mattersofthemoment

I’ve had this 750 page book in my personal library since about 1983. I finally got around to reading it. I love history!

It tells the story in great detail of the history of Vietnam from antiquity up to 1980. The story of the Vietnam War as we call it or the American War as the Vietnamese call it, occupies about 75% of the book.

In 1954, the French colonialists were defeated at the Battle of Dienbienphu. The major powers agreed on a ceasefire and the withdrawl of French forces in the Geneva Accords that temporarily partioned Vietnam pending democratic elections. Neither the US or Vietnam signed these accords.

In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnam political leader refuses to participate in the nationwide elections that the political leader of the communist north, Ho Chi Minh was heavily expected to win fairly. The US backs Diem in his refusal in complete violation of the Accords.

This is the trigger that sets off what is to be a bloody Vietnamese civil war for unification over the next 20 years with its heavy on the ground US involvement. All told 2 million civilians and 2 million combatants including 58,000 American troops will lose their lives. The US was worried that a communist Vietnam would trigger further communist regime takeovers in SE Asia.

The book explains all this in great detail from the leadership vantage point: Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, their aids, high ranking generals and Vietnam leaders in the north and south. It is really well done and a very riveting read! Stanley Karnow (1925-2013) was an award winning investigative journalist who first started reporting in SE Asia in1959.

Just one little intriguing story Stanley tells that causes needless extra deaths and suffering. In March 1968, Democrat LBJ shocks the world when he announces that he will not run for reelection due to overt partisanship of the war after having offered peace talks with Ho Chi Minh in Paris. Republican candidate Nixon, wanting to be seen as the President who gained the peace, authorizes a covert deal. He sends Anna Chennault to Saigon to tell South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu that he should boycott the Paris peace talks as South Vietnam will get a better deal with Nixon as president down the road.

The plan worked. Thieu announces that they will not participate in the Paris talks in 1969 thus scuttling a potential peace accord. Nixon narrowly wins the election and the war then drags on for another 4 years with 20,000 additional US and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lives lost. Worse still, LBJ had indeed learned about this secret back channel affair through the bugging of Anna Chennault and of Thieu’s offices and considered it treasonous. He chose not to release this information before the 1968 election since it would expose US spying operations and lead to a huge constitutional crisis! Such were the back room dealings of US officials at the highest of levels.

You can’t only put blame on the US though, misguided as they were. The Vietnamese were their own worse enemies committing countless atrocities: Vietnamese killing Vietnamese; incompetent generals being rewarded for their political loyalty rather than competence, double agents etc., etc.

I admit you have to be a dedicated history buff to get through a book of this complexity a length. It was hard at times to continue reading but I was motivated by our recent intriguing visit to Vietnam and by the parting words of our wonderful tour guide Mr. Thao.

A solid 9.5 out of 10 on this read. Could have explained things a little more from the level of the GI. However many others sources abound that do that.

Note. I just finished reading this fabulous book about a lesser known Canadian hero. I have used A.I. to write this short book report for the first time.

Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843–1915) was an American-born railroad executive whose “demonic energy” and visionary leadership were instrumental in the development of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the expansion of Canada as a unified nation. Termed by many as “the ablest railway general in the world,” he rose from a humble telegraph delivery boy to a legendary titan of industry.

Early Life and Rise to Prominence

Born in Illinois to Dutch ancestry, Van Horne began his career at age fourteen as a telegraph operator for the Illinois Central. He possessed a remarkable talent for technology, reportedly able to decode messages simply by listening to the clicks of the telegraph instrument. Though his early career was marked by a reputation as a practical joker—one stunt involving an electrified plate actually led to his firing—his honesty and talent saw him quickly rise through the ranks of several U.S. railroads, including the Chicago and Alton and the Southern Minnesota.

The Herculean Task: Building the CPR

In January 1882, Van Horne was hired as the General Manager of the fledgling Canadian Pacific Railway. Faced with a project many deemed impossible, he made the staggering promise to complete the transcontinental line in five years instead of ten. Under his relentless “pusher” management style, he achieved this feat, reaching Calgary in August 1883 and completing the main line in less than half the specified time.

Van Horne’s leadership was characterized by a fearless and hands-on approach. He frequently rode flatcars to the end of the tracks to inspect work personally and was known for his “forcible language”. He commanded immense respect from his men; in one instance, he famously confronted the notorious Jesse James gang on a train, and in another, he shamed a hesitant engineer by offering to drive a locomotive across a dangerous trestle himself.

Visionary for Tourism and Luxury

Van Horne famously stated, “If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists,” a philosophy that led to the construction of grand hotels and resorts to promote tourism in the Canadian Rockies. His personal standards for excellence shaped the experience of first-class travel; he insisted on larger, luxurious sleeping cars featuring genuine hand-carved woodwork, silk curtains, and fine china. He even personally approved dining car menus, removing whiskey at one point to maintain the company’s dignity.

Legacy and Later Works

After resigning as CPR President in 1899, Van Horne’s energy did not wane. He moved to the tropics, where he electrified Havana’s streetcars and built the Guatemalan Railway. Beyond railroading, he was a true polymath: a painter, a marathon poker player, an amateur geologist with specimens named after him, and a gardener who specialized in roses.

When Sir William passed away in Montreal in 1915, the entire CPR system paid him a tribute unique in its history: every train across Canada stopped for fifteen minutes during his funeral, a final salute to the man who had quite literally built the backbone of the country.

He was the kind of person Canada really needs now. Whenever someone said about a particular big project that it could not be done, he held up his hand and said “I can do it”. I rate this book 10/10, a great read!

If you are interested in reading a slightly longer more exciting write up about his intriguing life click here.