James Wright, "Enduring Vietnam"

Adding to a historical record shaped mainly by politicians, military leaders, and anti-war activists, Wright’s fresh account of the Vietnam War puts the conflict in a new perspective by focusing on the experiences of the soldiers who actually served in country. Wright, President Emeritus and Eleazar Wheelock Professor of History Emeritus at Dartmouth, is himself a former marine, and in his compelling profiles of young draftees, he conveys stories that include the soldiers’ views on the war and how it was fought. Wright’s vivid narrative gives special attention to 1969, when fighting was at its peak. He takes readers directly into the action at Hill 937, the notorious “Hamburger Hill” that was the sight of heavy fighting between May 10 and 20. The hard-won territory, of little strategic value, was abandoned soon after.

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Produced by Tom Warren