From Vietnam to the homefront

The Library of America continues its invaluable collection of the nation's literature with "Reporting Vietnam: American Journalism," a two-volume collection ($35 each). From an optimistic report in Time magazine about the first military advisers to a firsthand account in the Chicago Daily News about the fall of Saigon, the editors have pulled together stories from 80 journalists who first encouraged and then sobered America. With pieces by Peter Arnett, Tom Wolfe, David Halberstam, and Ward Just, this is a compendium of the country's finest and most dangerous journalism.

Among the many classic entries are James Michener's description of the Kent State shootings and Norman Mailer's reports on protests at the Pentagon and the Democratic Convention.