The Tet Offensive

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10Like other entries in the series, this book makes extensive use of archival photographs, maps, and sidebars to tell the story of a battle, making the text easy to follow and understand. Considered to be the "high point of American achievement in Vietnam," the Tet Offensive seems to epitomize the progress of the war. Taken by surprise because South Vietnamese and U.S. troops did not believe the enemy would strike during the Tet holidays, they had to regroup quickly and strike back. Rice then follows the course of the fighting that ensued. He closes by summarizing the importance of the Tet Offensive: it was a huge Allied victory, and it took the Communists four years to recover from it. However, the media never reported it as such to the American people; as a result, the idea that the war was unwinnable was planted in many minds. A well-done and thoroughly documented overview of a confusing time in American history.Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN