Description
Book SynopsisFewer Americans were captured or missing during the Vietnam War than in any previous major military conflict in U.S. history. Yet despite their small numbers, American POWs inspired an outpouring of concern that slowly eroded support for the war. Michael J. Allen reveals how wartime loss transformed U.S. politics well before, and long after, the war's official end.
Trade ReviewA fascinating examination of a long and painful chapter of American history.--General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark|""Michael Allen's rich and beautifully written book becomes the new starting point for understanding Vietnam era POW/MIA politics and their centrality to American history over the last four decades. It is a splendid achievement and will serve as a model for the study of the cultural politics of war and memory in the twentieth century.""--Mark Bradley, The University of Chicago|""Michael Allen offers a compelling and nuanced analysis of a difficult topic, combining archival rigor with a true sensitivity to the tangled emotions of Americans in the years following the nation's loss in Vietnam.""--Beth Bailey, author of
America's Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force|""Allen's first-rate analysis deals with an extremely important and much misunderstood and oversimplified subject, and it does so with authority, originality, subtlety, and nuance. It will become required reading for all students of the Vietnam War, changing the way in which the POW and MIA controversies are understood and interpreted.""--Robert McMahon, Ohio State University
