Three Tastes of Nuoc Mam: The Brown Water Navy & Visits to Vietnam

Branson, the W. Edward Sell Chair of Law at the University of Pittsburgh, shares his changing impressions of Vietnam based on three visits to the country over a period of 46 years. The book is both a memoir of the author's participation in U.S. Navy efforts during the Vietnam War, 1966%E2%80%9367, and a travelogue reflecting his experiences on subsequent visits in 1995 and 2011. In the book's first half. Branson provides insights into the nature of Navy coastal operations gleaned from his military service, though his understanding of broader military affairs is limited and several times he errs when referencing specific military units. His description of the war's end is notably weak, and his understanding of U.S. political and military policy from 1969 to 1975 is simplistic. The book is strongest in its second half, where Branson contrasts the poverty evident in 1995 with the visible progress and increased prosperity of 2011. Overall, this account is not without interest but there are better choices for readers curious about the operations of the Brown Water Navy, Vietnamese history, and postwar Vietnam. (Oct.)