Street without Joy (book)
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''Street without Joy'' is a 1961 book about the First Indochina War (1946–1954); it was revised in 1964. The author
Bernard B. Fall Bernard B. Fall (November 19, 1926 – February 21, 1967) was a prominent war correspondent, historian, political scientist, and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Austria, he moved with his family to France as a child aft ...
was a French-American professor and journalist. He had been on-site as a French soldier, and then as an American war correspondent. The book gives a first-hand look at the French engagement, with an insider understanding of Vietnamese events, and provided insights into guerrilla warfare. It drew wide interest among Americans in the mid-1960s, when their own country markedly increased its activity in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. The title of the book was taken from the name given by French soldiers to a stretch of Route 1 which had been fortified by their enemies, the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
. It ran along the central coast of Vietnam from
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
north to
Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...
. In French it was called ''La Rue Sans Joie''.


The book

Fall's book ''Street without Joy'' is a "sketch" or essay on the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
-
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
history of the war largely fought between the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
, who sought to reclaim Vietnam, and the Viet Minh, a force organized by
Vietnamese communists Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...
, who resisted. Earlier during World War II, the Japanese Army had in September 1940 attacked and conquered
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
. Following Japan's defeat in the
Asia-Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...
and withdrawal of its forces, this new war began. It ended in 1954 with the Geneva accords, whereby France withdrew from north Vietnam, the Viet Minh from south Vietnam. For the time being, an independent Vietnam was divided into two states,
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
.
''Street without Joy'' does not pretend to provide a comprehensive account of the First Indochinese War. It focuses almost entirely on the period after 1950 when Chinese and American intervention had both enlarged and internationalized the conflict. It is episodic, singling out for special attention a series of major French operations... , ncludingOperation Camargue, a 1953 effort to clean up the Vietminh-infested area known by French soldiers as the 'street without joy'."
The book was widely praised for its insider depiction of Vietnam, its people and culture. Especially, it recounted how the French forces were unable to adequately comprehend the 'people's war' their Vietnamese foes were fighting. Frances FitzGerald, the journalist and author of ''
Fire in the Lake ''Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam'' (1972) is a book by American journalist Frances FitzGerald (1940-) about Vietnam, its history and national character, and the United States warfare there. It was initially publish ...
'' (1972), describes ''Street without Joy'' as, " s major work on the French war
here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
he argued that the nature of the conflict was political rather than simply military and described the trials of the French soldiers in vivid, human terms. Praise for the book appeared in US military journals." Fitzgerald recalled that "the
merican ''Merican'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released February 10, 2004. It was the band's first release for Fat Wreck Chords and served as a pre-release to their sixth studio album ''Cool to Be You'', released the follow ...
commanding general at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, who was training the elite
Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
for counterinsurgency warfare in Vietnam, often invited its author to lecture." Four decades later, she writes, Fall's book "reappeared on the reading list for officers during the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
." During the Vietnam war, "Many an American officer got his first real appreciation of the agony of Vietnam by reading Dr. Fall's ''Street Without Joy'' .... Dr. Fall's material was mostly gathered first hand in 1953-54 when he lived in
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
and accompanied French forces on combat operations."


Editions

* ''Street without Joy. Indochina at war, 1946-54'' was written in English by professor-journalist Bernard Fall. It was published in 1961 by Stackpole Co. in Harrisurg, PA. A revised text was issued in 1964 with an 'Author's Preface' of same date, and an added chapter, "The Second Indochina War". A reprint was published in 1972 by Schocken, New York. Subsequently, in 1994 Stackpole Books reissued it, evidently in the revised text, with a new 1993 Introduction by prof. George C. Herring, and an undated Foreword by Marshall Andrews (apparently from the first edition). Included are about thirty battlefield maps by the author, and numerous French Army and Viet Minh photographs. The art work is by Dorothy Fall (the author's wife). The 1994 Table of Contents: About the four chapters indicating the employment of a ''Diary'', Fall here described his personal experiences of the war which animate his book. He was not a journalist, but a scholar doing research. Yet, as a "Frenchman who had formerly served" he was permitted to accompany the French army and live "with the men who were doing the fighting". He "met many a soldier, French or Asian, who could tell me in his own terms what it was like to be out along the defense perimeter, wet and afraid." He writes that it "knocked the intellectual superciliousness out of me." What experiences Fall could "not use for my research went into a diary in the form of letters to the American girl who is now my wife." Fall adds, "I feel that it has a place" in the book.


