- Paperback: 390 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (Feb 8 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679750460
- ISBN-13: 978-0679750468
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.3 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,262,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Spector ( Eagle Against the Sun ) maintains that the months following the Tet offensive (January and February 1968) illuminated the true nature of the war in Vietnam and largely determined its course during the five years that followed. In '68 both sides launched their most powerful efforts to break the military and political stalemate, and the U.S., furthermore, began to recognize potentially disastrous problems of racial tension and drug abuse among its troops. Spector analyzes the ultimately futile tactics of U.S. military operations, the "other war" effort to win hearts and minds, and the race riots at the Long Binh stockade and Danang brig, among other developments of that fateful year. He is perhaps the first major historian to scrutinize the Combined Action Program, in which Marine squads lived for indefinite periods in villages, providing aid and protection. The Army high command in Saigon regarded the program as well-meaning but misguided; according to Spector, however, it was the most effective, imaginative and humane approach the Americans devised. By concentrating on its most representative year, Spector has produced a first-rate history of the war. BOMC and History Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
America's fighting forces suffered their greatest losses of the Vietnam War in the year following the Viet Cong/North Vietnam Army's February 1968 Tet Offensive. Spector's thorough examination of this period carries some surprising conclusions about motives and methods on both sides and reinforces many accepted ones. In the overall history he focuses on some of the more important actions, like Dai Do and the siege of Kham Duo, to outline each side's tactics. Equally interesting to students of the conflict is his description of support unit life in the major urban areas, reviled by the combat troops but dangerous nonetheless. The year 1968 also saw a decline in racial harmony and an increase in drug use. This readable, insightful, comprehensive work is a step forward in Vietnam War histories. BOMC and History Book Club alternates.
- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Outstanding,
By One of Marius' Mules (Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (Paperback)
Spector's book is not just a history of what happened after the Tet Offensive of 1968, but a history of the entire war in microcosm. Plenty of other folks here have sufficiently addressed the merits of Spector's book so if I may, I'd like to address something a little different. I have little tolerance for military historians who don't include details about weapons and equipment. It may seem an inconsequential thing to many, but understanding how the belligerents were clothed, equipped, and armed is very important. So important in fact that John Keegan addressed that very issue in his book "The Face of Battle." So, kudos to Spector for explaining to the layman the details of an RPG and a LAW, an M-16 and a Kalashnikov, jungle boots and tire-soled sandals. Anyone who wants to more fully understand the Vietnam War should definitely read "After Tet."
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tet was Hell............,
By Ross Gadeberg (Glen Ellen, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (Paperback)
Yes Tet of 1968 was hell for those of us that were over there at the time. And then came May and August of 68, which were also two of the bloodiest months of the war. I was with the 1/27 25th Infantry Division at Cu Chi, which was a major area of tunnels for which the VC and NVA stored weapons and supplies. As a "tunnel rat" I experienced some herrendous experiences there. Ron Spector has made some very good conclusions regarding the war and points out some of the many problems that we 19 year olds had to incur. Great book for those of us that were there as well as the rest of you who just want to gain some understanding as to why we lost the war, and some 56,000 young men as well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mini Tet in May and August, 1968.,
By Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (Paperback)
An excellent book on the Vietnamese War of 1968. Spector not only tells us why we (Americans) failed at the war but also what the weaknesses were on the other side (Viet Cong and NVA). The book summarizes some of the problems associated with the war such as race relations, lack of a professional soldiers and officers, and weapons. Spector describes that 1968 was the critical year of the war. America and the Saigon regime won the military battles but lost the political war. He equates the war at that point to the stalemate of the Western Front during the First World War.
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