Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know

James F. Dunnigan, Albert A. Nofi

Macmillan, May 5, 2000 - History - 400 pages

Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War allows us to see what really happened to American forces in Southeast Asia, separating popular myth from explosive reality in a clear, concise manner. Containing more than two hundred examinations of different aspects of the war, the book questions why the American military ignored the lessons taught by previous encounters with insurgency forces; probes the use of group think and mind control by the North Vietnamese; and explores the role technology played in shaping the way the war was fought. Of course, the book also reveals the "dirty little secrets," the truth behind such aspects of the conflict as the rise of the Montagnard mercenaries-the most feared group of soldiers participating in the secret war in Laos-and the details of the hidden struggle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

With its unique and perceptive examination of the conflict, Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War offers a critical addition to the library of Vietnam War history.

What people are saying

DIRTY LIITLE SECRETS OF THE VIETNAM WAR: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know

User Review  - Kirkus

Precious few secrets are revealed in this densely scattershot look at multiple aspects of the Vietnam War. Perhaps a better title for this wide-ranging book might be "An Enormous Number of Vietnam War ...

User Review -

this book is adequate. I found no typos.

Contents

• The FortyYear War: 25
• In The Bush Ground Combat: 59
• Trashing the Battlefield: 63
• Armor in Vietnam: 71
• FNGs Getting Short and Staying Alive: 77
• Creating ARVN: 85
• General Monsoon: 92
• Tigers Elephants Poisonous Reptiles and Determined Vermin: 98
• Slicks Puffs and Fast Movers: 106
• Blue Water Green Water Brown Water: 139
• Base Camp Follies: 154
• War in the Shadows: 168
• Leadership: 203
• 106: 236
• Numbers and Losses: 240
• The Home Front: 257
• The Other Side: 267
• Logistics: 291
• The Combat Units: 302
• The Aftermath: 329
• A Vietnam War Glossary Acronyms: 345
• RECOMMENDED READING: 355
• 107: 359
• 126: 370

About the author

James F. Dunnigan and Albert A. Nofi are the authors of hundreds of books and articles on military affairs. Dunnigan has been a consultant to the State Department, the CIA, and the Army War College. Nofi is the editor of the series The Great Campaigns of Military History.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know
• Authors: James F. Dunnigan, Albert A. Nofi
• Edition: reprint, revised
• Publisher: Macmillan, 2000
• ISBN: 031225282X, 9780312252823
• Length: 400 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / Vietnam War