Bernard Fall in Vietnam

During World War II, Fall served in the
French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
and later in the French Army. Also a reserve officer, he became familiar with the French military from the inside. In 1953 he went to Vietnam, where he did research for his doctoral dissertation on the revolutionary insurgents. It was published as ''The Vietminh Regime'' (1956). He wrote hundreds of articles and seven books, including ''Communist subversion in the SEATO area'' (1960), ''Le Viet Minh 1945-1960'' (1960), ''The Two Vietnams. A political and military analysis'' (1963), ''Hell in a Very Small Place. The siege of Dien Bien Phu'' (1966), ''Vietnam Witness'' (1966), in addition to his 1961 ''Street without Joy''.< As a journalist he wrote pieces about Vietnam, e.g., for ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
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'', '' Ramparts'', ''
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''. In the late 1950s he taught for a U.S. government program in Indochina, and did fieldwork in South Vietnam for the administration reform sought by the Diem regime. He later fell out with both the USG and Diem. He'd become a professor at Howard University in Washington, and an informed critic, a recognized scholar, and an expert on Vietnam. He spoke critically of the war. Yet "endorsements from military men often made anti-war activists uncomfortable." Fall was killed in 1967. The
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
(1955-1975), also called the
Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, had escalated. "After the American regular forces entered the war, Fall went to South Vietnam every year, often going out on operations with American troops." The geographic area called 'Street Without Joy' again became a stronghold and base area, this time for the Viet Cong, successors to the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
. There, "about 14 miles northwest of
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
" the author himself, recorder of many Vietnam tragedies, was killed by a land mine on 21 February 1967, "along a desolate stretch of seacoast known as the
Street Without Joy Street Without Joy or ''La Rue Sans Joie'' was the name given by troops of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to the stretch of Route 1 from Huế to Quảng Trị during the First Indochina War. Situation The Viet Minh had fortified a stri ...
."Apple (1967), p.1 (quote).


Notes


References

*
Bernard Fall Bernard B. Fall (November 19, 1926 – February 21, 1967) was a prominent war correspondent, historian, political scientist, and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Austria, he moved with his family to France as a child after ...
, ''Street without Joy. Indochina at war, 1946-54'' (Harrisburg: Stackpole Co. 1961, rev. ed. 1964; reprint Schocken, New York, 1972; reissue as ''Street without Joy'' by Stockpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA 1994). *Bernard Fall, ''Viet-Nam Witness 1953-66'' (1966). A collection of his articles. *
Spencer C. Tucker Spencer C. Tucker is a Fulbright scholar, retired university professor, and author of works on military history. He taught history at Texas Christian University for 30 years and held the John Biggs Chair of Military History at the Virginia Milit ...
, editor, ''The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. A political, social, and military history'' (Oxford University 2000). **Marshall Andrews, "Foreword" (n.d.) to ''Street without Joy'' (1961, 1994). **Bernard Fall, "Author's Preface" (1964) to ''Street without Joy'' (1994). **George C. Herring, "Introduction" (1993) to ''Street without Joy'' (1994). *F. W. Apple, Jr., "Bernard Fall Killed in Vietnam by a Mine while with the Marines," in ''The New York Times'', February 21, 1967.{{Dead link, date=March 2021 Books about Vietnam Vietnam War books 1961 non-fiction books