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A Bright Shining Lie

John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam

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A Bright Shining Lie

Written by: Neil Sheehan
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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About this listen

One of the most acclaimed books of our time - the definitive Vietnam War exposé and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

When he came to Vietnam in 1962, Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann was the one clear-sighted participant in an enterprise riddled with arrogance and self-deception, a charismatic soldier who put his life and career on the line in an attempt to convince his superiors that the war should be fought another way. By the time he died in 1972, Vann had embraced the follies he once decried. He died believing that the war had been won.

In this magisterial book, a monument of history and biography that was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, a renowned journalist tells the story of John Vann - "the one irreplaceable American in Vietnam" - and of the tragedy that destroyed a country and squandered so much of America's young manhood and resources.

©1989 Neil Sheehan (P)2009 Random House Military & War Public Policy United States Wars & Conflicts Military Vietnam War War Imperialism Air Force Self-Determination

What the critics say

"If there is one book that captures the Vietnam war in the sheer Homeric scale of its passion and folly, this is it." ( The New York Times Book Review)

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Profile Image for Robert Sischy

Best account of the war in Vietnam

A truly comprehensive and engaging account of the Vietnam war. Written not only from the U.S. point of view, but with insight to the History of the Vietnamese. Tragically overlooked, misunderstood and ignored by most of the key decision makers in America.

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