Vietnam: 196x, The VC are creating trouble in Vinh Binh . . . How do I get there?

October 14, 2008 7:48 PM

Following up from this question, are there any good historical Atlases of Vietnam? Indochina? The Vietnam War? South Vietnam?

The one Atlas on Vietnam at Amazon seems to have mixed reviews.

Is there anything else? My google-fu finds nothing. Combining Google Maps with the online msn encarta one is the best solution I've come up with so far. Flipping back and forth is not not particularly convenient. They are also contemporary maps and I don't fancy reading in front of my computer all the time.

posted by MasonDixon to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

Best answer: If you're hardcore like me you can get the FAA-issed sectionals (from the mid-late 70s I think).

http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCK10A
http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCK10B
http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCK10C
http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCK10D
http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCJ11C
http://naco.faa.gov/ecomp/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=TPCJ11D

Around $50 for the set; makes a 20' square area of the country.

These are the maps that Ray Smith has collected here.

I have the Atlas you mentioned and found it pretty good regardless of the errors. (The only error I noticed is that the map-maker forgot to color in some water areas on one of the maps, indicating the general lame level of proof-reading I guess).

But I also like just cruising around in google maps with the topography turned on. The topography hasn't changed since the 1960s so you can really get a sense of the incredibly challenging terrain, towards the middle & northern parts of SVN.
posted by troy at 9:08 PM on October 14, 2008

Best answer: Check out Vinacarta (http://www.vinacarta.com) which has a number of options in the drop down box on the top right hand side, including Vietnam War.

I haven't used it for this purpose, but it was the only thing to use for 4 months touring out of Hanoi.

Cheers!
posted by Flashduck at 11:47 PM on October 15, 2008

Response by poster: Both very helpful answers. Thank you.
posted by MasonDixon at 10:30 AM on October 16, 2008