Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Books on Vietnam, August 26, 1998
The Phoenix Program is a grim history of one of the darkest episodes of the Vietnam War, the CIA's civilian torture and assassination program called Phoenix. Phoenix was the grotesque brainchild of William Colby and may have resulted in the elimination, to use Colby anaseptic phrase, more than 40,000 South Vietnamese civilians, suspected by the CIA of having anti-American sentiments. This was a difficult story to excavate, taking all of the professional and human resources of one of America's most gifted and tenacious investigative reporters, Douglas Valentine.Valentine dares to tred across territory long considered taboo to reveal the shocking and baldly criminal behavior of the CIA and its South Vietnamese clients at the peak of the war in Vietnam. Wholesale arrests of non-combatants, burtal interrogations, torture of the most unspeakable nature and murder. Valentine shows that the My Lai massacre was no isolated incident, but an outgrowth of a systematic, decade-long program of state sponsored terrorism. Dare to tell the truth about the CIA and you will pay a heavy price. Valentine's book has oddly disappeared from the shelves of American bookstores. This a historical tragedy, since it is one of the few volumes that has dared to tell the truth about the true nature of the CIA's role in Vietnam. This book demands to be republished, as it is quite simply one of the best histories of the Vietnam war. Jeffrey St. Clair Co-author Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press
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17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valentine writes an unflinching account of covert warfare., January 14, 1999
By A Customer
During the past few months, I have been devouring the literature on covert ops during the Vietnam War. By far the most candid, unflinching examination of these controversial programs is the excellent book by Doug Valentine. He carefully explains all the special operations techniques of compartmentalization, cover stories, plausible deniability, and secrecy oaths which are designed to keep covert ops secret forever. Moreover, he appears to have interviewed at length all the central players in Phoenix. Many books on covert ops, (which sometimes tend to glorify the operatives), rely on supposedly secret or newly declassified documents to buttress their claims. The problem with such an analytical approach is that frequently such documents are bogus, especially designed to camoflouge controversial or illegal activities. Valentine goes directly to the source -- the men of Phoenix and the officers in the chain of command. Valentine has succeeded in gaining access to many special operators who appear to have spoken from the heart about their missions. Moreover, he thoroughly and concretely lays out the structure of the controversial Phoenix program, in all of its complicated facets, from Provincial Reconnaissance Units to Studies and Observations Group missions. His book is likely to be criticized by those who wish to bury the uglier side of covert ops forever. It is precisely for this reason that his is such an important contribution to literature on Vietnam. April Oliver (former producer, CNN)
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23 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read, very readable, on a difficult subject, December 21, 2003
After having read Douglas Valentine's essay on how the Phoenix is coming home to roost via Homeland Security on his website, I decided to look into his book, The Phoenix Program. Besides his comprehensive, journalistic coverage of the details involved with the program, unafraid to uncover the deeds of all sides involved, two things impressed me even more. First, this type of book usually has alphabet soup groups, projects and missions labeled with acronyms, and so many individuals' names woven through that I grow weary of reading half way through, if that far. Not so with Valentine's opus. Somehow he presents all these details in a readable fashion, which if you begin from the beginning, unfolds those normally boring and confusing details without losing the reader. At least not this one, who is easily confused by such matters. Second, and even more impressive were his interviews. It was more like watching a good documentary than reading. Valentine conveyed the characters and their personalities so that they became real people to me, and he let them tell their stories in a very human, honest way. At times even touching, those interviewed were equally human regardless of rank, station, deed or misdeed. It's rare that an interviewer gets the interviewee's real voice and viewpoint. Great stuff, really soulfull and heartfelt. Read it and check out his article on his website, the Phoenix Program is not just history, and it's not just Vietnam.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Valentine's book is flawed and misleading
This book is an excellent imitation of a historical work, but falls apart in light of Valentine's own methodology and the actual historical work done by real historians.
Published on June 22, 2005 by Alexander Verbeck
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Revisionist History Discrediting True Hero's
I regret that I purchased this book. Douglas Valentine demeans the HEROISM of two close personal friends that were part of the Phoenix program.
Published on March 30, 2005 by P. D. Agnew
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
The author's intent is very obvious, however, his structure is too detailed in facts that clouded the issues by making a boring and difficult read.
Published on January 19, 2005 by Gary L. Bolte
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Just one question ....
One reviewer writes: "It is a sad but telling fact that the CIA's secret supporters have managed to suppress this book"...
Hmmm.
Published on August 7, 2004 by Katy Lake
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Setting the record straight
Amazon posed a review (twice for some strange reason) dated August 26, 2003 in which augustabookman described the Phoenix Program book as "unsubstantiated".
Published on September 19, 2003 by Douglas Valentine
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Oliver Stone, call your office
More unsubstantiated tripe bout events that never took place, told by unqualified people and written down wholesale by a naive author.
Published on August 26, 2003 by D. C. Carrad
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow - Rings of Truth for Veterans
The Phoenix program By Douglas Valentine Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti Imperialist vvawai@oz.
Published on October 29, 2001 by vvawaiseattle
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Shotgun Approach
One appalling fact in particular stands out to me from Doug Valentine's valuable history of the Phoenix Program: the CIA and U.S.
Published on June 18, 2001 by Dave Thomas
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Vietnam and Phoenix
Along with saturation bombing of civilian populations, Operation Phoenix has to rate as America's most atrocious chapter in its collection of fun facts from Vietnam.
Published on May 18, 2001 by Daniel L. Brandt
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1.0 out of 5 stars
What a load!
This book is the biggest collection of poser fantasy I've ever encountered. Written with what was obviously shoddy investigation work, it's fairly obvious that the author never...
Published on April 6, 2001 by Joshua Heatwole
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