etired because there was little chance of advancement for him. Almost two years after he left Vietnam he once again returned, but in a civilian role. He was to help with the pacification programs that were developed to reduce the Viet Cong's presence in South Vietnam. Once again the problems with the way the U.S. was fighting became clear to him. This time he was in a little bit better of a position to change things. He had spent his years away from Vietnam developing his connections and reputation. However no real action was taken until 1968, after the Tet Offensive showed just how ineffective the war of attrition was. When Nixion took office he was looking for new ideas. John's ideas were looked at, and partially adopted. He called for the U.S. to take complete control of South Vietnam in order to make ARVN troops more effective. This idea was doomed to fail however, because most people viewed that step as to close to colonialism. So once again his ideas were ignored. John Vann died on June 6, 1972 in a helicopter crash while in Vietnam. This was just a general overview on how the book addresses Vann's role in Vietnam. Neil Sheehan was a reporter during the war, and like many other people came to believe Vann was the only person with his head screwed on straight. The reporters who knew him often described him as their bible because of his understanding of the situation. This above all is a work of history, it covers Vann's childhood, the Korean War, World War II, and even a little bit of World War I. Sheehan uses the information from all these sources to clearly spell out why things occurred and the reasons why people behaved the way they did. The sheer volume of information contained in this novel is astonishing. I found it difficult to absorb and analyze all of the information. So in the sections to come, I plan to address specific parts of this novel and relate them to what we have discussed in class so far. The...
