I did not expect to find Max Boot’s book as impressive as I did. I approached the work with an open mind but anticipated a revised history of the war. Instead, his documented details rang true with so much of what I experienced on the ground in Vietnam. The author’s thoroughness in deciphering the decision making behind the war, including the personalities of the powerful men responsible for them, exhibited a sensitivity rare for one who was not involved directly with the war. As a veteran who still seeks understanding of how and why the war took on the dimensions that it did, I appreciate such a detailed work of scholarship.