Vietnam: Anatomy of a War, 1940-1975

This book combines brilliant technique with a firm grip of political realities. It goes far beyond the ambitions of earlier writers by synthesising the difficult story of U.S. intervention with the yet more complicated internal dynamic of the Vietnamese Revolution. The book's theme is the limitations of American power. America is simply not always capable of imposing its will and finds it very difficult to live with the frustration this causes. It argues the global goals were never obtainable.