A Rift in the Earth: Art, Memory, and the Fight for a Vietnam War Memorial

A Distinguished and Bestselling Historian and Army Veteran 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. Richly illustrated with photographs from the era and design entries from the memorial competition, A Rift in the Earth is timed to appear alongside Ken Burns's eagerly anticipated PBS documentary, The Vietnam 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

Author: James Reston
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Published: 09/05/2017
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781628728569


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2017 pg. 80
Library Journal 07/01/2017
Publishers Weekly 07/31/2017
Booklist 09/15/2017 pg. 14

About the Author
James Reston, Jr. was an assistant to Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall before serving in the US Army from 1965 to 1968. He is the bestselling author of seventeen books--including The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews, which helped inspire the film Frost/Nixon (2008)--three plays, and numerous articles in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times Magazine. He won the Prix Italia and Dupont-Columbus Award for his NPR radio documentary, Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown. He lives with his wife in Chevy Chase, Maryland.


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