First published in 1961 by Stackpole Books, Street without Joy is a classic of military
history. Journalist and scholar Bernard Fall vividly captured the sights, sounds, and
smells of the brutal - and politically complicated - conflict between the French and the
Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists in Indochina. The French fought to the bitter
end, but even with the lethal advantages of a modern military, they could not stave
off the Viet Minh insurgency of hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, booby traps, and
nighttime raids. The final French defeat came at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, setting the
stage for American involvement and a far bloodier chapter in Vietnam`s history. Fall
combined graphic reporting with deep scholarly knowledge of Vietnam and its colonial
history in a book memorable in its descriptions of jungle fighting and insightful in its
arguments. After more than a half a century in print, Street without Joy remains
required reading.