From critcally acclaimed military historian Eric Hammel comes a vivid oral history account of the Tet 1968 siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. The words of American fighting men caught up in the grueling, deadly seventy-seven-day ordeal create a harrowing tapestry of tragedy and triumph. As two North Vietnamese Army divisions move to surround them, the vastly outnumbered U.S. Marines rush to strengthen their defenses at the isolated base and several nearby hilltop positions. The Communist forces repeatedly attack, are repeatedly repelled, and then dig in to take the American base by siege-the makings of a classic, modern "set-piece" strategy in which the defenders become bait to tie the attackers to fixed positions in which they can be pummeled and pulverized by American artillery and air support. Khe Sanh: Siege in the Clouds is a ground-breaking step forward in the oral history genre. This gripping-and moving-narrative flows from the masterfully woven threads provided by nearly a hundred men who gallantly endured the wrenching all-out struggle to hold the combat base and its vulnerable outlying positions.
Eric Hammel Ordine dei libri (cronologico)
La passione di questo autore per la storia militare è stata accesa in giovane età, spinto dal desiderio di creare resoconti narrativi avvincenti. Il suo lavoro fonde meticolosamente registri ufficiali con i ricordi diretti di coloro che hanno vissuto gli eventi, dando vita a una narrazione storica vivida e autentica. Con un background nel giornalismo, l'autore eccelle nel presentare complesse narrazioni storiche in modo accessibile e coinvolgente. La scrittura enfatizza l'immersione nell'elemento umano del conflitto, riportando in vita il passato per i lettori contemporanei.
