Vietnam - The Decisive Battles

The story of America's ultimate defeat, a national tragedy as awesome as that of the Civil War, makes grim but compulsive reading. Vietnam: The Decisive Battles gives the reader added insights to the drama by means of computer-generated maps of the battlefields and specially commissioned artwork. Through this highly original format, the crucial moments in 17 key encounters of the war are pinpointed, from the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 to the fall of Saigon in 1975. Together with a text of military scholarship, these presentations bring a new dimension to the longest - and arguably the most traumatic - war in American history.

The battles selected cover the war on land and water, and in the air, and clearly show how the conflict developed in both military strategy and political initiatives. With maps, diagrams, and photographs, this superbly illustrated book records the action and the drama of war. Here are the military tactics, plus the high-tech weapons - napalm, Agent Orange, B-52s and Smart bombs - which not only became synonymous with terror but also produced effects designed to linger long after the war had finished. Profiles of the commanders and the leading politicians, stories of personal heroics, and features on Rest and Recreation, drug abuse, and other aspects of GI life serve to highlight the more intimate elements of the war. Together with concise accounts of the ever-changing political climate in Washington, Hanoi and Saigon, they help complete this enthralling account.