While certainly an epic undertaking to cover thirty years of fighting in Vietnam in a single volume I believe there is an overall anti-US sentiment throughout Hastings work. The Battle of Ia Drang (November 14-18, 1965) is mentioned in five brief paragraphs. Col. Hal Moore, commander of 1/7th Calvary, is not referenced in the book's index. The "Hill Fights" that took place near the combat base Khe Sanh ( 24 April - 11 May 1967) are covered in a few brief sentences, the actual Tet Offensive assault on Khe Sanh is covered in three and one-half pages. In comparison, the lesser known Battle of Daido, accurately described as an "act of sustained folly", garners its own subchapter heading "Dying" and 21 pages while an account of a successful sapper attack on Fire Base Mary Ann earns a subchapter heading under "Collateral Damage" and nine pages of text. There are other numerous instances of accounts that support my belief that Hastings overall coverage of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War is somewhat skewed and unbalanced. Having said all this, what do I know? I just read a review of this book by Jonathan Steele in The Guardian who claims the thread that runs through this book "is Hasting's effort to exonerate the US military, arguing that they had a better war than most other authors admit." Go figure. All-in-all I still rate this book highly and can only suggest you read it and form your own opinion.