The VIetnam war is arguably more relevant to Americans than the fiascos in Afghanistan and Iraq because the agenda was clearer. This book delivers the message that knowledgeable and sympathetic advisors were aware that the will to fight would determine the outcome. Herrington captures this in the latter part of the book. Much of the book is anecdotal with many fascinating episodes that didn't always end well. I believe that sophisticated readers will draw more from this book than those simply seeking war stories. The revelations were perhaps more relevant to me than others, because I was the district senior advisor in the province next door at the same time. But were were both moved to greater regret in 1975 as the North Vietnamese Army swept over the area where we served with counterparts we admired and respected for their acuity and determination to keep South Vietnam out of the communist sphere. It seems obvious that we failed to understand the complexity of the Mideast, seeing the issues in the most simplistic manner as a mirror of how we see ourselves. I know no word in the English language to describe this stupidity adequately, and we too will fall unless we find a way to adjust our view of the world.