Tet!: The Turning Point in the
Vietnam War by Don Oberdorfer
Great Story On The Hows And Whys Of Tet
Finalist for the 1971 National Book Award
In early 1968, Communist forces in Vietnam launched a surprise offensive
that targeted nearly every city, town, and major military base throughout
South Vietnam. For several hours, the U.S. embassy in Saigon itself came
under siege by Viet Cong soldiers. Militarily, the offensive was a failure, as
the North Vietnamese Army and its guerrilla allies in the south suffered
devastating losses. Politically, however, it proved to be a crucial turning
point in Americas involvement in Southeast Asia and public opinion of the
war. In this classic work of military history and war reportage -- long
considered the definitive history of Tet and its aftermath -- Don Oberdorfer
moves back and forth between the war and the home front to document
the lasting importance of this military action. Based on his own
observations as a correspondent for the Washington Post and interviews
with hundreds of people who were caught up in the struggle, Tet! remains
an essential contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War.

Personal Review: Tet!: The Turning Point in the Vietnam War by
Don Oberdorfer
Don Oberdorfer does a great job in describing the key battle in the Vietnam
war. The political decisions made by both sides about the battle are
included. The background and key players on our side and their thoughts
are described.
The battle of Hue is gone into in some detail, including the killing of
thousands of civilians, and some other foreign nationals by the North
Vietnamese.
For anyone wondering why we got out of Vietnam, this is a must read. The
shift in attitude from the pro war stance of Johnson's "wise men" is gone
into in some detail as they move from pro war in Nov '67 to we must
negotiate in early '68.
The chronology of events at the end of the book is a great help.The "We
had to destroy the village to save it" comment, by Peter Arnett is told too.
Peter Arnett was an anti war reporter from the beginning. In 1965 he wrote
a bogus report about our Marines using toxic gas on the VC. It was just
tear and pepper gas, and was widely used in Vietnam to clear bunkers and
tunnels. It was thought more humane than blowing up the people in the
tunnels or bunkers. Arnett reported it as poison gas and made world wide
headlines. This is discussed in Utters Battalion, another book.
In this book, he invents a quote "We had to destroy the village to save it"
and again it makes world wide headlines.
During the Tet offensive at the battle of Ben Tre, Arnett says an Army
Major made the comment. Neither the Major, or any other living person
heard the comment.
The story of how Westmoreland came to generate the request of 206,00
more troops is told too.
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