"Unlike most military officers who served in Vietnam, Schandler is convinced the war was unwinnable, no matter how long America stayed the course or how many resources were devoted to it. He is remarkably qualified to make these judgments as an infantry commander during the Vietnam War, a Pentagon policymaker, and a scholar who taught at West Point and National Defense University. His extensive personal interviews with North Vietnamese are drawn from his many trips to Hanoi after the war. Schandler provides not only a definitive analysis of the American failure in Vietnam but a crucial foundation for exploring the potential for success in the current guerrilla wars the United States is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan."-- From publisher.

1. The illusion of military victory -- 2. The enemy -- 3. The American commitment -- 4. The road to war -- 5. America enters the war -- 6. The air war : the futile effort to break Hanoi's will -- 7. The ground war -- 8. The Tet offensive -- 9. The American economy : guns and butter? -- 10. The Nixon presidency -- 11. Conclusion.