Street Without Joy

This brilliant classic of military history and human folly, first published in 1961, should have been read by America’s “best and brightest” architects of America’s 10-year fiasco. French Journalist and historian Bernard Fall vividly captured the sights, sounds, and smells of the brutal conflict between the French and the Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists. I get angry every time I think of the arrogance of America’s leaders who never examined Fall’s insightful warnings of the futility of jungle fighting that would defeat the United States in the bloody years to follow. Fall’s blueprint for disaster graphically shows that even with lethal… show more.

Bernard Fall's Street Without Joy is a classic account of the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and a key to understanding America’s future involvement. The author writes with first-hand knowledge and tells a compelling story of savagery, arrogance, and last-stand bravery at Dien Ben Phu. Street Without Joy highlights the mistakes a large high-tech army can make when fighting less sophisticated guerrilla forces. Bernard Fall told us what to expect in the jungles of Southeast Asia, but too few of our generals and politicians heeded the admonition.