Daddis's book will compel many scholars to revisit their histories of Vietnam.
Daniel P. Murphy, Journal of American Culture
Westmoreland's War asks a question that should not startle but does: is it possible to have a sound military strategy and still lose a war? This is the question Gregory Daddis poses in his splendid history of the Vietnam ... Read moreWar as it was fought by General William Westmoreland. The standard story of Westmoreland's failure turns out to be wrong in almost every particular, and Daddis' analysis of why and how it is wrong has major implications not only for our understanding of Vietnam, but also for how we can understand current U.S. military engagements. This is a book that must be read by anyone interested in the past, present, and future of America's wars.
Marilyn B. Young, New York University
In Westmoreland's War, one of the best historians of the Vietnam conflict deftly challenges a deeply encrusted cliche-that the U.S. forces failed in Vietnam because of the narrow-mindedness and ineptitude of the man who commanded them in the war's most important years. This boldly argued and convincing work of revisionism deserves the attention of any serious student of America's most controversial war.
Mark Atwood Lawrence, author of The Vietnam War: A Concise International History
Westmoreland's War is truly a remarkable achievement. Daddis has vividly captured the complexities of Westmoreland's Vietnam strategy and the difficulties the U.S. faced in trying to implement it. Exhaustive in its research and breathtaking in its analysis, Daddis' book is now the standard for understanding the U.S. military escalation in Vietnam.
Robert K. Brigham, Vassar College
Westmoreland's War is an important book, and Gregory Daddis has provided a new and sophisticated look at the man many have blamed for America's defeat.
The VVA Veteran
[A] seminal work
Army Magazine
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