Download or read book The Perfect War written by James William Gibson and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2007-12-01 with total page 844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Powerfully and persuasively . . . Gibson tells us why we were in Vietnam . . . a work of daring brilliance—an eye-opening chronicle of waste and self-delusion.” —Robert Olen Butler In this groundbreaking book, James William Gibson shatters the misled assumptions behind both liberal and conservative explanations for America’s failure in Vietnam. Gibson shows how American government and military officials developed a disturbingly limited concept of war—what he calls “technowar”—in which all efforts were focused on maximizing the enemy’s body count, regardless of the means. Consumed by a blind faith in the technology of destruction, American leaders failed to take into account their enemy’s highly effective guerrilla tactics. Indeed, technowar proved woefully inapplicable to the actual political and military strategies used by the Vietnamese, and Gibson reveals how US officials consistently falsified military records to preserve the illusion that their approach would prevail. Gibson was one of the first historians to question the fundamental assumptions behind American policy, and The Perfect War is a brilliant reassessment of the war—now republished with a new introduction by the author. “This book towers above all that has been written to date on Vietnam.” —LA Weekly

Download or read book The Perfect War written by James William Gibson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1988 with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon government papers and personal accounts from soldiers, this book documents the failure of technowar in Vietnam and argues that the lessons learned have been ignored by the political and military establishments that continue to espouse it toda

Download or read book The Perfect War written by James William Gibson and published by Atlantic Monthly Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking book, Gibson shatters the misled assumptions for America's failure in Vietnam, showing how American officials developed a disturbingly limited concept of war--what he calls "technowar"--in which all efforts were focused on maximizing the enemy's body count, regardless of the means.

Download or read book The Perfect Weapon written by David E. Sanger and published by Crown. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW AN HBO® DOCUMENTARY FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR JOHN MAGGIO • “An important—and deeply sobering—new book about cyberwarfare” (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times), now updated with a new chapter. The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes, cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Two presidents—Bush and Obama—drew first blood with Operation Olympic Games, which used malicious code to blow up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, and yet America proved remarkably unprepared when its own weapons were stolen from its arsenal and, during President Trump’s first year, turned back on the United States and its allies. And if Obama would begin his presidency by helping to launch the new era of cyberwar, he would end it struggling unsuccessfully to defend the 2016 U.S. election from interference by Russia, with Vladimir Putin drawing on the same playbook he used to destabilize Ukraine. Moving from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger reveals a world coming face-to-face with the perils of technological revolution, where everyone is a target. “Timely and bracing . . . With the deep knowledge and bright clarity that have long characterized his work, Sanger recounts the cunning and dangerous development of cyberspace into the global battlefield of the twenty-first century.”—Washington Post

Download or read book The Pig War written by E C Coleman and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2009-09-30 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a plot to grace any comic opera, the 1859-72 'Pig War' broke out when an American living on a quietly disputed small island in the Gulf of Georgia shot a British pig he found rooting up his garden produce. The authorities on nearby Vancouver Island and the military leadership of the adjacent Washington Territory both felt they had good reasons to escalate a trivial incident into a full-blown war between the United States and Great Britain. Soon, American soldiers found themselves looking down the barrels of the Royal Navy cannon. Whilst both the British and the Americans continued to threaten and bluster, Royal Marines and US soldiers settled down on the island to a round of social events, including sports days, combined dinners and even summer balls. Despite the outbreak of the American Civil War, and British intervention on the Confederate side, the hot-heads were restrained and, eventually, it was decided that the problem should become one of the earliest examples of international arbitration. The German Kaiser was brought in and - from the British point of view - came to the wrong decision. Set against the framework of US attempts to gain control of the whole North American continent, The Pig War is a highly readable account of a little-known episode in Anglo-American history.

Download or read book The Vietnam War written by Geoffrey Ward and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 866 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Based on the celebrated PBS television series, the complete text of an engrossing history of America’s least-understood conflict, “a significant milestone [that] will no doubt do much to determine how the war is understood for years to come.” —The Washington Post More than forty years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, but its memory continues to loom large in the national psyche. In this intimate history, Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns have crafted a fresh and insightful account of the long and brutal conflict that reunited Vietnam while dividing the United States as nothing else had since the Civil War. From the Gulf of Tonkin and the Tet Offensive to Hamburger Hill and the fall of Saigon, Ward and Burns trace the conflict that dogged three American presidents and their advisers. But most of the voices that echo from these pages belong to less exalted men and women—those who fought in the war as well as those who fought against it, both victims and victors—willing for the first time to share their memories of Vietnam as it really was. A magisterial tour de force, The Vietnam War is an engrossing history of America’s least-understood conflict.

