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They Marched Into Sunlight (Abridged): War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967 Audiobook
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(4.00) - 668 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Here is the epic story of Vietnam and the sixties told through the events of a few tumultuous days in October 1967. With meticulous and captivating detail, They Marched Into Sunlight brings that catastrophic time back to life while examining questions about the meaning of dissent and the official manipulation of truth, issues that are as relevant today as they were decades ago.
In the Long Nguyen Secret Zone of Vietnam, a renowned battalion of the First Infantry Division is marching into a devastating ambush that will leave sixty-one soldiers dead and an equal number wounded. On the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, students are staging an obstructive protest at the Commerce Building against recruiters for Dow Chemical Company, makers of napalm and Agent Orange, that ends in a bloody confrontation with club-wielding Madison police. And in Washington, President Lyndon Johnson is dealing with pressures closing in on him from all sides and lamenting to his war council, "How are we ever going to win this war?"
Based on thousands of primary documents and 180 on-the-record interviews, the story unfolds day by day, hour by hour, and at times minute by minute, with a rich cast of characters as they move toward battles that forever shaped their lives and evoked cultural and political conflicts that reverberate still.
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"Having been in Madison, WI attending the University of Wisconsin in the lates 60's, I highly reccomend this book. It is well researched and very accurate in the portayal of what happened on the campus in those days. Linking it with the story of the troops in Viet Nam puts it all in context. "
— Dgille (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Maraniss…is a writer with a masterly sense of narrative pace…The tale unfolds with a magisterial sweep that recaptures the war and its era…The book fulfills its ambition to evoke political, social, and cultural quakes whose aftershocks are felt to this day…Maraniss’ account of the two-day battle is as horrific and gripping as the now famous first 25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan…The section dealing with the war against the war…are equally arresting.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Towering…Maraniss has assembled a vast array of participants and witnesses. And he has woven their memories into a potent, humanizing mixture of the epochal and the mundane…Inspired use of narrative cross-cutting to produce devastating culture shock…Extraordinary breadth of reporting…Takes familiar chapters in recent history and turns them into something we have not seen before.”
— New York Times -
“To treat the war and the antiwar together as two faces of a single historical moment is one of David Maraniss’ inspired achievements…He has written a transoceanic montage that powerfully, grippingly folds together two events that took place during the same two days in October 1967…Maraniss renders the intensity, the resolve, and bewilderment of men encamped for war in the spirit of James Jones’ From Here to Eternity…Maraniss’ account of the battle north of Saigon is excruciating.”
— Los Angeles Times Book Review -
“They Marched Into Sunlight is that miraculous thing, a substantive, exhaustively researched work of history that reads like a novel, a novel you can’t put down but frequently have to because it’s so emotionally wrenching…The triumph of Maraniss’ book is that he illuminates the transformative effects of the two battles, both on the individuals and…on the nation.”
— Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air (NPR) -
“A masterful work that brings the conflict back with a rush of cinema verité emotion and tension…Over the years, Vietnam has produced several classics, all of them different: Dispatches, by Michael Herr, and A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan. Here is another.”
— Economist
Awards
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A 2003 New York Times Notable Book for Nonfiction
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A 2003 Economist Best Book for Nonfiction
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A 2003 Publishers Weekly Best Book for Nonfiction
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A 2004 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for History
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Winner of the 2004 Ambassador Book Award for American Studies
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A 2003 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Nonfiction
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A 2003 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for History
They Marched Into Sunlight Listener Reviews
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" A fantastic book that goes back and forth between riots in Madison, WI and a battle in Vietnam. "
— April, 2/19/2014 -
" Really enjoyed the book. Has an interesting approach that juxtaposes the war in Vietnam and protests by students at the University of Wisconsin. "
— Scott, 2/14/2014 -
" This book covers events that happened in October, 1967 in Vietnam, University of Wisconsin and Washington. A horrific battle in Vietnam, a bloody protest againd Dow Chemical at University of Wisconsin and the confusion of Washington. It is a history of thing I had not hear of before, but the writing was a little dry. I was interested in what was going to happen, but I was not emotionaly invested. A good, but not great book. "
