Black April, George J. Veith
Black April, George J. Veith
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Black April
The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973-75

Author: George J. Veith

Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner

Unabridged: 22 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/19/2022

Synopsis

The defeat of South Vietnam was arguably America's worst foreign policy disaster of the twentieth century. Yet a complete understanding of the endgame—from the January 27, 1973 signing of the Paris Peace Accords to South Vietnam's surrender on April 30, 1975—has eluded us.

Black April addresses that deficit. A culmination of exhaustive research in three distinct areas: primary source documents from American archives, North Vietnamese publications containing primary and secondary source material, and dozens of articles and numerous interviews with key South Vietnamese participants, this book represents one of the largest Vietnamese translation projects ever accomplished, including almost one hundred rarely or never seen before North Vietnamese unit histories, battle studies, and memoirs. Most important, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of South Vietnam's conquest, the leaders in Hanoi released several compendiums of formerly highly classified cables and memorandum between the Politburo and its military commanders in the south. This treasure trove of primary source materials provides the most complete insight into North Vietnamese decision-making ever complied. While South Vietnamese deliberations remain less clear, enough material exists to provide a decent overview.

About George J. Veith

George J. Veith is the author of Code-Name Bright Light: The Untold Story of U.S. POW Rescue Efforts During the Vietnam War, published by the Free Press in December 1997. Veith has also published Leave No Man Behind: Bill Bell and the Search for American POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War in March 2004. He has published many symposium papers, various newspaper articles, and a well-received article on the battle for Xuan Loc in April 1975 that appeared in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of Military History. He presented papers at the following major conferences, including the October 2005 Australian War College symposium "Entangling Alliances: Coalition Warfare in the Twentieth Century," in 2006 to the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency at Fort Belvoir, VA, at the May 2008 conference in Paris on "War, Diplomacy, and Public Opinion: The Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam and the End of the Vietnam War (1968-1975)," and at the 2009 Society for Military History Conference. Most recently, he helped organize a conference held in Washington, DC in April 2010 on "35-Year Retrospective Look on Vietnam." He has appeared on Fox News and other radio and TV stations, and testified twice on the POW/MIA issue before the US House of Representatives. He has been invited to speak at the American Legion National Conference, the National League of POW/MIA Families and National Alliance of Families annual meetings, and many other venues.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim

I appreciate long, detailed stories, and I've read many books about battles and the history of the Vietnam War. But this one just about did me in. For a true historian of the Vietnam War, this has to be a major prize. But for someone like me--even with my avid interest and appreciation for seeing al......more

Goodreads review by David

Extensively detailed military history about the collapse of South Vietnam after the U.S. troop withdrawal in 1973; Veith points out that while the general perception of the ARVN, (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) is sort of true, (that is, that they were poorly-led, corrupt and reluctant to fight) b......more

Goodreads review by Joshua

I find this book to be a difficult book to review because it is not exactly my "cup of tea." Nevertheless, to rate it based on personal interest would not only be foolish but would also be somewhat unfair. When I bought this book I was hoping to gain a stronger look into the political aspects surrou......more

Goodreads review by James

The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 ended the many years of fighting in Vietnam. It provided for a ceasefire in place and the withdrawal of all non-Vietnamese forces. And it expressed a desire that both Vietnams be united by peaceful means. Within 4 months of that signing, the North Vietnamese leadershi......more

Goodreads review by Mark

This is an excellent book, though it tells the story of a tremendous tragedy. From President Nixon's private promises made to South Vietnamese President Thieu (promises that the Watergate Scandal would not allow him to keep), to the unparalleled abandonment of an Ally by the 93rd and 94th U.S. Congr......more

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