The machines were formidable, but perhaps they were not suited to guerilla warfare. Viet, a former colonel of the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN), gives a new account of the armored forces of the Vietnam War, including tanks and other heavy war machinery. He gives a detailed account of how the machinery was used, how it was expected to succeed against the lightly-armed enemy, and how it ultimately failed. Viet interviewed all the senior officers he could, as well as soldiers of lesser rank and American advisors, and closely details the relationship of the ARVN with the US military, the decisive battles involving armor from 1969 to 1974, the trajectory of the three-front offensive, the decisive highlands campaign of 1975, and the shifts in perception of what exactly constitutes proper sacrifice for the fatherland. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)