A Rift in the Earth: Art, Memory, and the Fight for a Vietnam War Memorial
Written by James Reston, Jr.
Narrated by Jeff Cummings
4/5
()
About this audiobook
A Distinguished and Bestselling Historian and Vietnam Vet Revisits the Culture War that Raged around the Selection of Maya Lin’s Design for the Vietnam Memorial
A Rift in the Earth tells the remarkable story of the ferocious “art war” that raged between 1979 and 1984 over what kind of memorial should be built to honor the men and women who died in the Vietnam War. The story intertwines art, politics, historical memory, patriotism, racism, and a fascinating set of characters, from those who fought in the conflict and those who resisted it to politicians at the highest level. At its center are two enduring figures: Maya Lin, a young, Asian-American architecture student at Yale whose abstract design won the international competition but triggered a fierce backlash among powerful figures; and Frederick Hart, an innovative sculptor of humble origins on the cusp of stardom.
James Reston, Jr., a veteran who lost a close friend in the war and has written incisively about the conflict’s bitter aftermath, explores how the debate reignited passions around Vietnam long after the war’s end and raised questions about how best to honor those who fought and sacrificed in an ill-advised war.
“The memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long polished black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth.” —Maya Lin
“I see the wall as a kind of ocean, a sea of sacrifice…. I place these figures upon the shore of that sea.” —Frederick Hart
Related to A Rift in the Earth
Related audiobooks
The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divided by Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtomic Tunes: The Cold War in American and British Popular Music Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen's War: Fighting and Surviving the American Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hardhat Riot: Nixon, New York City, and the Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/512 Seconds Of Silence: How a Team of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Spies Took Down a Nazi Superweapon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King and Queen of Malibu: The True Story of the Battle for Paradise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor / Hiroshima / 9-11 / Iraq Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51932: FDR, Hoover, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoices in Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInfamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Pilots: The Spectacular Rise and Scandalous Fall of Aviation's Golden Couple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Agent A12 and the Solving of the Holocaust Code Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrisoners of History: What Monuments to World War II Tell Us About Our History and Ourselves Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChampions Day: The End of Old Shanghai Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sea is only Knee Deep: Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNazis on the Potomac: The Top-Secret Intelligence Operation that Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5World War II: A New History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tearing Down the Lost Cause: The Removal of New Orleans's Confederate Statues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCity of Newsmen: Public Lies and Professional Secrets in Cold War Washington Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne in a Billion: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey through Modern-Day China Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEating with the Enemy: How I Waged Peace with North Korea from My BBQ Shack in Hackensack Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sons: The Untold Story of the Falcon and the Snowman (40th Anniversary Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 23rd Psalm: A Holocaust Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Line of Blood and Dirt: Creating the Canada-United States Border across Indigenous Lands Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlower in the River: A family tale, finally told Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
77 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Founding Mothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A Rift in the Earth
6 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anyone who has visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. knows first-hand the power of the experience. This book reconstructs the controversy surrounding how it was selected, built, and adjusted in response to criticism. Suffice it to say the backlash against the selection was extremely ugly, including racism, condescension, and politics. In addition, art appreciation naturally varies widely in personal taste and it is often difficult to envision the final product during the design stage. Throw in the many intense opinions about the war, and how and why it was fought, and the stage was set for a flashpoint of discontent.
The author is a Vietnam Veteran, and in the epilogue, he relates the story of his close friend from military training, who died in the Tet offensive. As he looks at the mirrored black granite surface of the wall, he sees his reflection over his friend’s name. It seems like a separate story, but it is a nice way to honor his friend.
The book is well-researched and reported. I very much enjoyed the inclusion of photos of other submissions, poems, literary references, detailed footnotes, and bibliography. If you are interested in public art or curious about how the Vietnam Veterans Memorial came into existence, this book provides a thorough explanation of the process and pitfalls. It highlights the role of art in the healing process.