The Vietnam War

Gr 8 Up—A well-organized and succinct work to accompany U.S. history units. The book follows the trajectory of the Vietnam War and includes vocabulary labs at end of each chapter, project ideas (writing a song or poem about a current political/social concern), investigative questions, and points to ponder or debate ("How was guerrilla warfare different from traditional warfare?"). Content includes the Chinese occupation, French imperialism, and U.S. sentiment following the fall of Saigon. The writing is concise with relevant sources and differing points of view. Tech enthusiasts will like the inclusion of QR codes with primary source videos and documents. However, some QR codes do not work, and they are sometimes spaced too close together. In addition, some confusion might arise regarding the Senate Committee for POW/MIA Affairs' 1993 final assessment: "After reviewing more than 1 million documents on the matter, it was determined in 1991 that there was no credible evidence of POW/MIAs still in Vietnam." Yet an extract right below states, "Today, roughly 644 Vietnam War soldiers are still not accounted for."