The Vietnam War became the Western world's most divisive modern conflict,

precipitating a battlefield humiliation for the French in 1954,

then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing

scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and

Vietnamese documents and memoirs. Out of this he creates an epic

narrative of an epic struggle. In this episode from the Dan Snow's history hit archives

Max talks to Dan about the vivid realities of strife and the protracted conflict that killed 2 million people. Max is good to be back in your lovely flat in London.

Last time I was here you were actually putting the finishing touches to your book on

Vietnam. It's now done.

You said at the time, he thought it was one of your best books.

What's it feel like now?

I hope I didn't say it was one of my best books it was certainly one of the biggest the

audience so far seems to think pretty well of it just we're selling more books

faster than any book I've ever written before which is very exciting in UK

because one of the things I was

very nervous about was whether British audiences were going to be interested in

this American and Vietnamese war but they are. I think people have got the point of feeling that they've

read an awful lot about World War II and even World War I and they're ready to hear about

something new. And this was a huge event that when you compare I mean Syria Afghanistan Iraq the

21st century's wars are tiny by comparison with Vietnam between two and three

million people died.

And the Americans lost 58,000.

...