My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent Into Darkness

Description: A trenchant and haunting account of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and its aftermath.

Review Quotes: "This book about the famous massacre of Vietnamese villagers by American soldiers may be difficult to read - but it is essential for understanding our recent history, and should become the standard reference on the subject." -The New York Times

"Empirically, Jones has succeeded in including the perspective of Vietnamese victims and Viet Cong commanders -- a focus that the existing historiography lacks." -- Marcel Berni, Journal of Contemporary History

"Jones is a versatile historian . . . and here, he successfully accomplishes two tasks: first, he provides as comprehensive a history of My Lai as we are likely to see for some time. Second, he thoughtfully probes the myriad ways that the My Lai story has been told. Jones succeeds on all counts." -Kirkus, Starred Review

"Nearly 10 years in the making, this exhaustively researched and well-written narrative bores in on the details of what has become known as the My Lai Massacre. . . . Jones, professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama, mined an array of sources, including some original oral histories and interviews with Americans and Vietnamese, in producing this authoritative account of a dark moment in American history." --Publishers Weekly

"This important work deserves a wide audience and is essential for anyone interested in the Vietnam War." -LIBRARY JOURNAL

"Jones' volume is a meticulous and detailed review of what happened in My Lai, the subsequent investigations and the courts-martial. His analysis is brutally frank yet fair, objective and balanced . . . Every graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, ROTC and OCS should be required to read this book before pinning on the gold bars." -Brigadier General David T. Zabecki, for HistoryNet

"Howard Jones has produced the definitive work on My Lai. Beautifully written, balanced, and thorough, it makes full use of all the diverse sources previously unavailable to those who have written about My Lai, including those directly involved in its aftermath. Henceforth this significant work will be the go-to book on and authoritative reference to this American tragedy." --William G. Eckhardt, Col. (Ret.) JAGC, Chief Prosecutor My Lai Ground Action, Teaching Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Law

"The best book by far on the My Lai massacre and its aftermath--exhaustively researched, persuasively argued, and a page-turner to boot. A must-read for anyone interested not only in the Vietnam era, but also in how things can go terribly wrong in the midst of armed conflict, the laws of war notwithstanding. Truly exceptional!" --Ralph B. Levering, author of The Cold War: A Post-Cold War History

"Nearly 10 years in the making, this exhaustively researched and well-written narrative bores in on the details of what has become known as the My Lai Massacre. . . . Jones, professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama, mined an array of sources, including some original oral histories and interviews with Americans and Vietnamese, in producing this authoritative account of a dark moment in American history." --Publishers Weekly

"My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness"... is a masterpiece. Jones utilizes virtually every document available about the massacre." - Counterpunch

"Jones's book on My Lai is a great addition to the canon on the infamous massacre that came to portray the darkest side of American involvement in Vietnam. This book works as a note to our present and future leaders to think twice before going to war as atrocities will happen. For the everyday reader, it reminds us about the violent potential of ordinary human beings in the context of war." -- Olli Siitonen, H-War