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Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA in Books

Jun 16, 2018  
A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA
A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA
Joshua Kurlantzick | 2017 | History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Great Place to Have a War by Joshua Kurlantzick is a book about the history of Laos. The synopsis caught by eye since I lived and worked in Laos for a year as an English teacher. The book is about the conflict which occurred in Laos roughly during the same period of the Vietnam War. This is an interesting and impressive book, yet depressing. Details the rise of the CIA as a war machine during the Vietnam War, which was fought to a great extent in Laos. It looks at some of people involved in building the war to epic proportions, and then withdrawing, leaving the country to collapse into yet more suffering.

This is a fascinating look at the shadow war in Laos, staged by the CIA, during the Vietnam War. It's an extremely interesting history of the how that war came to be, some of the main people involved in that war, and the rise of the CIA as an organization conducting paramilitary operations, not just spy missions. It also relates the political intrigues of the time, and the fate of Hmong who fought for Laos, and with and for America.

I learned a lot about the history of the conflict itself, and the characters on both sides of the war. This war which has been hidden in the shadows, and the author has given the people involved a chance to have their deeds, or misdeeds aired in the light of day. As with most of the little wars that occurred during the Cold War period, there is a lot of political manoeuvring which occurs in the background.
  
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Jason Hall recommended The Deer Hunter (1978) in Movies (curated)

 
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
1978 | Drama, War
8.3 (23 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"It buries you in the aesthetic of the blue collar steel-town life. Cimino took a script about Russian roulette in Las Vegas and relocated it to Vietnam, and, though historically inaccurate, he created an allegory that perfectly explained the nature of war."

Source
  
    R-Point (2004)

    R-Point (2004)

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Movie

    During the Vietnam War, a South Korean base receives a radio transmission from a missing squad,...

    LBJ's War

    LBJ's War

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Podcast

    A president bound for greatness. A ruinous Vietnam war. How did Lyndon Johnson lose his way? LBJ’s...

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Mario Van Peebles recommended Easy Rider (1969) in Movies (curated)

 
Easy Rider (1969)
Easy Rider (1969)
1969 | Action, Drama
7.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"Easy Rider was one I remember that just seemed to be the Peace and Freedom Party movement, in a way, reflected on screen. [Editor’s note: the Peace and Freedom Party was an organization founded in California in 1967 with the goal of ending the Vietnam War.]"

Source