Rating: 
Summary: Flawed Methodolgy, Sometimes Inaccurate
Review: There has been much written on the Vietnam War, some of it too soon after or during the event to be either objective or accurate. Some scholarship is outstanding: Murphy's book on the Battle of Dak To, the superb We Were Soldiers Once and Young by Moore and Gallagher, one a commander on the ground, the other a journalist who was present at the action chronicled, and Summons of the Trumpet by Dave Palmer, a noted author, combat soldier, and later Superintendant of the US Military Academy at West Point. Unfortunately, I don't think this volume quite cuts the mustard. The author's methodlolgy bothers me somewhat: equating the American policy in Southeast Asia to the personal morals of one man involved in the conflict, albeit over quite a long period. In doing so, the author leaves out the contributions of too many, putting a blanket of flawed character over the entire venture, when many, if not most, who served there in that longest of American wars were men and women of character, attempting to do their job tho the best of their ability, almost 60,000 not coming home and later having their names placed on The Wall in Washington DC, two of which belong to my brother and my cousin. It is here that I object to both the author's premise and his objectivity. Finally, in the last chapters he attempts to chronicle the Battle of the La Drang Valley in 1965. I had read other versions of the fighting and after reading this one, thought I had read of an entirely different action. I do think the author erred here, especially after reading We Were Soldiers Once and Young, by General Moore, who commanded one of the squadrons there, and by Gallagher, a journalist who went through the fighting with the troopers of the 7th Cavalry. These two, in my opinion, major errors in the book make it a flawed chronicle at best, and not the best tome to rely on about the War in Vietnam.
Rating: 
Summary: The most moving book on Vietnam I've ever read
Review: I was recommended this book by an officer at the ROTC office at my alma mater. The title didn't sound promissing, but I took the officer's word and got the book. Of all the books I've read on Vietnam, this is by far, the most moving book I've ever read. The book focuses on one person, John Paul Vann, his childhood and family history, his marriage, his military service, his second tour as a civilian. William Blake wrote that one can see a world in a grain of sand; If you want to see a piece of America, if you want to see the Vienam war in the eyes of a person that fought in it, if you want to see what was it in that war that infuriated, that raised emotions, that drew people in, that readied them for the ultimate commitment, get this book and read it.
Rating:
Summary: A Bright Shining Lie
Review: The story of a true American hero. One of the most facinating books on the Viet Nam Conflict. John Vann stood up for his beliefs and wouldn't let the U.S. military stand in his way. This book illustrates, with the subtlety of a sledge hammer, the commitment of a man to apply all means to shorten this war, and emerge victorious . This is a well written book you won't put down.
Rating: 
Summary: The folly of Vietnam through the eyes of a tragic hero
Review: "A Bright Shining Lie" is a brilliant, if flawed, masterpiece. Journalist Neil Sheehan first made a name for himself as a reporter in part thanks to the enigmatic American Hero, John Paul Vann. Vann's story is both fascinating and tragic. His military career was seemingly derailed by his attempts to tell the truth about the war during the advisor period (1962-64), but in fact it was his personal indiscretions that did him in. The book was the work of a lifetime for Sheehan (taking him many years to complete) and it shows. The only problem is that Vann's later career in Vietnam as a civilian advisor (1967-1972) gets the short shrift. Sheehan uses Vann's combat death in 1972 as a metaphor for American involvement in Vietnam. But in fact, by 1972 Vann truly believed that the South Vietnamese were winning the war and had they not been abandoned by their American allies, they might have. Nevertheless, this is a vital book for anyone who wants to understand America's lost war.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Book That Tells Only Half the Story
Review: Through LTC John Paul Vann, Mr. Sheehan tells the story of the Vietnam War, particularly as it relates to the United States. He does an excellent job of recounting the events leading up to the war in Vann's life and the prior history of Vietnam. Unfortunately, the book is HIGHLY biased. Sheehan goes to great lengths to condemn the actions of the United States and South Vietnam. The pages ooze with tales of incompetence, corruption and evil intentions of the West. However, the evils of the Communists are usually not mentioned or are glossed over. As an example, Sheehan dismisses the North Vietnamese massacre (about 10,000 dead)of whole villages in 1956 as part of an agrarian reform plan as "an unfortunate mistake". I would recommend this book. However, readers should remember Mr. Sheehan is not neutral on matters.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Brilliant
