In the first issue of Vietnam magazine, published in the summer of 1988, founding editor Colonel Harry Summers Jr. laid out a clear but challenging mission: “an exploration of the complexities that made the Vietnam War unique.”
Those complexities have been explained in succeeding issues with strong research, vivid writing, compelling photography, detailed maps and illuminating graphics—the tools of 20th-century publishing put to their best use.
Now Vietnam is introducing an iPad digital version with exciting interactive additions that enable us to tell the history of the 1960s and ’70s with the technology of the 21st century. Our new tools for interactive storytelling will enable subscribers to see the war in new ways and better understand what happened there.
For example, if an article from the print edition has just a few photos from an important battle, you may be directed to a gallery of many more pictures or to video footage of the battle.
To get a closer look at the details of a dramatic photo, you can enlarge it in many cases.
When you see a quote from a speech, you may be able to tap on it and read the whole speech or hear an audio recording or maybe even watch the speaker deliver it on television 50 years ago.
If maps help you understand the maneuvers of a battle, imagine seeing those actions played out on an animated map.
If there is not room in the print magazine for all the interesting background information, we can easily add it to the digital edition.
All of these digital extras are available to print subscribers for just a few dollars more—or you can buy a digital-only subscription for the iPad. We also plan to offer digital versions for other platforms. You will be able see a free sample of the iPad version by going to the iTunes Store. Check it out. We hope you enjoy it.
Starting with this issue, we are adding a new section to the magazine during the commemoration of the Vietnam War’s 50th anniversary. We will ask 50 people—one in each issue—to tell us how the war affected their lives and to share their remembrances of the 1960s and ’70s. In the new section, called “Voices,” you will hear from many veterans, of course, but you also will get the reflections of others whose lives were dramatically altered by a war that reverberated throughout American society.
Our first discussion is with, most appropriately, Jan Scruggs, the Vietnam veteran who got the Wall built. We couldn’t fit all of his interesting insights into the magazine. But you can read the rest of his comments in the iPad version of April issue.
Originally published in the April 2015 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
