Written by one of the nations most incisive cultural historians this bookoffers a wideranging exploration of the causes meaning and continuingsignificance of th... » 

Written by one of the nations most incisive cultural historians this bookoffers a wideranging exploration of the causes meaning and continuingsignificance of the American war in Vietnam. It is a synthesis of H. BruceFranklins decades of engagement with that conflict a fusion of criticalanalysis meticulous scholarship and moral insight that reveals crucial truthsabout the war while exposing the many fantasies about Vietnam that permeateAmerican culture and politics.Franklin presents the Vietnam War not as a mistake a quagmire or a noblecause but as a defining event in modern global history. He begins by examiningsome of the iconic images of the war showing how their meaning has changedover time and placing them in the context of other American representations ofwarfare from the heroic paintings of the Revolutionary era through Civil Warphotography to the virtual imagery of the Gulf War. Subsequent chaptersexplore the forgotten history of the antiwar movement all the way back to 1945literature by Vietnam veterans the crucial role of Vietnam in politics themedia and the culture wars still raging in America interactions between thewar and Americas technological imagination including such manifestations assuperweapons Star Trek and other science fiction and the genesis andpersistent influence of the POWMIA myth. Throughout the book Franklin exploresthe complex interplay of culture technology politics and power. The resultis an original and profound analysis of the continuing impact of the VietnamWar on American culture. «