Review: This is one of those books that will only become more important with time, a sort of American Iliad with Vann as the tragic hero. One thing I like about this book is how Sheehan manipulates the reader to reveal the darker sides of Vann's personality only when Sheehan deems it time to do so. Also interesting is how Vann is shown to be courageous, but also egotistical and capable of tremendous cruelty. His disregard for his wife is downright chilling. All said, this book is a tragedy: the story of one man's slow demise. All the worse because he seemed to hold so much promise.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: A Bright Shining Lie is a true story about a man named John Paul Vann and America's involvement in Vietnam. The author, Neil Sheehan, was a war correspondent for the United States Press International and the New York Times. His book in 1989 was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The book starts out at Lt. Col. John Paul Vann's funeral in 1972, ten years after he arrived in Saigon, after a helicopter crash back in Vietnam. His story shows America's failures and disillusionment in Southeast Asia. In 1954, the French were defeated, Vietnam then was divided by Ho Chi Minh's Communist North and the Southern regime of Ngo Dinh Diem. Vann had an opportunity to go to Vietnam and he took it right away because he wanted to fight his way up the ranks. When he arrived he was teamed up with South Vietnam's Colonel Cao. Right away Vann notices the corruption of the South Vietnamese regime and their incompetence in fighting the Communists. Sheehan shows this throughout the book with many examples of what the South Vietnamese did. Colonel Cao was shone taking pictures of his men pretending to be dead VC's (Viet Cong) to impress the higher officials and to show that we were winning the war. The South Vietnamese army did not know what they were doing and lost many battles. As Sheehan graphically describes the battles, the Viet Cong are winning them, but that is covered up by South Vietnam and America portraying them as being the supreme force. Vann secretly told reporters how the war was a waste and Neil Sheehan was one of these reporters. The peasants in Vietnam were caught in the middle between the North and the South. We gave the peasants guns then they were seen used by the Viet Cong in battle. Sheehan noted that the corrupt South Vietnamese did not care for the peasants and carpet-bombed their villages because of known Viet Cong inhabitants. This whole book is based on Vann's telling the self-deceiving illusions of the American military and civilian bureaucracy. Vann was sent back to the United States after the army found out about his meetings with reporters. America hid the truth throughout the whole war. He then resigned, but could not stand not be in on the action. Sheehan said, "The war satisfied him so completely that he could no longer look at it as something separate from himself" (745). Later Vann was able to get a position as a civilian aid and went back to Vietnam in 1965. This is when Sheehan depicts another corrupt South Vietnamese soldier. Colonel Dinh, he resisted America's help in the war. He killed his own soldiers, did not want to help the villagers in any way and destroyed their villages. Vann's main goal was to stop this and gain the villagers trust. He ran pacification programs, mobilized allies among South Vietnamese forces, coordinated America's support and had many theories on how to turn the war around. Sheehan also wrote detailed descriptions of John Vann's family and the struggle he had with it during the war. From this the reader is able figure out why Vann always cheats on his wife. His mother, Myrtle was like this and it was a hard subject for John to talk about. In Vietnam Sheehan tells about two secret lovers of Vann. He could not control his sexual compulsion. His military career was almost ruined years earlier because of his affair with a babysitter. Sheehan writes a lot about Vann's character flaw. His wife divorces him later because of this. He was able to get all of this information with interviews of many people while his time in Vietnam as a correspondent. Vann wanted things to be done his way, he wanted to win. Sheehan said, "He was not supposed to accept defeat" (269). Sheehan talks about Westmoreland, the Commanding General in Vietnam and how he believed that the Viet Cong would not attack Saigon during "Tet" the Chinese New Year in 1968. Vann believed that they would and they did. Vann helped lead the fight against the VC and they were successful. Vann took a position in the South Vietnamese army. He served as general in command of the Central Highland Regime. President Nixon had ordered U.S. combat troops out of Vietnam in June of 1972. The U.S. said it was the South Vietnamese war and they are giving them more