Published Reviews of the PBS Vietnam Series

Published Reviews of the PBS Vietnam Series

Plus Videos of Panel Discussions

· PBS Reviews

Comprehensive links to reviews critical of the Burns/Novick "The Vietnam War" series from journalists, historians, veterans, VPCC members and other activists.

Reviews of the full PBS series
-- EPISODE BY EPISODE --

Christian Appy
Professor of History, University of Massachusetts.
www.processhistory.org/appy-vietnam-war-ep-1/
(subsequent episodes are linked to the lower right)

Ron Young
Former head of Peace Education, American Friends Service Committee.
ronyoungviews.blogspot.com/?m=1

John McAuliff
Fund for Reconciliation and Development & Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee.
vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2017/09/apeace-movement-perspective-on-vietnam.html

Veterans For Peace
Talking Points
www.veteransforpeace.org/files/6215/0342/9234/VietnamDiscussionGuide.pdf
Reflections on Episodes
vietnamfulldisclosure.org/index.php/category/burnsnovick-vietnam-war-documentary/

-- SERIES OVERVIEW REVIEWS --

Jeff Stein
Newsweek
"Vietnam War: New Ken Burns Documentary Dismisses the Origins of the Futile, Disastrous Conflict"
www.newsweek.com/vietnam-ken-burns-vietnam-war-doc-documentary-pbs-666582

Christopher Koch
In 1965 the first American reporter to visit North Vietnam.
"The Tragic Failure of Ken Burns Vietnam"
medium.com/@ChristopherKoch/the-tragic-failure-of-ken-burns-vietnam-5f945eb40392

Dr. Jeffrey Kimball
Professor emeritus, Miami University, Oxford, OH.
"What’s Missing From the Vietnam War Documentary?"
historynewsnetwork.org/article/167046

Dr. Maurice Isserman
Professor of American History, Hamilton College.
"Give Peace a Chance"
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/ken-burns-lynn-novick-vietnam-war-review

Dr. Jerry Lembcke
Associate Professor Emeritus, College of the Holy Cross.
"Burns and Novick, Masters of False Balancing"
www.publicbooks.org/burns-and-novick-masters-of-false-balancing/

Dr. Thomas Bass
Professor of English, University at Albany, State University of New York.
Author of The Spy Who Loved Us
"America’s Amnesia"
vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2017/08/thomas-bass-review-of-vietnam-war.html

Robert Levering
Long time anti-war activist and author
"Ken Burns’ powerful anti-war film on Vietnam ignores the power of the anti-war movement"
wagingnonviolence.org/feature/ken-burns-vietnam-war-ignores-anti-war-movement/

Steve Ladd
Draft resister, member of Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee.
"Vietnam antiwar movement had a bigger voice than portrayed in PBS documentary"
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Vietnam-antiwar-movement-had-a-bigger-voice-than-12250664.php

Frank Joyce
Detroit peace and social justice activist.
"A Ball O’ Confusion Is Comin' to Your TV: Ken Burns' PBS Series on Vietnam Gives Its Corporate Sponsors Little to Worry About"
www.alternet.org/documentaries/ball-o-confusion-comin-your-tv-ken-burns-pbs-series-vietnam-gives-its-corporate

Anh Le
A negative review by a Vietnamese immigrant living in San Francisco.
"KEN BURNS’ VIETNAM DOCUMENTARY MISSES MARK"
www.beyondchron.org/ken-burns-vietnam-documentary-misses-mark

Jim Laurie
Covered Vietnam and Cambodia for NBC and ABC News.
"Ken Burns’ VIETNAM WAR - Limits of 18 hours"
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/596e5f26e4b0376db8b65ba2

Barbara Myers
Independent journalist who attended the Pentagon Papers trial
"An Epic Film on the Vietnam War Falls Short"
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/fog-war-become-constant-state/

Prof. Michael Stewart Foley
Professor of American Civilization, Université Grenoble Alpes in France
"There is no single lie in war (films): Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and The Vietnam War"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17541328.2018.1464105

David Kamp
Vanity Fair Contributing Editor.
"Why The Vietnam War Is Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s Most Ambitious Project Yet"
www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/the-vietnam-war-ken-burns-lynn-novicks-documentary
 
-- OTHER COMMENTS ON THE SERIES --

Dr. Todd Gitlin
Professor of Journalism and Sociology at Columbia University.
"Response to Jerry Lembcke and Jerry's reply"
vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2017/09/todd-gitlin-response-to-jerry-lembcke.html

Jonathan Zimmerman 
Teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania.
"What’s So Bad About Ken Burns?" (defends his role a a populizer of history)
www.chronicle.com/article/What-s-So-Bad-About-Ken/241364/

David Zeiger
Filmmaker, "Sir! No Sir!"
"Vietnam War Protesters have NOTHING to Apologize For"
www.commondreams.org/views/2017/09/27/vietnam-war-protesters-have-nothing-apologize

Mel Allen
Editor, Yankee Magazine
"The Making of The Vietnam War"
newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/new-england-history/the-making-of-the-vietnam-war/

Ian Parker
Staff Writer, The New Yorker
"Ken Burns’s American Canon"
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/ken-burns-american-canon

Dr. Jerry Lembcke
Associate Professor Emeritus, College of the Holy Cross.
"Home-from-War War Stories: Myth, Media & the Ken Burns Vietnam Series"
www.commondreams.org/views/2017/07/26/home-war-war-stories-myth-media-ken-burns-vietnam-seri

Phil Klay 
Mother Jones
Interview: "Ken Burns Never Knew How Wrong He Was About the Vietnam War"
www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/09/ken-burns-the-vietnam-war-lynn-novick-documentary/

Interview with Lynn Novick "The People We Forget When We Remember the Vietnam War"
www.motherjones.com/media/2017/09/lynn-novick-the-vietnam-war-vietnamese-documentary/

Stephen Sherman
"Are PBS and Ken Burns about to Rewrite History Again?" (The pro-war viewpoint)
www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/07/are_pbs_and_ken_burns_about_to_rewrite_history_again.html

-- VIDEOS OF PANEL DISCUSSIONS --
The Atlantic 
Discussion with Burns, Novick, Mai Elliott, Tim O'Brien
facebook.com/TheAtlantic/videos/vb.29259828486/10155881594948487/?type=2&theater Asia Society Burns defends omissionsasiasociety.org/new-york/vietnam-war-filmmakers-discuss-accusations-bias Center for Strategic and International Studies Organized by prominent revisionist Mark Moyartwitter.com/CSISPMDH/status/914172014956630016