Three Tastes of Nuoc Mam

August 20, 2012
Branson, the W. Edward Sell Chair of Law at the University of Pittsburgh, shares his changing impressions of Vietnam based on three visits to the country over a period of 46 years. The book is both a memoir of the author's participation in U.S. Navy efforts during the Vietnam War, 1966â67, and a travelogue reflecting his experiences on subsequent visits in 1995 and 2011. In the book's first half. Branson provides insights into the nature of Navy coastal operations gleaned from his military service, though his understanding of broader military affairs is limited and several times he errs when referencing specific military units. His description of the war's end is notably weak, and his understanding of U.S. political and military policy from 1969 to 1975 is simplistic. The book is strongest in its second half, where Branson contrasts the poverty evident in 1995 with the visible progress and increased prosperity of 2011. Overall, this account is not without interest but there are better choices for readers curious about the operations of the Brown Water Navy, Vietnamese history, and postwar Vietnam.

October 15, 2012

Branson (law, University of Pittsburgh) is a veteran of the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, where he served in Phan Thiet, Vietnam's nuoc mam (fermented fish sauce) capital. He made two subsequent trips to Vietnam (thus the title) and recounts his experiences in this entertaining memoir. Branson readily admits that he was no hero, and this is no hero's tale, nor is he a veteran suffering from any of the maladies that have plagued many Vietnam veterans. He believes his story is more common, an irreverent tale that reveals the "human and funnier side of things military," one that continues on his subsequent trips to Vietnam. VERDICT Branson tells a story that's more M.A.S.H. than Platoon, although he loses some momentum in the middle chapters when he offers a brief history of Vietnam and the war. Readers who want a lighter look at the Vietnam experience will enjoy this memoir.--MM

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