"General Gavin was a very brave man who had great faith in his men. The battle or the weather never stopped him from going to check the troops. He would go in the rain or snow. If the battle was severe, he would crawl from foxhole to foxhole to talk to his men to let them know he was with them. Words cannot explain the love and pride I had for General Gavin." - Walter Woods, World War II aide to General Gavin Lieutenant General James Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during WWII, is one of the best-known figures of the war. Beginning as the commander of the 505th Parachute Combat Team that spearheaded the American assault on Sicily in July 1943, Gavin advanced to division command and finally command of US forces in Berlin. Throughout this time he kept a wartime diary that starts in April 1943, as the unit was preparing to go to northern Africa, and continues through to his final entry on 1 September 1945 during the occupation of Berlin. During the war years, Gavin came into close contact with virtually all the leading airborne commanders and many others who would advance to the top levels of Army leadership. His diary includes observations on fellow military and political leaders, such as General Dwight Eisenhower and the British Field Marshal Montgomery, Army operations, and the general's personal life. Gavin was an officer who led by example: on four combat jumps - into Sicily, at Salerno, then Normandy and the Netherlands - he was the first man out the door. Two Distinguished Service Crosses, two Silver Stars, and the Purple Heart rewarded his service. For decades, Gavin kept the existence of the journal a secret; the general's family discovered it among his belongings after his death. Editor Lewis "Bob" Sorley has worked closely with the Gavin family and the Army Heritage Center to prepare the diary for publication. His edited and annotated version includes a prologue and epilogue to frame the entries within the wider scope of the general's life.

As the Vietnam War was beginning to turn towards its bitter end, Le Quan fought under beloved general Tran Ba Di in the army of South Vietnam. An unlikely encounter thrust the two men together, and they developed a mutual respect in their home country during wartime. Forty years later, the two men reconnected in a wholly unlikely setting: a family road trip to Key West. Soldier On is written by Le Quan's daughter, who artfully crafts the road trip as a frame through which the stories of both men come to life. Le Quan and Tran Ba Di provide two different views of life in the South Vietnamese army, and they embody two different realities of the aftermath of defeat. Le Quan was able to smuggle his family out of Saigon among the so-called boat people, eventually receiving asylum in America and resettling in Texas. General Tran Ba Di, on the other hand, experienced political consequences: he spent seventeen years in a re-education camp before he was released to family in Florida. A proud daughter's perspective brings this intergenerational and intercontinental story to life, as Tran herself plumbs her remembrances to expand the legacy of the many Vietnamese who weathered conflict to forge new futures in America.

A man of extraordinary inner strength and patriotic devotion, General Harold K. Johnson was a soldier's officer, loved by his men and admired by his peers for his leadership, courage, and moral convictions. Lewis Sorley's biography provides a fitting testament to this remarkable man and his dramatic rise from obscurity to become LBJ's Army Chief of Staff during the Vietnam War.

A native of North Dakota, Johnson survived more than three grueling years as a POW under the Japanese during World War II before serving brilliantly as a field commander in the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism." The latter experiences led to a series of high-level positions that culminated in his appointment as Army chief in 1964 and a cover story in Time magazine.

What followed should have been the most rewarding period of Johnson's military career. Instead, it proved to be a nightmare, as he quickly became mired in the politics and ordeal of a very misguided war.

Johnson fundamentally disagreed with the three men--LBJ, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and General William Westmoreland--running our war in Vietnam. He was sharply critical of LBJ's piecemeal policy of gradual escalation and his failure to mobilize the national will or call up the reserves. He was equally despondent over Westmoreland's now infamous search-and-destroy tactics and reliance on body counts to measure success in Vietnam.

By contrast, he advocated greater emphasis on cutting the North's supply lines, helping the South Vietnamese provide for their own internal defenses, and sustaining a truly legitimate government in the South. Unheeded, he nevertheless continued to work behind the scenes to correct the nation's flawed approach to the war.

