The Tet Offensive: A Concise History

James H. Willbanks

Paper, 272 pages, 6 maps
ISBN: 978-0-231-12841-4
$24.50 / £14.50

December, 2006
Cloth, 272 pages, 6 maps
ISBN: 978-0-231-12840-7
$31.00 / £18.00

"An excellent supplementary text for college and university courses." — Library Journal

"A careful and judicious evaluation... Students especially will find this invaluable." — Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs

"The Tet Offensive will be of great value to military professionals, historians, and Vietnam veterans." — Col. Gordon W. Keiser, ProceedingsU.S. Marine Corps

"[A] well-written, and helpful reference... The Tet Offensive is enjoyable reading and an important new addition." — MAJ John M. Hawkins, Military Review

"Thorough... An excellent work worthy of inclusion in collections of studies on the Vietnam War." — Larry K. Burke, The Journal of Military History

"Without a doubt, this work will become the initial resource that student and historians alike will pull off the shelf to comprehend this seminal military event… Highly recommended." — Choice

"The 1968 Tet Offensive was easily the most important single event of the long Vietnam War, and recognized Vietnam War historian James Willbanks has written the best short analysis of it. His concise study deals effectively with the communist planning for the offensive and the battles themselves, as well as the myths surrounding the offensive and its political and military consequences. Those unfamiliar with the subject will find especially helpful the author's list of abbreviations, maps, chronology, glossary of terms, documents section, and annotated bibliography. This is a first-rate study." — Spencer C. Tucker, author of Vietnam and The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War

"James Willbanks provides a virtual vade mecum of one of the most complex and critical events of a long and complex war. His study provides an excellent historical overview, concisely summarizing the principal arguments of Tet-related issues, offering a clear chronology, and providing key documents relating to the Tet Offensive. This book will be essential reading for all serious students of the Tet Offensive and of the Vietnam War in general." — James R. Reckner, professor of history and director of The Vietnam Center, Texas Tech University

Related Subjects

• Asian History
• Military History

About the Author

James H. Willbanks is director, Department of Military History, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with twenty-three years service as an Infantry officer in various assignments, including a tour as an advisor in Vietnam. He is the author of two books on the Vietnam War, including Abandoning Vietnam (University Press of Kansas) and The Battle of An Loc (Indiana University Press), and the editor of a collection of essays entitled The Vietnam War (Ashgate Publishing Limited).

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