"A history of swift boats in Vietnam."--Provided by publisher.

Introduction -- Chapter 1 : 1965-66 : Making It Up As We Go -- Oops / John Louck -- S.E.R.E. / Rod McAlpin -- Shakedown cruise / Jim Franklin -- Man overboard / Gary Liedorff -- Getting there is hard . . . getting out is better / Dick Olsen -- Chapter 2 : 1967 : Doing Damage -- Trawler / Bernard W. Wolff -- To build a better boat / Herb Pollock -- Smell like a rose / Rod McAlpin -- Rogue wave / Stirlin Harris -- VC tax station / Larry Irwin -- Chapter 3 : 1968 : Changing the Rules -- Even the best of intentions / Rod McAlpin -- Shooting high / Stirlin Harris -- The little girl from Tamassou Island / by Bernard W. Wolff -- Brown's run / Michael Brown -- A turning point / Michael Bernique -- Regarding Henry / W. Henry Inabnett -- Chapter 4 : 1969 : SEALORDS -- Fire mission / David P. Marion -- Bow gunner / Joe Muharsky -- Duong Keo / Virgil Erwin and Peter N. Upton -- Rules of engagement / by Rich Kern -- Chapter 5 : 1969 : Pacification -- Too young / Virgil Erwin -- Seafloat / Jim Corrigan -- Death in the family / Robert Hunt, Charles Janner, and Reynaldo Lopez -- WIA / Patrick L. Evans -- Chapter 6 : 1970 : Doing the Best You Can -- The original Arnold Horshack / Paul D. Johnson -- The 12-boat / Paul D. Johnson -- Hearts and minds / Tom Byrnes -- What the hell am I doing here? / Ted Kenny -- Irma la douche / Virgil Erwin -- Chapter 7 : 1970 : Turning Out the Lights --Cambodia / Bill Rogers -- Rescue on the Mekong / Senying Chim -- "What are they going to do, send me to Vietnam?" / Lou Marucheau -- Endgame / Robert O. Lincoln -- Not with a bang . . . or a whimper / John Dooley -- Chapter 8 : Aftermath : "Swiftboat" Is Not a Verb -- Slaying Goliath / Duane Holman and Jenny Barr -- The real world / Guy Gugliotta -- Encore / John R. Juarez -- Legacy / Suzanne Edwards.