Synopses & Reviews
ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED BOOKS OF OUR TIME25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterpirse riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way. By the time he died in 1972, Vann had embraced the follies he once decired. He died believing that the war had been won.
In this magisterial book, a monument of history and biography that was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, a renowned journalist tells the story of John Vann--"the one irreplaceable American in Vietnam"--and of the tragedy that destroyed a country and squandered so much of America's young manhood and resources.
Synopsis
Sheehan's tragic biography of John Paul Vann is also a sweeping history of America's seduction, entrapment and disillusionment in Vietnam.
Synopsis
25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION. One of the most acclaimed books of our time--the definitive Vietnam War expose.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterprise riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way. By the time he died in 1972, Vann had embraced the follies he once decried. He died believing that the war had been won.
In this magisterial book, a monument of history and biography that was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, a renowned journalist tells the story of John Vann--"the one irreplaceable American in Vietnam"--and of the tragedy that destroyed a country and squandered so much of America's young manhood and resources.
About the Author
Neil Sheehan is the author of
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War. He spent three years in Vietnam as a war correspondent for United Press International and
The New York Times and won numerous awards for his reporting. In 1971 he obtained the Pentagon Papers, which brought the
Times the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for meritorious public service. Sheehan lives in Washington, D.C. He is married to the writer Susan Sheehan.
From the Hardcover edition.