MARC Record from marc_columbia

LEADER: 02780mam a22003734a 4500
001 2293884
005 20220616013116.0
008 990106t19991999nyuabf b 001 0 eng
010 $a 99010495
020 $a0151002665
035 $a(OCoLC)ocm40609184
035 $9APE4530CU
035 $a(NNC)2293884
035 $a2293884
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dC#P$dOrLoB-B
042 $apcc
043 $aa-vt---$an-us---
050 00 $aDS558$b.S65 1999
082 00 $a959.704/3373$221
100 1 $aSorley, Lewis,$d1934-$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82112940
245 12 $aA better war :$bthe unexamined victories and final tragedy of America's last years in Vietnam /$cLewis Sorley.
250 $a1st ed.
260 $aNew York :$bHarcourt Brace & Co.,$c[1999], ©1999.
300 $axv, 507 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates :$billustrations, maps ;$c24 cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [461]-481) and index.
520 $aNeglected by scholars and journalists alike, the years of conflict in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 are filled with surprises not only about how the war was fought, but about what was achieved. Drawing on authoritative materials not previously available, including hundreds of hours of tape-recorded allied councils of war, military historian Lewis Sorley has given us what has long been needed - an insightful, factual, and documented history of these important years.
520 8 $aSorley demonstrates that dramatic changes occurred in nearly every aspect of the U.S. approach to the war. General Creighton Abrams succeeded to the top military post, joining Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and, before long, Ambassador William Colby in forming a capable and like-minded leadership team. The three shared the belief that the conflict must be approached as "one war" in which combat operations, pacification, and improvement of South Vietnam's forces were given equal emphasis and importance.
520 8 $aLarge-scale "search and destroy" sweeps gave way to "clear and hold" operations. Security for the people in the hamlets and villages replaced attrition of enemy forces as the primary objective, and "body count" disappeared as the measure of merit. The result was a dramatic improvement in the military, economic, and political life of South Vietnam, despite the progressive withdrawal of U.S. forces during these later years.
520 8 $aThe strategy of Abrams, Colby, and Bunker came very close to achieving the elusive goal of a free and independent South Vietnam.
650 0 $aVietnam War, 1961-1975$zUnited States.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85143292
852 00 $bglx$hDS558$i.S65 1999
852 00 $bglx$hDS558$i.S65 1999