This book summarizes and briefly analyzes over 400 films about the Vietnam War.

Beginning in 1948 with Paramount’s Saigon and Universal’s Rogue’s Regiment, Hollywood has produced hundreds of features and made-for-television films about Vietnam and the ensuing conflict. With the exception of The Green Berets (1968), few were designed to rally Americans to the cause as earlier war movies had done. Many were not even combat films, instead dealing with such domestic issues as protests, veteran re-entry, MIAs and POWs. Arranged chronologically, this is a critical analysis of Vietnam War films from 1948 through 1993. Recurring themes are stressed along with the ways that movie America reflected the national reality, with essays blending plot synopses and critical commentary. The movies run the gamut of genres: dramas, action, adventure, horror, comedies and even one musical.

The Vietnam War left wounds that have taken three decades to heal--indeed some scars remain even today. In A Time for Peace, prominent American historian Robert D. Schulzinger sheds light on how deeply etched memories of this devastating conflict have altered America's political, social, and cultural landscape. Schulzinger examines the impact of the war from many angles. He traces the long, twisted, and painful path of reconciliation with Vietnam, the heated controversy over soldiers who were missing in action and how it resulted in years of false hope for military families, and the outcry over Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. In addition, the book examines the influx of over a million Vietnam refugees and Amerasian children into the US and describes the plight of Vietnam veterans, many of whom returned home alienated, unhappy, and unappreciated, though some led productive post-war lives. Schulzinger looks at how the controversies of the war have continued to be fought in books and films, ranging from novels such as Going After Cacciato and Paco's Story to such movies as The Green Berets (directed by and starring John Wayne), The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, and Rambo. Perhaps most important, the author explores the power of the Vietnam metaphor on foreign policy, particularly in Central America, Somalia, the Gulf War, and the war in Iraq. We see how the "lessons" of the war have been reinterpreted by different ends of the political spectrum. Using a vast array of sources--from government documents to memoirs, film, and fiction--A Time for Peace provides an illuminating account of a war that still looms large in the American imagination.

With reference to eight classic American movies, this text explores the political ideologies thrumming through the American psyche during the Cold War period.

Vietnam’s Prodigal Heroes examines the critical role of desertion in the international Vietnam War debate. Paul Benedikt Glatz traces American deserters’ odyssey of exile and activism in Europe, Japan, and North America to demonstrate how their speaking out and unprecedented levels of desertion in the US military changed the traditional image of the deserter.

This bibliography is a supplement to the Special Bibliography Series, Number 80, compiled in 1990 to support the 14th Military History Symposium. It is primarily intended as a listing of scholarly works completed since 1990 on the Vietnam War, although some works prior to that date are included. The bibliography is selected from the holdings on that war housed in the McDermott library, United States Air Force Academy, and includes books, journal articles, government publications, and technical reports. Newspaper articles, works of fiction, collections of poetry, and most personal narratives are not included. The Clark Special Collections Branch of the library has extensive primary source materials and artifacts focused on American POW experiences in Southeast Asia. Those items are also excluded from this bibliography since they are limited to in-house use only. Individuals wanting information about that collection should contact the Special Collections Curator and Academy Archivist.