Very few of the many books about the Vietnam War fully address why the fighting was conducted in such a cruel manner, why it was prolonged far past its logical end, or what, ultimately, went wrong. American literature has been reluctant to emphasize the fact that between 3.5 and 5 million Southeast Asians died—many of them peasants—that the majority of the bombs dropped from American planes landed on South Vietnam—our ally and an impoverished agricultural society—or that the use of napalm and Agent Orange was, in reality, chemical warfare. Americans have been reluctant to acknowledge the damage done, but after 17 years of another, very similar conflict in Afghanistan, many Americans are beginning to wonder why our highly financed and supported military isn't more effective. This book strongly suggests that the lessons of Vietnam are relevant and worthy of being reconsidered as today's wars are debated. From Captain Kangaroo, Roy Rogers, and Walt Disney to space travel, muscle cars, and The Beatles, the generation that would be sent to fight in Vietnam was uniquely influenced by times that were a-changin'. Like square pegs in a round hole, the post-World War II baby boomers were brought up with values that made widespread social outcry against the horrors of the war predictable and necessary. Those influences and values have long been ignored, but this book revives a spirited discussion and analysis of the first war America lost.

In 1983, a diverse group of journalists, U.S. and South Vietnamese policymakers, veterans, former intelligence agents, army generals, photographers, and antiwar activists gathered to appraise the war and its impact on American society. Topics covered included the war's origins, the impact of print and broadcast journalism, and the war's effects on veterans, civilians, the Vietnamese, and the armed forces.

An overview of the revisionist case on the Vietnam War, showing how it could have been won by the US at a lower cost than was suffered in defeat.

"The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C." —H. R. McMaster (from the Conclusion) Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and decisions, it is the only book that fully re-creates what happened and why. McMaster pinpoints the policies and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other historians and excuses of the participants. A page-turning narrative, Dereliction Of Duty focuses on a fascinating cast of characters: President Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, General Maxwell Taylor, McGeorge Bundy and other top aides who deliberately deceived the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Congress and the American public. McMaster’s only book, Dereliction of Duty is an explosive and authoritative new look at the controversy concerning the United States involvement in Vietnam.

More than thirty years later, the Vietnam War still stands as one of the most controversial events in the history of the United States, and historians have so far failed to come up with a definitive narrative of the wartime experience. With competing viewpoints already in play, Mark Moyar’s recent revisionist approach in Triumph Forsaken has created heated debate over who "owns" the history of America’s war in Vietnam. Triumph Revisited: Historians Battle for the Vietnam War collects critiques of Triumph Forsaken from both sides of this debate, written by an array of Vietnam scholars, cataloguing arguments about how the war should be remembered, how history may be reconstructed, and by whom. A lively introduction and conclusion by editors Andrew Wiest and Michael Doidge provide context and balance to the essays, as well as Moyar’s responses, giving students and scholars of the Vietnam era a glimpse into how history is constructed and reconstructed.