The Best Vietnam War Books to Read After The Women

I’ve compiled a list of Vietnam War books similar to The Women book by Kristin Hannah. Pop in your email address below and I’ll send the printable list right to your inbox.

The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White
Ellen Emerson White may not be the most well-known author, but her writing is funny, sharp, and smart, and I think more people need to discover her! The Road Home follows a former nurse in the Vietnam War and before the beginning of the book there is a big incident that really destroyed her life. It takes a long time for her to come to terms with it, and it slowly plays out as you read until you finally figure out what happened. Highly recommend this book for any historical fiction fan. Sometimes I see it shelved in YA and sometimes adult fiction, but no matter your age, it is terrific.

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
This memoir in graphic novel form is stunning. Thi Bui’s parents fled Vietnam after the South fell in the 1970s and came to America. But it wasn’t easy – not for her parents and not for their children. The book begins as the author gives birth to her own child and looks back at what her parents sacrificed for her and her siblings and what it cost them. I flew through this book that spans decades – how her parents’ lives changed from their vastly different childhood, their early marriage, their struggles as parents, and their experiences growing old in a foreign country. (As always, when I mention it’s a graphic novel, someone asks if that means it’s good for children. This one is definitely NOT for children).

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
I love Gary D. Schmidt books and this is my favorite of his! I just LOVE this middle grade about a boy suffering through his seventh grade year. The Vietnam War is raging and his home life is a complicated by his ambitious father and his teenage sister, but the worst thing is that every Wednesday every other student goes to religious education and he has to stay in the classroom and study Shakespeare with his teacher. This book is funny, smart, and 100% fantastic. I have recommended it hundreds and hundreds of times. The companion novel, Okay for Now, is just as good. (Full review here)

Tap Code by Carlyle S. Harris & Sara W. Berry
If you have read and loved The Women, this nonfiction memoir is a great companion book about underground operations during the Vietnam War. I instantly read this after finishing The Women – it’s so well done, and so intriguing!

If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry by Molly Stillman
If I Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry is a laugh-out-loud, heartfelt memoir from Molly Stillman, whose mother served as an Army nurse in Vietnam and wrote the bestselling memoir Home Before Morning (which was one of the research backbones for The Women). Molly shares what it was like growing up in the shadow of that incredible life, navigating loss, Agent Orange exposure, and her own messy, often hilarious path to faith, hope, and finding joy.

The Women by Kristin Hannah
I’ve always been fascinated with the Vietnam War (this is one of my favorite historical fiction books about it, if you want a great book on the topic) and I was compelled by this book from the first pages. Kristin Hannah is such a great storyteller and this might be my favorite of her books so far (I also loved The Great Alone).

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Out of all the books you recommended, this was one of the two most highly suggested on the Vietnam War, and with nearly 10,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, it clearly lives up to the hype! The Things They Carried is a landmark blend of fiction and memoir, following the men of Alpha Company (and Tim O’Brien himself) as they navigate the horrors of war and the weight of memory. It’s a modern classic for a reason.

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
This was another top Vietnam War book you all recommended. It’s a multigenerational story of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the war – from a grandmother forced off her farm during the Land Reform to a granddaughter coming of age as her family heads down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight.

When the World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni
In the summer of 1979, Vincent Bianco just wants some beer money and a carefree last taste of high school before college, but a job on a construction crew with two Vietnam vets gives him lessons he never expected. Forty years later, he looks back on that summer as the moment that shaped his life.

Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe
It’s 1968, and seventeen-year-old Ashe is used to conflict at home, caught between his racist father and peace-activist mother, but the Vietnam War makes everything feel even more intense. As he starts to understand the world around him, his family, and the war itself, Ashe is forced to face his own battles and step into a situation he can’t walk away from.

Healing Wounds by Diane Carlson Evans
This one sounds so intriguing, especially because Kristin Hannah’s, The Women is largely shaped by her collaboration with Diane Carlson Evans about this memoir! It details Evans experience as a combat nurse and her fight to honor the women who served for our country during the Vietnam War.

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin
I’ve loved every Steve Sheinkin book I’ve read, he makes history actually fun (I’m still obsessed with Bomb and Lincoln’s Grave Robbers)! This one is technically YA nonfiction, but it sounds absolutely gripping: as the Vietnam War raged on, Daniel Ellsberg grew increasingly opposed to it, and he had access to the top-secret Pentagon Papers that could expose decades of government lies. But sharing them meant risking everything – his career, his freedom, even his life – forcing him to face the question: did he have the right to blow the whistle?

Fire Road by Kim Phúc Phan Thị
Fire Road tells the true story behind the iconic photo of nine-year-old Kim Phuc, burned by napalm during the Vietnam War, and the unimaginable pain she endured in the years that followed. It’s a harrowing yet hopeful memoir of survival, faith, and the incredible resilience of a young girl whose life (and soul) was forever changed in an instant.