control. Sheehan in the story points out that the South Vietnamese had little interest in the war in the first place. Vann in 1972 had his coordinates in Kontum carpet-bombed by B-52's to try to wipe out the second, the third and the fifth divisions of North Vietnam. This was a big risk Vann was willing to take, because of the corrupt Dinh who changed orders and they were forced to retreat into a mine field as VC's advanced forward. Sheehan points out that Vann had a different outlook on the war. He was concerned now about his fighting and not the peasant revolution. Earlier he was bothered that, "...the United States could generate an astonishing reaction from the peasantry once corruption was eliminated and the American millions were getting down to the poor instead of being siphoned into the feeding trough of the Saigon hogs" (539). John Paul Vann soon died in a helicopter crash during a rain storm, ten years after he first arrived in South Vietnam. The biography by Neil Sheehan was very detailed about the war the way John Paul Vann experienced it. First as an Army Colonel and later a civilian pacification leader. Sheehan's book clearly shows the corruption of the South Vietnamese regime, their incompetence to fight Ho Chi Minh's Communists and their brutal alienation of their own people. Vann was able to bring these secrets out to reporters like Neil Sheehan to inform the public of what was going on in South Asia. This brings up the question that what if the military and government leaders had listened to Vann's earlier assessments of the weakness of the South Vietnamese military and the Diem regime? What would have been different? This book was very well written and brings much of the war right out into the light. If the reader does not have much knowledge of the war in Vietnam, this is the book to read. Vann personified our good intentions, our courage, our arrogance and are folly in the war. There is one shortcoming of the book. The book ends after Vann's death in a helicopter crash. The reader is left there wanting to know more about the events in Vietnam after his death.
Rating:
Summary: excellant--a must read
Review: This is a great book. I could not put it down once I started it. Of all the books on Vietnam this is 1 I would highly recommend. It is very well written.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely outstanding
Review: For a European who is more remote to the Vietnam war and the 50-60s in the US, this book is a revelation. Even having read a lot about the history of the Vietnam war, how it started and what went wrong, this book gave a lot of new insights. I especially liked learning more about the advisors, what I previously thought was simply armed military in disguise. JPV's story shows what the advisor business was and how the US had a lot of honest intentions with Vietnam. It was interesting to learn how those honest intentions to bring good to the world ( which many Europeans appreciate about the US...especially considering the alternatives...)coupled with the gross naivity ( which we Europeans conversely often laugh or cry at )caused a completely unneccesary disaster. Reading about the man himself was a shaking reading. His madness combined with clearsightedness and persevierance is a case study for those interested in psychology. The building up of the story is magnificent. Starting with tha action in Vietnam of the early 60s, we get to learn only slowly what kind of man Vann really is. The story is extremely well disposed and couples analysis with cold details. The learning from the precedent Korean war and what it meant to what happened in Vietnam was new to me and I do not believe that very many Europeans see the connection. Sheehan takes a healthy self critical position and it is clear that this is his story, his version and not the ultimate truth. Apart from wishing to have a few more pictures, there is really nothing else to wish. I would very strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam war cause, in general military psychology and also in general biography. It's a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read, good history, and an incomparable portrait
Review: of a psychopath. Many psychopaths lead wasted lives at public expense in prison after years of crime, substance abuse, predation, and betrayal. But every so often, one comes along and finds a niche to make a net positive contribution to history, even as he hurts those closest to him. Such a man was John Paul Vann. As hero or anti-hero, he comes to life in this magnificant story of intelligence and stupidity, courage and folly, daring and cowardice, optimism and blindness. This book blends a powerful narrative built around this admirable and contemptible figure to make vivid an historical episode from which important lessons will be learned for years to come. Whether as biography or history, Sheehan's story makes compelling reading, and delivers as few books at any time, on any topic. This is a great book.
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