13
Jan
2004
Douglas Brinkley can trace his interest in the Vietnam war back to a crayon drawing of a combat scene he made as a six-year-old in 1967. It's just taken him a while to get around to writing a book about the conflict.
Brinkley is a historian and the author of books on a wide range of topics, from the Mississippi River to Rosa Parks to Jimmy Carter to the Ford Motor Company. His new book, Tour of Duty: John Kerry & The Vietnam War, might sound opportunistic, considering that Kerry, the junior U.S. senator from Massachusetts, is now running for president.
But Brinkley was working on his book before Kerry decided to run, and he feels this man's story is the Vietnam war in microcosm. The author will discuss his new book at a free event at 11 a.m. Saturday at Circa '21 in Rock Island.
"I wanted to do a book on the Vietnam war," Brinkley said. "I was looking for the right way to tell the Vietnam story." The University of New Orleans, where Brinkley teaches history and serves as director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies, has an oral-history project for World War II but didn't have any equivalent for Vietnam.
So Brinkley approached Kerry, a decorated war veteran whose tour of duty coincided with the presidencies of both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Kerry returned home from Vietnam and began fighting against the war, famously telling Congress in 1971, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
At the time Brinkley asked Kerry for access to his Vietnam papers, some pundits were predicting the senator would throw his hat into the ring for the Democratic presidential nomination. Brinkley said that Kerry was initially hesitant about handing over his trove of Vietnam material but eventually agreed. "I happened to be the one who asked at the right time. ... You'd be surprised what you get from people when you ask directly for it."
The volume of the material that Kerry provided was vast, but the quality was impressive. The journals and letters were filled with "so much expressive writing," Brinkley said. "He captures the mood."
Brinkley also interviewed all the men still living who served under Kerry. "I try to re-capture what it was like to be in Vietnam in 1968, 1969," the historian said.
The book also details Kerry's post-combat "tours" of Vietnam. He returned 14 times - "He was haunted that there might be POWs and MIAs left behind," Brinkley said - and finally pushed for the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.
"He was the perfect story to tell," the author said.
Of course, Kerry took a risk by giving Brinkley his letters and journals, particularly considering that he was probably mulling a run for the presidency at that point. "I know he liked my book on the Mississippi River," Brinkley said. "He sort of looked at who I was. 'This guy's not going to put a knife in my back.'"
Brinkley demanded full editorial control, and he said that Kerry didn't even look over the material before he handed it over.
The timing of the book's release has given Brinkley mixed feelings. The publisher "really wanted to get it out before Christmas," but the author couldn't manage it. Certainly, if the book didn't come out right before the first Democratic caucuses and primaries, "it wouldn't get as confused with campaign politics. ... [But] usually when people read the book, it's no problem.
"The book's helpful to John Kerry in that he didn't skirt military service," Brinkley added. But "is this a hero story? No. It's about the absurdity of Vietnam." He noted that Kerry is a divisive figure, and that he upset many veterans by returning his service awards.
Up next for Brinkley is an article on Grant Wood for the New York Times - he'll be doing research while he's in the Midwest - and upcoming book projects include an oral history of D Day (due in June) and a project on Theodore Roosevelt and conservation.
"I pick things that move me," he said.
Still, there's a method to Brinkley's varied catalog. "I want to paint a giant mural of the 20th Century," he said.
Douglas Brinkley will speak at 11 a.m. at Circa '21. A question-and-answer period and a book signing will follow.
Brinkley is a historian and the author of books on a wide range of topics, from the Mississippi River to Rosa Parks to Jimmy Carter to the Ford Motor Company. His new book, Tour of Duty: John Kerry & The Vietnam War, might sound opportunistic, considering that Kerry, the junior U.S. senator from Massachusetts, is now running for president.
But Brinkley was working on his book before Kerry decided to run, and he feels this man's story is the Vietnam war in microcosm. The author will discuss his new book at a free event at 11 a.m. Saturday at Circa '21 in Rock Island.
"I wanted to do a book on the Vietnam war," Brinkley said. "I was looking for the right way to tell the Vietnam story." The University of New Orleans, where Brinkley teaches history and serves as director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies, has an oral-history project for World War II but didn't have any equivalent for Vietnam.
So Brinkley approached Kerry, a decorated war veteran whose tour of duty coincided with the presidencies of both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Kerry returned home from Vietnam and began fighting against the war, famously telling Congress in 1971, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
At the time Brinkley asked Kerry for access to his Vietnam papers, some pundits were predicting the senator would throw his hat into the ring for the Democratic presidential nomination. Brinkley said that Kerry was initially hesitant about handing over his trove of Vietnam material but eventually agreed. "I happened to be the one who asked at the right time. ... You'd be surprised what you get from people when you ask directly for it."
The volume of the material that Kerry provided was vast, but the quality was impressive. The journals and letters were filled with "so much expressive writing," Brinkley said. "He captures the mood."
Brinkley also interviewed all the men still living who served under Kerry. "I try to re-capture what it was like to be in Vietnam in 1968, 1969," the historian said.
The book also details Kerry's post-combat "tours" of Vietnam. He returned 14 times - "He was haunted that there might be POWs and MIAs left behind," Brinkley said - and finally pushed for the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.
"He was the perfect story to tell," the author said.
Of course, Kerry took a risk by giving Brinkley his letters and journals, particularly considering that he was probably mulling a run for the presidency at that point. "I know he liked my book on the Mississippi River," Brinkley said. "He sort of looked at who I was. 'This guy's not going to put a knife in my back.'"
Brinkley demanded full editorial control, and he said that Kerry didn't even look over the material before he handed it over.
The timing of the book's release has given Brinkley mixed feelings. The publisher "really wanted to get it out before Christmas," but the author couldn't manage it. Certainly, if the book didn't come out right before the first Democratic caucuses and primaries, "it wouldn't get as confused with campaign politics. ... [But] usually when people read the book, it's no problem.
"The book's helpful to John Kerry in that he didn't skirt military service," Brinkley added. But "is this a hero story? No. It's about the absurdity of Vietnam." He noted that Kerry is a divisive figure, and that he upset many veterans by returning his service awards.
Up next for Brinkley is an article on Grant Wood for the New York Times - he'll be doing research while he's in the Midwest - and upcoming book projects include an oral history of D Day (due in June) and a project on Theodore Roosevelt and conservation.
"I pick things that move me," he said.
Still, there's a method to Brinkley's varied catalog. "I want to paint a giant mural of the 20th Century," he said.
Douglas Brinkley will speak at 11 a.m. at Circa '21. A question-and-answer period and a book signing will follow.