Everywhere Else in the Universe by Tracy Holczer
Lucy’s life has always been orderly and predictable – just like her dad taught her – but when he returns from Vietnam “different” and her family starts falling apart, everything she knows is turned upside down. This middle grade fiction novel follows Lucy as a mysterious boy, a packet of photographs, and a summer with the Rossi family teach her that life isn’t all schedules and plans, and that healing can come in the most unexpected ways.

Cracker, the Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata
This action-packed middle grade novel is partly told from the perspective of Cracker, a sharp and fearless German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, and the reluctant young soldier she’s paired with in the Vietnam War. It’s a gripping, fast-paced story about trust, teamwork, and doing whatever it takes to survive in the middle of war.

Dispatches by Michael Herr
War reporting like you’ve never experienced – harsh, poetic, and unforgettable. In this journalistic memoir, Michael Herr takes you straight to the front lines of Vietnam, capturing the chaos, horror, and surreal moments of combat with a vividness that haunts you long after the last page.

Where the Wind Leads by Vinh Chung
This multigenerational memoir follows Vinh Chung and his family from the harrowing journey across the South China Sea to building a new life (and a successful restaurant) in America. It is a first-hand story about resilience, the refugee experience, and the power of hope that carried them through the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Matterhorn is a raw, gripping Vietnam War novel that follows a young Marine lieutenant and his company as they are dropped into the jungle and forced to grow up fast. They face not just the enemy, but mud, monsoons, disease, and the tensions between each other. It’s one of those brutal and unforgettable stories of courage and survival.

The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong
If you were around during the Vietnam War, or have done even a little reading about it, you know the photo of the young girl running from napalm that helped shift public opinion. This book tells the story behind that image and follows Kim Phuc’s life after, offering a rare Vietnamese perspective and a powerful look at the long aftermath of war once the cameras are gone.

All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner
This is a quieter Vietnam War story, centered on the family left behind when Annie’s brother enlists as a medic and ships off to Vietnam. Told through letters, strained relationships, and a lot of waiting, this one makes you really thin about reconciliation, loss, and learning how to live with both hope and grief at once.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lai
I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book written in poems, about a young girl who leaves Vietnam with her brother and mother in 1975 to resettle in Alabama. This is technically a middle grade novel – but who is to say an adult can’t read it (or it would be a great family read aloud – and a way to keep learning about a topic your are interested in.)

A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan
If you are looking for a big, definitive nonfiction Vietnam War book, this might be it! It tells the story of John Paul Vann, an American officer who saw the war’s flaws early on and spent years trying (and ultimately failing) to change its course. It’s dense (almost 900 pages!) but fascinating, part biography and part history, and often recommended as the book if you want to really understand how the Vietnam War unfolded and went so wrong.

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
This middle grade novel-in-verse follows Matt Pin, a Vietnamese boy airlifted to the U.S. after his mother begs American soldiers to give him a chance at a better life. In his new adopted American family, Matt is surrounded by baseball, music, and unexpected kindness, even as the trauma of war, guilt, and bullying linger. This one has themes of forgiveness, healing, and yes, baseball and music.

Absolution by Alice McDermott
Wow, this one was named Best Book of the Year by countless publications! This one flips the usual Vietnam War narrative by focusing on American wives in Saigon, following two very different women whose attempts to help are messier (and more complicated) than they expect. It’s told across decades and digs into the long-term ripple effects of good intentions, power, and the roles women were expected to play.

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
This one is written by the same author of The Mountains Sing, which was one of the most recommended books about the Vietnam War (listed above). Set during and after the Vietnam War, this novel follows two sisters who leave their village to work in a Sài Gòn bar catering to American GIs, a choice that will follow them the rest of their lives. Decades later, their story collides with an American veteran haunted by the war and a mixed-race Vietnamese man searching for family and a future. This one really touches on some of the long-lasting consequences of war.

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
After her younger brother is brutally murdered in a Sydney suburb shaped by the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Ky Tran returns home to a Vietnamese-Australian refugee community full of grief, guilt, and unanswered questions. I’ve heard this is one of those books that’s both a literary family drama and a true page-turner that is hard to put down.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John “Chick” Donohue and J. T. Molloy
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to sneak into a war zone just to deliver beer to your friends, The Greatest Beer Run Ever tells the wild, true story of John “Chickie” Donohue, a former Marine who did exactly that in Vietnam. Hilarious, heartwarming, and jaw-dropping, it’s a one-of-a-kind adventure you’ll laugh and cry through – and if you’re into it, there’s even a major motion picture to watch afterward.

Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
When Huong arrives in New Orleans with her two young sons after fleeing Vietnam during the war, she’s starting over with almost nothing and only letters and tapes connecting her to the husband she left behind. This is a moving, very readable story about the long shadow of war and immigration, and a family trying to figure out who they are (and how to stay together) after losing their home and way of life.