Short Synopsis
The critically acclaimed author Christian G. Appy offers profound insights into Vietnam's place in America's self-image

Full Synopsis
How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? Christian G. Appy now examines the relationship between the war's realities and myths and its impact on our national identity, conscience, pride, shame, popular culture, and postwar foreign policy.

Drawing on a vast variety of sources—from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and contemporary commentary—Appy offers an original interpretation of the war and its far-reaching consequences. Authoritative, insightful, sometimes surprising, and controversial, American Reckoning is a fascinating mix of political and cultural reporting that offers a completely fresh account of the meaning of the Vietnam War.

"This current book, isn't a history of the war but of its impact on America's identity, policies, and popular culture, drawing on a blend of materials from song and film to fiction and official documents." ---Library Journal

"[T]his well-informed and impassioned book is an antidote to forgetting and an appeal to reassess America's place in the world." ---Kirkus