"Phú Yên province in Vietnam was a prominent target of American pacification, an effort to win the 'hearts and minds' of the Vietnamese. This book reviews Phú Yên's storied history with pacification before and during the French colonial period, then focuses on the American War from 1965 to 1975, exploring how the Americans advanced pacification, relying on conventional military forces, and why this effort ultimately failed"-- Provided by publisher.

"What the hell does this mean?" : understanding pacification --"We should not be astonished" : Phú Yên and war through 1965 -- "Protect the rice harvest" : search and destroy and the perception of pacification's success, 1966 -- "We have seen our last major battle" : perceptions of conventional warfare's pacification gains, 1967 -- "The rural 'pacification' program has gone up in smoke" : the second general offensive and uprising, 1968 -- "Very little, if any, progress" : Vietnamization and the accelerated pacification campaign, 1969 -- The province that "Went to Sleep" : the advisory crisis, 1970 -- "Like reeds in the wind" : the war in the hamlets, 1971 -- "Consequently, no one knows" : pacification's permanence and the end of the Second Indochina War, 1972-1975.