Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam

Frances FitzGerald's history of Vietnam and the Vietnam War examines the collision between Vietnamese and American societies. Based on extensive research and travel, the work explores Vietnam's traditional ancestor-worshiping villages, internal conflicts between Communists and anti-Communists, Catholics and Buddhists, and generals and monks, as well as the disruption caused by French colonialism and American intervention. The book presents Vietnam as understood through Vietnamese perspectives. Originally published in 1972, Fire in the Lake was the first history of Vietnam written by an American. It won the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the National Book Award. FitzGerald demonstrates how America fundamentally misinterpreted Vietnamese realities.