Moreover, so as to immediately break the ten-book limit, here are four oral histories (two general, and two more specialized); all presenting a more generalized set of personal experiences than the eight "autobiographical" books above:

Everything We Had: An Oral History of the Vietnam War (Al Santoli, 1981)

Review by LR
There are actually two false war stories in this book, those of Thomas Bird ("Ia Drang") and Mike Beamon ("The Green-Faced Frogmen"). Mr. Bird apologized to the author after the book's publication. He did serve in Vietnam, not in combat, and the POW story is a complete fabrication. Mr. Beamon did not even serve in the US military, never mind the SEALS or Vietnam. At the time the book came out, 1981, it was difficult to get veterans to discuss the war at all, never mind insist they verify their stories. Mr. Santoli, who I knew personally, was as disappointed as any of his critics that he had been taken in by these accounts. Still "Everything We Had" is a monumental work, from the days before the Vietnam Wall. Then the popular culture wanted nothing more to dismiss the war completely and held the men who fought there in contempt as losers or criminals. The feelings of Santoli's real contributors are still a compelling read today, twenty years later.
To Bear Any Burden: The Vietnam War and Its Aftermath in the Words of Americans and Southeast Asians (Al Santoli, 1985)

Review by JMDV
I first read To Bear Any Burden when it was originally released in 1985. This has been a 'must-read' classic of American involvement in Southeast Asia since it was published. For it, Santoli interviewed, in depth, 47 individuals representative of that involvement from 1945 into the 1980s--Americans, Viet-Namese (communists and anti-communists), Cambodians and Laotians. The book is so artfully compiled as to flow like a single narration; yet the 'cast of characters' are separate in time, space, culture and social rank--an entire spectrum from ambassadors to villagers, soldiers to politicians, in one volume. No one's education about the Viet-Nam War is complete unless they've read this book.
Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History (Wallace Terry, 1984)

Review by RJR
This is similar to Santoli's book regarding individual experiences in the Vietnam conflict. You definitely get a feel for the Vietnam experience, and it is very readable. The narratives portray the unique challenges of this experience, along with the added dimension of the race issue. The range of assessments of the racial issue was amazing and educational for me; some of the vets had active civil-rights values and even revolutionary values before getting to Vietnam, and some had little or no opinions regarding race relations despite the turbulent times. The great range of views regarding whites and the dominant U.S. culture, including government, was intriguing. The attitudes toward the Vietnamese, both North- and South-, also held great range, and was fascinating. This leads me to feel that the strength of this memorable book is the common experience conveyed simultaneously with the diversity of experiences and attitudes.
Survivors (Zalin Grant, 1975)

Review by AC
Zalin Grant did a masterful job weaving together oral interviews of seven of the twelve survivors of one of the worst death camps run by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. There were 11 deaths from disease and starvation, plus one killed attempting escape during the time period covered by Grant's book. After the unsuccessful Son Toy raid on an empty POW camp in North Vietnam, the Viet Cong moved their southern prisoners by walking them to Hanoi. The journey took six months, but ultimately all of Grant's survivors were released in Operation Homecoming in 1973. This book is must reading for the serious researcher on POWs, or anyone who wants to know how difficult it was to survive jungle captivity. Also recommended is a brand new book by survivor interviewee Frank Anton "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?," which includes most of his experiences covered in Grant's book, but adds Anton's observations about MIAs seen in Laos on his way to Hanoi, plus Anton's concerns about the plight of MIAs written off by the US government many years ago.
Finally, to set a chronological framework - and presenting a different picture of the Vietnam War in the eyes of the author (a Marine grunt and later an officer in the Aussie Navy):

Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, 1961-1973 (Mark W. Woodruff, 1999)

Review by CS

Hello, I feel very strongly about this book. I feel quite inadequate to write a review of other peoples personal experiences in vietnam.

I served in Republic of Vietnam from 1967 through 1969 as a fresh butterbar (2nd Lt., then on as XO and revolving platoon leader (casualties for 2nd lts was always quite high) for the company I served with, then on as Platoon leader for a second tour then serving briefly as CO of company for a grand total of 3 days until I got wounded by mortar fire.

While I feel this book is a bit too right wing it clearly shows a significant amount of popular media of that era and today is frankly nonsense. A fact that no one seems inclined to reinterpret. Many people don't like this book, because if doesn't fit into their very very simplistic broad general view of a very complex civil war(take a look at vietnamese history the vietnamese have fought a handful of civil wars and wars of conquest) involving two superpowers selling their brand to the the world, Period. Vietnam just happened to manifest itself perfectly as the testing ground much to the pain of the vietnamese. It's coke or pepsi with a pistol to you head and that's that.

The entire strategic goals of the vietnam war and the way it were fought were obviously completely flawed, I highly advise everyone to read "A bright shining lie" along with "dirty little secrets of the vietnam war"; a bit of a cheesy title, and a bit simplistic but spot on with Facts about the conflict with only a very slight sense of favoritism towards the USA. The truth lies flat in the middle of these three books and is frankly much simpler than most would lead you to believe.

I served in highly populated areas my first year in country, there was definently "accidental" death of civilians from all manner of reasons (out at night after curfew triggering ambushes, random artillery fire). It was dangerous to be a civilian in vietnam and they suffered greatly regardless of their political stance. My second year was spent mainly fighting NVA in terrain with almost no civilian population.

This book should be taken with a grain of salt but there are many many facts in this book that highlight directly how much horse puckey and COMPLETE DISTORTION OF FACT was used for dramatic effect both then and now.

I feel competent to say this as I am currently typing this from my home in Vietnam. I speak vietnamese fluently, am married to a Vietnamese woman who's fathers side of the family was Viet Cong and her mothers ARVN.

Along with my unique experience as well as getting a real earful of communist propaganda, most of the references the author makes towards Hanoi's political and propaganda machine are easily found here in print by Vietnamese publications. I strongly urge people truly interested in learning some amazing and not often, if ever talked about facts to READ THIS BOOK.

You probably won't like its point of view, (I had a real tough time swallowing alot of" a bright shining lie" but the author does make a very strong and factual arguement). So does this former marine. Get this book and the others and stop kidding yourself about how much you know about Vietnam because you watched Platoon and Full Metal Jacket...
I found Woodruff's book very interesting - "winning" the warfare, but "losing" the war.

Regards

Mike