a mobile enemy. In harrowing detail, Fall describes the brutality and frustrations of the Indochina War, the savage eight-year conflict -- ending in 1954 after the fall of Dien Bien Phu -- in which French forces suffered a staggering defeat at the hands of Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists. With its frontline perspective, vivid reporting, and careful analysis, Street without Joy was required reading for policymakers in Washington and GIs in the field and is now considered a classic. - Publisher.

"Consists of Dr. Fall's tape recordings, unpublished pieces, and articles that have not been published in book form."