IN BUDDHA'S COMPANY: THAI SOLDIERS IN THE VIETNAM WARIN BUDDHA'S COMPANY: THAI SOLDIERS IN THE VIETNAM WAR
(Englisch) Taschenbuch – 2011
von RICHARD A. RUTH (Autor)
Produktbeschreibungen:
As a doctoral candidate at Thailand's premier educational institution, Chulalongkorn University, I found this book not only a must-read for a thorough understanding of Thailand's involvement in the war, but also for unique insights into U.S. involvement. It is also an entertaining and pleasant read. Dr. Ruth provides several unique strengths to this project, and his book delivers critical knowledge otherwise lost. First, he speaks Thai, lived here, and has a keen understanding of Thai culture. His interviews with Thai soldiers provide first-hand stories, and details a level of participation heretofore unexplored. Next, he does a superior job providing the strategic context for Thailand's involvement, which by its very nature therefore gives insights into U.S. activities in Southeast Asia. Most books today on the U.S. involvement naturally look at the war from a U.S. lens. But Dr. Ruth provides a look at U.S. activities through a Thai lens and since Thailand was our one critical ally, this view is critical. Next, Dr. Ruth provides the cultural context for the fight, and his detailing of Thai soldier attitudes towards the Vietnamese, and their actions there, help to shine a light on larger cultural issues and interactions. His chapter "Fighting on the Metaphysical Landscapes of South Vietnam" is incomparable for providing cultural insights not captured in other works. The book is also a fun read, educational, and one hard to put down. It is scholarly and masterfully written. You will not be disappointed.
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This is a great book, and it fills an important gap in the literature regarding the Second Indochina War (often referred to in the USA as the Vietnam War, and in Vietnam as the American War). This is the first book that attempts to tell the story of the war from the perspective of the Thai soldiers who fought there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the author does an excellent job doing it. His many detailed interviews with Thai volunteer soldiers who served in Vietnam provide rich material for this well written book. Ruth helps correct and expand on the historical record in various ways. For one, he clearly demonstrates that the Thai soldiers in Vietnam were far more than simply "mercenaries", as they have often been referred to. They volunteered to serve in Vietnam for various reasons, the most important of which was probably the belief that many held that fighting in Vietnam was important for ultimately defending Thailand from communism. Ruth rightfully returns agency to the Thai soldiers, and through covering a number of important topics associated with the Thai experience in Vietnam, from Thai adaptation to US military food rations to Thai soldier relations with American soldiers; and from Thai soldier relations and ideas about Vietnamese men and especially women to beliefs about bad fortune arising from killing wild animals when in Vietnam. The book will appeal to more than simply "ammo humpers". There are some descriptions of battles, but Ruth provides much more than that. This is a book for thinkers; a nuanced account of a complicated war, drawing largely on previously untapped oral histories as well as other newspaper sources and archival materials. This account will undoubtedly stand the test of time. I highly recommend it. I only hope that one day a similar book is written about Thai involvement in Laos during the late 1960s and 1970s. In Laos the Thais apparently experienced many more problems and casualties than they did in Vietnam.
Produktinformation
Produktinformation
Taschenbuch: 205 Seiten
Verlag: SILKWORM BOOKS / Bangkok (2011)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 6162150348
ISBN-13: 978-6162150340
https://www.amazon.de/dp/6162150348
Autor
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