This is an important book but such a strange one, it tries to reconcile the right and left's views of the Vietnam War. The Author makes concessions to both views while advancing some of his own. The book is well written for the most part although seemingly at random he will start writing in Academic speak. He has some good insights into the war, for example he talks about how in most tactical combat the Americans were always outnumbered. From my reading that seems accurate, although he is the first that I have read to state that. However he views the entire war from an American perspective, he sometimes looks at North Vietnam's attitudes but never South Vietnams. In this book the leftest vision of South Vietnam dominates, it was illegitimate. His use of the term 'Others' is also annoying, it is even more common now then it was thirty years ago when the book was published but it is a near useless term. It is used as if it's is a magical word and like most magical words it does not help to explain things, it hides things. Because it denies any empathy for the American effort. Overall I think any serious student of the Vietnam War should read this, but only after you have read heavily elsewhere. ( )