![]() ![]() Dozens of incisive portraits of major figures ofthat eraÂ-allied military personnel, statesmen, politicians, and journalists together with noteworthy enemiesÂ-dot Sheehan's pages, reinforcing their rich texture. ![]() Encyclopedic in scope, A Bright Shining Lie is not limited to a biography of Vann, for it includes both American and Vietnamese history, offers an exposé of corrupt Saigon regimes, indicts American military and civilian leaders, and serves as a memoir of its author as a journalist covering the war. "He had finally bent the truth about the war," writes Neil Sheehan of John Paul Vann, "as he bent other and lesser truths in the past." Sheehan's flawed hero is not only the focal point of his exhaustive study, but also a metaphor of the American endeavor in Vietnam, because Vann's dedication, courage, and self-sacrifice along with his opportunism, duplicity, and arrogance were traits of America at war in Southeast Asia as well. Review Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. ![]() In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: ![]()
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