Based on extensive interviews with principal players and original research in Vietnam, this book goes behind the scenes in Washington and into the minds of America's leaders to provide the most complete analysis of Nixon's and Kissinger's complex and tortuous strategy and diplomacy.

Dragons of myth and mind -- Worldview of an improbable peacemaker : 1953-1967 -- Winning on the home front : 1968 -- Nixon, Kissinger, and the madman theory -- Avoiding defeat, seeking victory : 1968-1969 -- Talking while fighting : 1969 -- Target of opportunity : 1969 -- Nixon's war : 1969 -- Biting the bullet : 1970 -- Transitions, continuities : 1970-1971 -- Setting the stage : 1971 -- Fighting, then talking : 1972 -- Bangs and whimpers : 1972-1973.