Vietnam Inc.

Description

Rare and highly sought-after photobook documenting the Vietnam War.

First published in 1971, Vietnam Inc. played a crucial part in changing public attitudes in the US, turning the tide of opinion and ultimately helping to put an end to the Vietnam War. Philip Jones Griffiths' classic account of the war was the outcome of three years of intensive reporting and is one of the most detailed surveys of any conflict in twentieth-century history.

Showing us the true horrors of the war, as well as a study of Vietnamese rural life, the author creates a compelling argument against the de-humanizing power of the modern war machine and American imperialism. Rare and highly sought-after, the book has become one of the enduring classics of photo-journalism. It is now available in this new edition - a careful re-creation of the original with Griffiths' personal layouts and commentaries. A new introduction by US linguist and notorious political critic Noam Chomsky traces the book's impact in changing public opinion.

 

 

Reviews

'Few photo books can claim the social and historic importance of Vietnan Inc.' (Bookforum) 'The greatest description of war since Goya", raved Henri Cartier-Bresson... Thirty years on, Vietnam Inc. is still a classic... essential to anyone interested in Vietnam's history, America, photography or war.' (Far Eastern Economic Review)

Author description

Highly influential as a master photojournalist, Philip Jones Griffiths is also a writer and film-maker. A long-standing member of the international photo-agency, Magnum, his photographs have appeared in every major magazine in the world, and his assignments, often self-initiated, have led him to over 120 countries in all five continents. He has exhibited widely in the US and Europe, and continues to work for Life and Geo on a range of stories, such as Buddhism in Cambodia, drought in India and the legacy of the war in Kuwait. He has also made a number of films including a documentary for the BBC on the descendants of the HMS Bounty living on Pitcairn Island, a film about the effects of strip-mining on a valley in South Wales and a film about the Khao-I-Dang Refugee camp in Thailand for the United Nations' High Commission for Refugees. His work on Vietnam has continued to this day with books on the long-term effects of the chemicals used by the US in the conflict and on the country now at peace over thirty years later. Noam Chomsky is one of America's most prominent linguists and political critics. A renowned Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has written more than thirty political books.

Table of contents

Foreword by Noam Chomsky * Introduction * The Vietnamese Village * "Why We're There" * The Communication Gap * "Search and Destroy" * Song Tra Epilogue * "Relocation" * "Our Vietnamese Friends" * The Battle for the Cities * "Pacification"