Download or read book The Best War Ever written by Michael C. C. Adams and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-05-15 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adams challenges various stereotypes to present a view of World War II that avoids the simplistic extremes of both glorification and vilification. The Best War Ever charts the complex diplomatic problems of the 1930s and reveals the realities of ground combat. Adams exposes the myth that the home front was fully united behind the war effort, demonstrating how class, race, gender, and age divisions split Americans."--Page [4] of cover.

Download or read book 44 Foxholes in France written by Warren J. Wightman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2014-06-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: '44 Foxholes in France is a factual day-to-day account of the author's personal experiences in 1944 as a WW-II infantryman in the American Third Army. Starting as a draftee private, he debarked at Utah Beach, was promoted several times in combat, finally to platoon sergeant before being wounded in the battle for Metz. Much of the story has to do with the need to face the realities of ground combat, the differing abilities of the men, and the challenges of leadership in extreme situations. Though not a "hawk" or a "professional veteran," the author found that in certain difficult situations, stepping up to responsibility is the only acceptable option. The book contains 12 maps, 8 of which show details of individual engagements. S-3 Operations Reports typed during combat are included as an appendix. Also: extensive chapter notes, photos of weapons, a glossary of GI and foreign terms, pencil sketches, poetic impressions, an index, and web-links to related material. 386 pages. Errata: Map 1 - Juno Beach was Canadian; Sword was British.

Download or read book Vietnam written by John Prados and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first major synthesis of the war since 2001, drawing upon a host of newly declassified documents, presidential tapes, and overlooked foreign sources to give the most comprehensive look to date of the war that still haunts America.

Download or read book War without Mercy written by John Dower and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2012-03-28 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD • AN AMERICAN BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A monumental history that has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most original and important books to be written about the war between Japan and the United States.” In this monumental history, Professor John Dower reveals a hidden, explosive dimension of the Pacific War—race—while writing what John Toland has called “a landmark book ... a powerful, moving, and evenhanded history that is sorely needed in both America and Japan.” Drawing on American and Japanese songs, slogans, cartoons, propaganda films, secret reports, and a wealth of other documents of the time, Dower opens up a whole new way of looking at that bitter struggle of four and a half decades ago and its ramifications in our lives today. As Edwin O. Reischauer, former ambassador to Japan, has pointed out, this book offers “a lesson that the postwar generations need most ... with eloquence, crushing detail, and power.”

Download or read book A Short History of the Vietnam War written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 931 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping and informative visual guide to one of the bloodiest conflicts in US and world history Journey through the Vietnam War; exploring detailed accounts of the men and women that were there. Explore their stories of struggle, sacrifice, and bravery through the iconic events that defined this conflict. This visual guide is the perfect read for any military history enthusiast. Inside the pages of this retelling of America’s bloodiest conflict, you’ll discover: • A vivid, moving, and informative read, written in an engaging style • Offers a clear and compelling account of the conflict, in short, self-contained events from the Battle of Ia Drang to the Tet Offensive and The Khmer Rouge • Biography spreads highlight major military and political figures • Features on everyday life in the war offering additional context • Stunning image spreads display weapons, spy gear, and other equipment that defined the war • Maps and feature boxes provide additional information on major events during the conflict A carefully constructed, in-depth guide to Vietnam This definitive history of the Vietnam War was written in conjunction with the Smithsonian. SI A Short History of the Vietnam War showcases every aspect of the fighting and the wider political landscape from both the side of the Viet Cong and the US military. Compelling text, diagrams, and maps show exactly how decisive moments and battles unfolded to help the reader to visualize the conflict. Eyewitness accounts and iconic photographs bring events to life - from the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Operation Passage to Freedom and the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon. From weapons and aircraft to armored vehicles and spy gear, explore the machinery used in the war through breathtaking photography. Lastly, biographical entries give a fuller insight into the minds of key figures and the decisions they made and include Henry Kissinger, President Nixon, Pol Pot, and more. More in the series Combining expert historical insight, eyewitness accounts, and archive photography, A Short History series seeks to summarise key historical events and provide a wider context to what was happening around these events. Titles include SI A Short History of World War II, SI A Short History of the American Civil War, and SI A Short History of Flying and are the perfect addition to any history enthusiast’s library.

