Anatomy of a War

Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience

Gabriel Kolko

Kolko’s groundbreaking and widely cited study of the Vietnam War, with a new postscript by the author.

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Praise

“A book that goes far beyond the ambitions of earlier writers by synthesizing the difficult story of United States intervention with the yet more complicated internal dynamic of the Vietnamese Revolution. A stylish, passionate, stimulating, and provocative work that needs to be read by anyone concerned about the overweening role of the United States in the world.”

—Richard Gott, Manchester Guardian

“For those seriously interested in understanding the underlying political and social structures that predetermined significant elements of the Vietnam War—social structures that the U.S. government chose to ignore—reading this book is an absolute necessity. There is simply no other book of its scope available today, and there is not likely to be another like it for a long time.”

—Martin J. Sherwin, Dartmouth College

“This is one of the most comprehensive examinations of the Vietnam war yet written. Gabriel Kolko has gone far beyond the obvious military, political, and economic aspects of the war to explore in-depth causative factors leading to the end result. . . . Of interest to anyone wishing to study the Vietnam War in all of its ramifications.”

—Military Review

“Kolko's grand synthesis deftly balances the three sides in the protracted struggle: the Communist Party, the Republic of Vietnam, and the U.S. . . . This meticulously documented work will become a pivotal starting point for all future discussion of the Vietnam War.”