Lanning, Michael Lee

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Lanning, Michael Lee

PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Phoenix, AZ.

CAREER:

Writer. Military service: Served in U.S. Army for more than twenty years; became lieutenant colonel; served in the 199th Infantry Light Brigade in Vietnam.

WRITINGS:

The Battles of Peace, Ivy Books (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Dan Cragg) Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces, Fawcett Columbine (New York, NY), 1992.

Vietnam at the Movies, Fawcett Columbine (New York, NY), 1994.

The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military Leaders of All Time, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1996, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence from George Washington to the Present, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1996.

The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell, Carol Publishing Group (Secaucus, NJ), 1997, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Inside the Crosshairs: Snipers in Vietnam, Ivy Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Defenders of Liberty: African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Citadel Press (New York, NY), 2000.

The Battle 100: The Stories behind History's Most Influential Battles, Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 2003.

The Civil War 100: The Stories behind the Most Influential Battles, People, and Events in the War between the States, Sourcebooks (Naperville, IL), 2007.

The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leader's Journal of Vietnam, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2007.

Vietnam, 1969-1970: A Company Commander's Journal, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, and a veteran of the Vietnam War, Michael Lee Lanning has written a number of books related to war and the military. His primary goal has been to shed light on the true nature of war, rather than to make excuses after the fact for what the military was forced to do as part of their job, keeping the nation safe. In an interview with Bob Fenster for Vietnam, Lanning explained: "Many of the early books about Vietnam were apologetic, or about how the war made the author crazy, or discussed how we veterans needed to heal." He continued: "I did not agree…. I was proud of my service and wanted to tell the story of combat in Vietnam as honestly as I could." Lanning's Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces looks at the history of war in Vietnam, and the fierce soldiers who fought against the U.S. military. The book emphasizes the differences between the Vietnamese and the American fighting styles, and explains their relative effectiveness. Charles E. Neu in Reviews in American History observed that the "study provides little consolation for those who argue that a different American strategy could have won the war."

Vietnam at the Movies offers readers a different look at the Vietnam War, through a comprehensive catalog of films that touch on the period. Covering more than four hundred movies, Lanning provides not only film facts but background information, such as the film's historical perspective and an accounting of the political and social reactions to the war back in the United States. Michael E. Ross, reviewing for Entertainment Weekly, called the book a "biting and often humorous analysis."

Two of Lanning's books, The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leader's Journal of Vietnam and Vietnam, 1969-1970: A Company Commander's Journal, are extremely personal accounts, based on his own experiences in Vietnam and drawing heavily from the journals he kept during that time. David Traxel, in a review of Vietnam, 1969-1970 for the New York Times Book Review Online, called the book "one of the most honest and horrifying accounts of a combat soldier's life to come out of the Vietnam War."

In The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell, Lanning takes a broader look at warfare, concentrating on the role of the African American soldier since the American Revolution. He focuses on racism within the ranks and provided a listing of additional source material for readers interested in the social and political aspects of military integration. Roland Green, in a review for Booklist, noted: "Some of the examples are brutal, but this is a fascinating account and excellent introductory material." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called the book an "illuminating and much-needed history."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Lanning, Michael Lee, The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leader's Journal of Vietnam, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2007.

Lanning, Michael Lee, Vietnam, 1969-1970: A Company Commander's Journal, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Black Issues in Higher Education, August 21, 1997, Willie Curtis, review of The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell, p. 44.

Booklist, July 1, 1992, Roland Green, review of Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces, p. 1914; December 1, 1996, Roland Green, review of The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Military Leaders of All Time, p. 626; May 15, 1997, Roland Green, review of The African-American Soldier, p. 1546; February 15, 1999, Brad Hooper, review of The African-American Soldier, p. 1012; August 1, 2006, George Cohen, review of The Civil War 100: The Stories behind the Most Influential Battles, People, and Events in the War between the States, p. 32.

Choice, December 1, 1994, H.C. Willias, review of Vietnam at the Movies, p. 611.

Entertainment Weekly, July 15, 1994, Michael E. Ross, review of Vietnam at the Movies, p. 57.

Insight on the News, September 14, 1992, Roger Charles, review of Inside the VC and the NVA, p. 19.

Library Journal, July 1, 1992, Mel D. Lane, review of Inside the VC and NVA, p. 102; June 1, 1994, Richard W. Grefrath, review of Vietnam at the Movies, p. 108; December 1, 1996, William D. Bushnell, review of The Military 100, p. 118; July 1, 2003, Gerald Costa, review of The Battle 100: The Stories behind History's Most Influential Battles, p. 103.

Publishers Weekly, October 30, 1995, review of Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence from George Washington to the Present, p. 52; November 11, 1996, review of The Military 100, p. 68; May 5, 1997, review of The African-American Soldier, p. 188.

Reference & Research Book News, July 1, 1996, review of Senseless Secrets, p. 70; August 1, 1997, review of The African-American Soldier, p. 180; August 1, 2003, review of The Battle 100, p. 31.

Reviews in American History, March 1, 1995, Charles E. Neu, review of Inside the VC and the NVA, p. 144.

School Library Journal, August 1, 2003, Eldon Younce, review of The Battle 100, p. 111.

Vietnam, December 1, 1999, "Michael Lee Lanning Began Writing Because He ‘Got Tired and Angry with All That Was Written about Vietnam,’" p. 12.