The Vietnam War alternately mesmerized and maddened the American public for two decades. The repercussions of this unsettling episode in American history still resonate in our society. Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Vietnam War Anthology is a collection of some of the best writing on this tumultuous period in history.
This updated and revised edition of Light at the End of the Tunnel is an exhaustive account of the Vietnam War that gives a total overview of the conflict. Vietnam specialist Andrew Rotter has selected the finest pieces to illuminate the social, cultural, and military aspects of the war and has included several gritty passages in a section of the book that takes the reader into the jungle to experience the war from a soldier's perspective. This penetrating account offers such notable writers as Stephen Ambrose, one of today's most respected historical biographers and author of the bestseller Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West; Philip Caputo, a gung-ho Marine from Chicago who arrived in Vietnam in March 1965 and quickly changed his thinking about the war; Frances FitzGerald, author of the popular book on Vietnam titled Fire on the Lake; and Neil Sheehan, the perceptive reporter who covered the war for The New York Times<?i>. Vietnam contemporaries such as Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense under Lyndon Johnson, and Henry Kissinger, National Security Adviser under Richard Nixon, also lend their voices and perspectives to events surrounding the war. This book is essential for anyone interested in truly understanding the Vietnam War. These readings will both educate and entertain those who want to find out more about this turning point in the history of the United States and, indeed, the world.
In my opinion the best anthology I've ever read. This author collected and presented a plethora of primary and secondary documents in an easy to follow way. He provides dissenting views on the same topic in a way that adds to the current discussion rather than detracting from it as many do. This is a must for any person wanting to understand the Vietnam War from the perspective of the men who brought the war to bear, from both the North and the South, the Americans and the Anti-war individuals to the role of women. A true must read for total comprehension of the topic.