STANLEY KARNOW

In Vietnam: A History, Karnow has produced the most comprehensive, fair-minded and enthralling account of one of this century's most controversial wars. Panoramic in scope, profound in understanding, and compassionate in human portrayals, it is filled with fresh revelations drawn from secret documents and from exclusive interviews with hundreds of participants on both sides. The central theme of the book is that America's leaders, prompted as much by domestic politics as by global ambitions, carried the United States into Southeast Asia with little regard for the realities of the region. The chain of events that led to the deployment of thousands of American troops has been set into its deeper historical context - especially the growth of Vietnamese nationalism over two millennia. This is the essential work for anyone seeking to understand what happened in Vietnam, and why.