Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam

Author(s): Mark Bowden

Asian

ALos Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in History


Winner of the 2018 Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Greene Award for a distinguished work of nonfiction


The first battle book from Mark Bowden since his #1New York Times bestsellerBlack Hawk Down,Hue 1968 is the story of the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive and a turning point in the American War in Vietnam.In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. The lynchpin of Tet was the capture of Hue, Vietnam's intellectual and cultural capital, by 10,000 National Liberation Front troops who descended from hidden camps and surged across the city of 140,000. Within hours theentire city was in their hands save for two small military outposts. American commanders refused to believe the size and scope of the Front's presence, ordering small companies of marines against thousands of entrenched enemy troops. After several futile and deadly days, Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham would finally come up with a strategy to retake the city, block by block and building by building, in some of the most intense urban combat since World War II.


With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple viewpoints. Played out over 24 days and ultimately costing 10,000 lives, the Battle of Hue was by far the bloodiest of the entire war. When it ended, the American debate was never again about winning, only about how to leave.Hue 1968 is a gripping and moving account of this pivotal moment.


Product Information

General Fields

  • : 9781611855081
  • : Atlantic
  • : July 2018
  • : ---length:- '19.8'width:- '12.9'units:- Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Mark Bowden
  • : Paperback
  • : 1810
  • : English
  • : 959.704342
  • : 624