Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, The Center For National Security Law of the University of Virginia Law School hosted a seminar designed to determine the "real" lessons of the Vietnam War. In doing so they assembled a distinguished team of twenty-one scholars, each an acknowledged expert in his field. The results were then compiled and published in this work. The conclusions reached included, but were not limited to the following:

Vietnam was a small "hot-spot" in a global "cold war" It was important because the great powers of the day chose to contest it, if for no other reason.

Ho Chi Minh was a dedicated agent of international Communism, not a Vietnamese Nationalist fighting for his people.

While the "Peace Movement" greatly aided the Communist efforts, they did not lose the war. Our flawed, "no-win" strategy did.

American forces were not given a free license to rape, kill, pillage and burn at will. Soldiers and Marines were indicted and vigorously prosecuted for war crimes in Vietnam.

Our involvement in Vietnam WAS necessary. Had we meekly capitulated when the Russian bear growled, we could not have remained credible as an ally.

The war was NOT unwinnable. In effect we DID win. Only Congress' refusal to provide the support promised our allies caused South Vietnam's capitulation and the subsequent blood bath that left millions dead.

The authors authenticate their findings with well-researched data. These facts will be contested by some and ridiculed by others. However, mere hype cannot refute their research. Facts are facts. The carefully prepared and skillfully perpetuated myths by some in government and many in the media cannot change them although they can be fully expected to try.

In the preface, editors Moore and Turner say that, "Obviously, this small volume is not intended to be the final word on the Vietnam War." Inevitably, more facts will emerge from such diverse places as Hanoi, Washington, Moscow and/or Beijing. However, until more facts emerge, this work is the most complete review of the conflict available. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the war for that reason.

Since Vietnam the world situation has changed completely. State sponsored terrorism has replaced Communism as our major threat. Knowing when and how to use force are more critical today than ever. Being too eager and too reluctant to use force when necessary are equal evils. This work provides valuable insights on the when and how of using force. It is an invaluable tool for today's national security planners for that reason.

I was privileged to attend the Conference that inspired this work and eagerly awaited publication of this book for two years. It was well worth the wait. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well.

This is one of the best book on the Vietnam experience that I have ever read. This book really told me what the Vietnamese experience is really like.

This is the best book of war poems since "The Leaves of Grass". The experiences of a young US Infantry Officer, during three years of combat in Vietnam, reflected in the form of photographs, essays, and poems. The most important question asked at the time by everyone was, whether the communist or the democratic way of life would remain standing. All of those who fell were very young, for the most part handsome young men, who followed the orders they were given to obey, and the examples set for them by their fathers, and grandfathers. Fear and death were hard to confront, day in and day out, when the ones at home, who could have lent moral support, ridiculed and abused those who did the fighting. The work takes the reader into the action, or its contemplation, with all the pain, and sadness, that was, is and will always remain in the American conscience and the resultant consequences to a generation of their own sons and daughters

A comprehensive analysis of the issues confronting refugees from Vietnam and their subsequent resettlement. The author paints a vivid three dimensional picture considering varied and comprehensive source data, overriding policy issues (of the time) and makes practical recommendations in relation to resettlement in the future.

A very solid study with practical application to policy makers determining refugee relocation issues for the future.

This book is written in a conversational and easy to read style that practically pulls you into the the events described. Any one who was in Vietnam during the war, was a military dog handler of any kind, or is just interested in the recent U.S. or military history will love this work. You will travel with the author through part of his military tour, laugh, cry and sweat with him, and maybe, finally understand what it was like to be in southeast Asia in the sixties and early seventies. A wonderful and entertaining factual account.

This book is simply outstanding for anybody who has an interest in how the military manages media relations or who wants a different perspective on the Vietnam War. An abridgement of Hammond's two-volume set, this book is still packed with details covering the war from start to finish, providing lessons that remain relevant for today's changing battlefield. As one who is involved in media relations for a living, there's hardly a page in the book that isn't highlighted for future reference. And as one who has read several books on Vietnam, covering everything from tactical operations to strategic objectives, this book put the war in perspective for me as no other book has. However, as I was pouring over every page and sharing what I learned with those around me, one of my colleagues said he had read it as well and found it one of the most laborious books he had ever opened. So perhaps it is not for everybody, but it's a book I will return to again and again as I continue to study the unique relationship forged between the military and the media. And I am also ordering the two-volume set so I can find the even greater detail that was left out of this book.

Mr. Eickhoff's "Return to Ithaca" is a hard look at how a war hero is regarded when he returns home. I am not a Vietnam veteran, but I can say that I felt the agony of what Henry Morgan went through upon his return and the sense of futility that seems to control his emotions. This is a deep, emotional novel, a dark look into the inner man going through an impossible emotional labyrinth in trying to find the person he was before he left for the War. The best war novel to appear in years. Comparable to Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" but with more intensity than Mailer managed. This is without doubt the work of a tortured genius.

Danziger is nothing short of a brilliant cartoonist, he might also be one of the very best at what he does. So it came as a nice surprise to know he had a book on the market, which of course I had to have.
"Rising Like the Tucson" is a must read. It was my experience that I tried to keep up with the action by reading faster and faster as tho I were there myself trying to avoid the shells and bullets. There were times I found myself holding my breath.
His writing is such that you can see and hear and feel his characters quite vividly. You'll love the ones he intends you to and look askance at the ones he demands, as Danziger is the master here pulling all your strings. He is not only a master toonist, Danziger is a master storyteller as well.
When I can catch my breath, I want to read 'Rising Like the Tucson' again.

I've read, A Brown Water Sailor in the Delta several times. You see, I was there in 1967 and 1968 myself. Mr. Sheppard did a supurb job depicting the life of PBR sailors and the hardships they endured while patroling the rivers and canals of Viet Nam's Mekong Delta. Don Sheppard is not only a fine author but a Warrior in the truest meaning of the word. If you havn't read this one, you really should; it is great reading.

Again, this writer turns the written page into an adventure for the reader, filled with action, treachery, and suspense. Yet still the story reads in a very human and literary voice, with great description. The plot is complex, and the characters are dynamic. I eagerly anticipate the arrival of his new books 'White Lie' and 'Saigon Express' (currently only available in Britain) to the U.S.