James H. Willbanks is a professor in the Combat Studies Institute at the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. An infantry officer for 23 years, he survived the devastating two-month-long artillery siege of An Loc during North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive.
"Easily surpasses previous books on the same period of the war. . .
. An excellent and valuable addition to the history of the Vietnam
War."--Dale Andrade, author of America's Last Vietnam Battle:
Halting Hanoi's 1972 Easter Offensive"Provides valuable
perspectives on the tenuous balance between political realities and
military strategies. Required reading for students, scholars,
strategists and military planners."--Larry Berman, author of No
Peace, No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger, and Betrayal in Vietnam"A candid
and convincing analysis of the failure of Vietnamization."--David
L. Anderson, editor of Facing My Lai: Moving Beyond the
Massacre"Recommended to the scholar and to the general reader
alike."--William Duiker, author of Ho Chi Minh: A Life
"I think it is the best book I've read on the last part of the
Vietnam War."--Tom Ricks in Foreign Policy"The finest account to
date of American military and political policy from the aftermath
of the Tet Offensive to the 'fall' of Saigon. This book should be
considered required reading by all students of the American War in
Vietnam, whether they are in the classroom, the newsroom, the
sitting room, or the war room."--Journal of American History"As
Willbanks demonstrates, no expenditure of firepower, blood, or
personal heroics can redeem flawed strategies and policies. . . .
Willbanks effectively demonstrates that a flawed U.S. exit policy
led to the raising of a Viet Cong flag over Saigon on April 29,
1975."--Vietnam"History is not supposed to repeat itself, but one
is drawn to some sobering similarities between our current attempts
to create a stable and secure Iraq and the legacy of the failed
policy of Vietnamization."--Parameters"At a time when the United
States once again finds itself trying to withdraw with honor from a
foreign military entanglement, this book is an excellent read for
the professional military officer, diplomat, politician, and
academic who hope to ensure that past mistakes are not
repeated."--Proceedings, U.S. Naval Institute"Willbanks, a former
U.S. military adviser who survived the 1972 battle of An Loc, has
written what will be the best overview of the military and
political situation in Vietnam in the post-Tet period. He has
mastered the scholarship on the subject and recounts, in great
detail, the Nixon administration's flailing attempts to achieve
"peace with honor."--Journal of Cold War Studies"One of the finest
military histories to date of the final two stages of the Vietnam
War: the period from the Tet Offensive in 1968 to the American
withdrawal in 1972, and the bitter end game, 1972-1975. Why
Vietnamization failed just two years after the United States
withdrew its forces from Vietnam on 29 March 1973 is the central
question of the book. This is sobering tale told by balanced,
exacting scholar. The level of Wilbanks' research not only meets
the bar of most current scholarly publications, but exceeds it in
many areas, especially his use of U.S. Army documents. Wilbanks
carefully builds each of his major arguments with the best
available evidence, and is careful to employ historiography from
all sides of the political spectrum in making his case. One will
find, for instance, quotations from Marxist scholars and U.S. Army
generals in the same paragraph, making nearly identical
observations about the war. In short, Wilbanks' history of the
period along with Jeffrey J. Clarke's Advice and Support: The Final
Years, 19651973 will stand out as a seminal account of the period
for many years to come." --International Journal of Naval
History"This fine book is highly recommended for history
enthusiasts, military and governmental professionals, and general
readers who want an unbiased view of a critical part of recent
history."--On Point"A must read for those interested in the Vietnam
War. Essential."--Choice
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