My Lai: A Brief History with Documents

The massacre at My Lai on March 16, 1968 continues to haunt students of the Vietnam War as a moment that challenges notions of American virtue. James Olson and Randy Roberts have combed unpublished testimony and gather a collection of eyewitness accounts from those who were at My Lai and reports from those who investigated the incident and its cover-up.

The massacre at My Lai on March 16, 1968 continues to haunt students of the Vietnam War as a moment that challenges notions of American virtue. James Olson and Randy Roberts have combed unpublished testimony and gather a collection of eyewitness accounts from those who were at My Lai and reports from those who investigated the incident and its cover-up.

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Introduces students and general readers to the most controversial event of the Vietnam War, the My Lai massacre, in which some 400 civilians were killed by American soldiers in 1968. An overview examines the massacre and the attempted cover-up and discusses the ramifications that the ensuing investigation had for the public, policymakers, and the antiwar movement. Eight topical chapters reprint 68 primary documents, drawn mainly from testimony and reports of General Peers' inquiry, to chronicle events leading up to, during, and after the massacre. Includes b&w photos, a glossary, a chronology, and discussion questions. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

James S. Olson is a Distinguished Professor ofHistory at Sam houston State University. He is a historian of recent U.S. history as well as popular culture. He also has a special interest in Vietnam and has edited the Dictionary of the Vietnam War (19988) and written The Vietnam War: Handbook of the Literature and Research (1993) and, with Randy Roberts, Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, Second Edition (1996). Olson is the author of many other books and articles, including The Ethnic Dimenion in American History, Second Edition (1995); Saving Capitalism (1988); amd, with Randy Roberts, John Wayne: American (1995).

Randy Roberts is professor of history at Purdue University. His primary research areas are sports and popular culture within the larger context of recent American histroy. He is an award-winning biographer and is highly visible in the field of post-1945 American history. Among his more important books are Heavy Justice: The State of Indiana v. Michael G. Tyson (1994); Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler (1979); and Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes (1983). Roberts has served frequently as a consultant for PBS News, HBO, and the History Channel.