PositiveThe Dallas Morning NewsHue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam is Black Hawk Down author Bowden's worthy effort to give the battle its due. In a 539-page narrative, Bowden delivers a work of grand ambition: impassioned, powerful and revelatory at its best, and the most comprehensive yet on the Tet Offensive's bloodiest confrontation. In Bowden's hands, the battle of Hue (pronounced Hway) unfolds as in real time: sprawling, confusing, pulsing with actors and action, with drama and heartbreak … Journalists, too, assume prominence in Bowden's narrative: Correspondents such as Gene Roberts of The New York Times, one of the first reporters on the scene, broke the unwelcome news of a much bigger battle than top U.S. commanders would concede … Throughout, Bowden is unsparing in his criticism of the U.S. military command in Vietnam, with Gen. William Westmoreland singled out for opprobrium. The critique is justified, as Westmoreland biographer Lewis Sorley and others have documented.
