Hell in a Very Small Place

The Siege of Dien Bien Phu

By: Bernard B. Fall

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Like Gettysburg, Stalingrad, Midway, and Tet, the battle at Dien Bien Phu - a strategic attack launched by France against the Vietnamese in 1954 after eight long years of war - marked a historic turning point. By the end of the 56-day siege, a determined Viet Minh guerrilla force had destroyed a large tactical French colonial army in the heart of Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese victory would not only end French occupation of Indochina and offer a sobering premonition of the US' future military defeat in the region but would also provide a new model of modern warfare in which size and sophistication didn't always dictate victory.

Before his death in Vietnam in 1967, Bernard Fall, a critically acclaimed scholar and reporter, drew upon declassified documents from the French Defense Ministry and interviews with thousands of surviving French and Vietnamese soldiers to weave a compelling account of the key battle of Dien Bien Phu. With Fall's thorough and insightful analysis, Hell in a Very Small Place has become one of the benchmarks in war reportage.

©1966 Bernard B. Fall (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A thorough account of a brave, sanguinary battle that has since turned out to have immense historic importance." ( The New Yorker)

One of the best books I have read of human conflict

This book was outstanding. The account was riveting and was hard to put down when I started reading it. 5 stars

Great book about Dien Bien Phu

After watching the critically underrated film “Dien Bien Phu 1992) I wanted to know more! So I looked up books about the war. I found this one and it is so in depth! The writer is great and he actually met the people that were there. He sadly died in Nam during the Vietnam War. This book was written in the late 60s so it is not too far removed from the events. The bad side is that there may be more information now. I will try to find a book more closer to contemporary times. This was great!

Exciting and Instructive

Lack of maps in audio version hurt. Some details seem contradictory, but there exists an enormous amount of valuable info. His conclusions re Chinese and Vietminh anti-aircraft and lack of American heavy bomber support invaluable, and the latter clearly anticipated U.S. politics and the South Vietnamese debacle in 1975.

Liked it

Heavy subject, but very good. Very detailed review of a very tough battle. It was a heavy listen.

An epic battle- the fight to retain an empire

I served in Viet Nam and I suppose I always had a general idea about Dien Bien Phu having been a major battle where the French lost control of Viet Nam and that it was inflection point were the U.S. became the owner of "the problem". What I didn't know is how valiantly the French soldiers and their allies fought in this epic battle for the soul of a nation. My God, what a story, what courage, what a fight!. Just like my war, brave men fighting a stupid war, lead by myopic generals implementing an impossible strategy with tepid support from home - but what a fight by the soldiers - on both sides. Carnage and suffering last seen in WW I - and Bernard Fall tells it with a skill that puts you inside the wire. If you read military history, read this one.