41: Mark Bowden

Oct 9, 2017

In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. In his most ambitious work yet, Mark Bowden, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down, returns to writing the story of a battle. Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam recounts the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive, the defining military turn in one of the most politically fraught conflicts of the 20th century.

With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam, and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple points of view. It was the bloodiest battle of the entire war. Played out over 24 days of intense urban combat, it ultimately cost 10,000 combatant and civilian lives. After it was over, the question was no longer about how America could win the war, but about how it would leave it.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Seattle University as part of the Civics series.

Buy the book:Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam (Elliott Bay Books)

 

Recorded live at Seattle University by Town Hall Seattle Tuesday, October 3, 2017