Download or read book War written by Sebastian Junger and published by HarperCollins Canada. This book was released on 2010-06-22 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They were collectively known as “The Rock.” For one year, in 2007-2008, Sebastian Junger accompanied 30 men—a single platoon—from the storied 2nd battalion of the U.S. Army as they fought their way through a remote valley in eastern Afghanistan.Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firefights than he could count, as men he knew were killed or wounded and he himself was almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the platoon, and he enjoyed an access and a candidness that few, if any, journalists ever attain. War is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of killing and the love between platoon-mates who would rather perish than let each other down. Gripping, honest and intense, War explores the neurological, psychological and social elements of combat, as well as the incredible bonds that form between these small groups of men. This is not a book about Afghanistan or the “War on Terror”; it is a book about all men, in all wars. Junger set out to answer what he thought of as the “hand-grenade question”: why would a man throw himself on a hand grenade to save other men he has known for probably only a few months? The answer is elusive but profound, going to the heart of what it means not just to be a soldier, but to be human.

Download or read book Rust written by Jonathan Waldman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally publlished in hardcover in 2015 by Simon & Schuster.

Download or read book The Vietnam War written by Louise I. Gerdes and published by Greenhaven Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 2005 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, some scholars began to draw comparisons to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, re-igniting the debate over the Vietnam War. In the following chapters the cartoonists in this volume present their views on the Vietnam War as it unfolded: Taking Steps Toward War, Going to War: The Johnson Years, The Long Road to Peace: The Nixon Years, and The Legacy of the Vietnam War.

Download or read book Act of War written by Brad Thor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new Scot Harvath thriller and the follow-up to Hidden Order, from New York Timesbestselling author Brad Thor. After a CIA agent mysteriously dies overseas, his top asset surfaces with a startling and terrifying claim. There's just one problem - no one knows if she can be trusted. But when six exchange students go missing, two airplane passengers trade places, and one political-asylum seeker is arrested, a deadly chain of events is set in motion. With the United States facing an imminent and devastating attack, America's new president must turn to covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath to help carry out two of the most dangerous operations in the country's history. Code-named 'Gold Dust' and 'Blackbird', they are shrouded in absolute secrecy as either of them, if discovered, will constitute an act of war. Look out for the adrenaline-fuelled new Brad Thor novel, Code of Conduct, published in July 2015! Praise for Brad Thor: 'Brad Thor is as current as tomorrow's headlines' Dan Brown 'Blasts off like a guided missile and never slows down, weaving current events into a frightening scenario that just could happen. Brad Thor rocks!' Tess Gerritsen 'Brad Thor writes thrillers as plausible as they are terrifying. A must-read for our times!' James Rollins,New York Timesbestselling author of Black Orderand The Judas Strain Praise for Hidden Order: 'One of Brad Thor's best books to date' Washington Post '[A] great, great thriller' Rush Limbaugh 'Thriller writer Brad Thor is awesome…You'll want to take HIDDEN ORDER to the beach' National Review

Download or read book The Vietnam War written by DK and published by Dorling Kindersley Ltd. This book was released on 2017-03-30 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vietnam War remains one of the most heroic and heartbreaking events in history. This definitive e-guide charts the unforgettable story of the world's first televised war. Hundreds of insightful images and a compelling narrative combine to chronicle this catastrophic conflict.?? From 1955, the communist government of North Vietnam waged war against South Vietnam and its main ally, the USA. Over the course of two decades of hostility and warfare, the number of casualties reached an incomprehensible three million people. Detailed descriptions of every episode, including Operation Passage to Freedom and the evacuation of the American embassy in Saigon, tell the stories in iconic photographs and eyewitness accounts. Discover the real people behind the conflict, with gripping biographies of key figures, including Henry Kissinger, General Thieu, President Nixon, and Pol Pot. This incredible visual record is supported by locator maps, at-a-glance timelines, archive photography, and key quotations to ensure an all-encompassing experience.?? The Vietnam War is an essential historic reference to help humanity learn the lessons of suffering and sacrifice from one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century.

Download or read book A Rumor of War written by Philip Caputo and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1996 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published: New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.