— Nate, 2/11/2014 -
" [Audio] History of a few days on October, 1967. Describes both Hawks and Doves, events here in the US and in VietNam. Impressive that so much can be written about such a short period of time. "
— Mark, 2/8/2014 -
" "Connections are what fascinate me, the connections of history and of individual lives, the accidents, incidents, and intentions that rip people apart and sew them back together. These interest me more than ideological formulations that pretend to be certain of the meaning of it all." 505 "
— Jackie, 2/7/2014 -
" Author did a great job of putting me in the middle of these two events. He was an eye witness to one and well researched on the other. I highly recommend this book. "
— Frank, 2/3/2014 -
" Compelling case study of the Vietnam War. Maraniss is able to illustrate the various and intractable conflicts that the war presented to soldiers, politicians, and everyday Americans at home. The book served as the basis for the documentary "two days in October," which is also excellent. "
— Aaron, 1/25/2014 -
" An exceptional account of 3 days in October of 1967 in Washington, Madison and Vietnam. Of great personal interest due to the politicians that had their start at the time. "
— Jodie, 1/21/2014 -
" An interesting contrast between the Dow campus protest at UW-Madison and a platoon in Nam at the same time. I was there (Madison), so is a stark comparison about a time of high anxiety connected to school, draft, Canada, freedom, obligation, and protest. "
— Ken, 1/18/2014 -
" A serious and descriptive account of two days in 1967 that changed the course of the Vietnam War and many lives, centered on Vietnam, UW-Madison and Washington, D.C. "
— Debra, 12/30/2013 -
" Exceptionally well-researched look at a crucial point the Vietnam War. "
— Ty, 12/25/2013 -
" This brought back so many memories of that year (1967). It helped me put things into perspective. Two and one-half years after October 17, 1967, I found myself in Vietnam. Not much had changed. "
— Bob, 12/17/2013 -
" extremely interesting discussion about the vietnam war. includes factors from the "home front" in the u.s. as well as on the "war front" in vietnam. you'll never look at dow chemical the same. "
— Alisa, 10/8/2013 -
" An all-time favorite. The parallel stories of the U of W protest and the ambush tell a compelling story that I couldn't put down. "
— Mark, 10/6/2013 -
" solid book. wouldn't put it up at the top of my list, but worthwhile if you're interested in this period of American history. pretty cool the way it depicts events occurring simultaneously in the protest movement in the US and battles occurring in Vietnam. "
— Travis, 9/5/2013 -
" It's fascinating when your lifetime becomes history so you can read about it and find out what really happened. "
— Donna, 5/11/2013 -
" I liked this book. A good look at the events in Vietnam for one particular company, and one really horrific battle in particular. Side by side to this it goes through the anti-war, anti-Dow chemical protests that took place in Madison, WI, around 1967. "
— Chris, 3/20/2013 -
" Moving non-fiction story of a battle in Vietnam and the protest at the University of Wisconsin at Madison which occurred on the same day. "
— Carol, 12/29/2012 -
" Fabulous book. My best read of the year. Maraniss never disappoints. His research into the folly of the generals sending out missions like this is a classic. "
— George, 8/31/2012 -
" Excellent journalistic story by Maraniss, paralleling the critical battle of the Black Lions in Vietnam with the college protests of Dow Chemical in October 1967. "
— Andy, 2/4/2012 -
" Assigned for a college course on Vietnam. Didn;t finish it in college so now I am going back and reading it again and I am still working on it...very interesting yet a very heavy and intense book. Very relevant with today. Very heavy though. "
— Cassie, 1/15/2012 -
" Good audio book, read by authors...abridged... "
— Jose, 9/5/2011 -
" This book focuses on two events in October 1967: a bloody Vietnam War ambush and a protest at University of Wisconsin against Dow Chemical, the makers of napalm. I enjoyed it and found it well written and insightful. <br/> "
— Riley, 4/28/2011 -
" Exceptionally well-researched look at a crucial point the Vietnam War. "
— Ty, 2/20/2011 -
" It was good but just too long. So much unnecessary information that wasn't really relevant. If it was 100 pages shorter, I would have given it 4 stars. "
— Deb, 1/6/2011 -
" Good audio book, read by authors...abridged... "
— Jose, 1/3/2011 -
" Two small books tolled into one-- a story about an intense, anonymous little battle in Viet Nam, and a story about anti-war protests at UW Madison. The battle story was intense; the demonstration story not so much. "
— Bruce, 12/1/2010 -
" A serious and descriptive account of two days in 1967 that changed the course of the Vietnam War and many lives, centered on Vietnam, UW-Madison and Washington, D.C. "
— Debra, 11/28/2010 -
" If you lived thru the '60s this book will remind you of how it felt. Top 10 "
— Geno, 5/11/2010 -
" The book lacks punch. Instead of making me feel like I was there (a feeling other books/authors of battle are able to create) this book reads like a he said she said report. While the stories have interest, the storytelling was too lacking to get more stars. "
— Travis, 3/3/2010 -
" Good book. Author did a good job of transitioning between Vietnam and the University of Wisconsin. "
— Bryan, 1/18/2010
About David Maraniss
David Maraniss is an associate editor at the Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, Jim Thorpe, and Vince Lombardi. He has also written a trilogy about the 1960s: Rome 1960; Once in a Great City, winner of the RFK Book Award; and They Marched into Sunlight, winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.