Sorley's study adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Vietnam War. It also provides an inspiring account of principled leadership at a time when the American military is seeking to recover the very kinds of moral values exemplified by Harold K. Johnson. As such, it presents a profound morality tale for our own era.

Today, thirty-five years after the fall of Saigon, scholars and historians have had opportunities to examine the Vietnam war from diverse viewpoints and the distance of time. But soon after the war, memories of loss still fresh, top military leaders of defeated South Vietnam recorded their observations in a series of publications sponsored by the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Insightful and poignant, unaltered and unedited by the CMH, their distinctive stories are little known and long out of print. Veteran historian Lewis Sorley has gathered, edited, and arranged these seventeen monographs for ease of reference and access, providing valuable biographies of the generals (some including photographs), plus maps and index. The volume's chapters cover a range of topics, including: ] "Leadership" by Gen. Cao Van Vien, for nearly a decade chief of the Joint General Staff (the rough equivalent of the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)] "The U.S. Adviser" by General Vien and other senior officers] "Intelligence" by Col. Hoang Ngoc Lung, longtime chief intelligence officer of the RVNAF (Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces)] "Pacification" by Brig. Gen. Tran Dinh Tho] "The RVNAF" by chief logistics officer Lt. Gen. Dong Van Khuyen] "Territorial Forces" by Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, considered South Vietnam's best field commanderAugmented with Sorley's introduction and epilogue, The Vietnam War brings the South Vietnamese military experience into sharper perspective, at last available for wider use and appreciation.

During the four years General Creighton W. Abrams was commander in Vietnam, he and his staff made more than 455 tape recordings of briefings and meetings. In 1994, with government approval, Lewis Sorley began transcribing and analyzing the tapes. Sorley's laborious, time-consuming effort has produced a picture of the senior US commander in Vietnam and his associates working to prosecute a complex and challenging military campaign in an equally complex and difficult political context. The concept of the nature of the war and the way it was conducted changed during Abrams's command. The progressive buildup of US forces was reversed, and Abrams became responsible for turning the war back to the South Vietnamese. The edited transcriptions in this volume clearly reflect those changes in policy and strategy. They include briefings called the Weekly Intelligence Estimate Updates as well as meetings with such visitors as the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other high-ranking officials. The 2005 winner of the Army Historical Foundation's Trefry Award, Vietnam Chronicles reveals, for the first time, the difficult task that Creighton Abrams accomplished with tact and skill.

A man of extraordinary inner strength and patriotic devotion, General Harold K. Johnson was a soldier's officer, loved by his men and admired by his peers for his leadership, courage, and moral convictions. Lewis Sorley's biography provides a fitting testament to this remarkable man and his dramatic rise from obscurity to become LBJ's Army Chief of Staff during the Vietnam War.

A native of North Dakota, Johnson survived more than three grueling years as a POW under the Japanese during World War II before serving brilliantly as a field commander in the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism." The latter experiences led to a series of high-level positions that culminated in his appointment as Army chief in 1964 and a cover story in Time magazine.

What followed should have been the most rewarding period of Johnson's military career. Instead, it proved to be a nightmare, as he quickly became mired in the politics and ordeal of a very misguided war.

Johnson fundamentally disagreed with the three men--LBJ, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and General William Westmoreland--running our war in Vietnam. He was sharply critical of LBJ's piecemeal policy of gradual escalation and his failure to mobilize the national will or call up the reserves. He was equally despondent over Westmoreland's now infamous search-and-destroy tactics and reliance on body counts to measure success in Vietnam.

By contrast, he advocated greater emphasis on cutting the North's supply lines, helping the South Vietnamese provide for their own internal defenses, and sustaining a truly legitimate government in the South. Unheeded, he nevertheless continued to work behind the scenes to correct the nation's flawed approach to the war.

Sorley's study adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Vietnam War. It also provides an inspiring account of principled leadership at a time when the American military is seeking to recover the very kinds of moral values exemplified by Harold K. Johnson. As such, it presents a profound morality tale for our own era.

General Starry's range of interests, as will be apparent to all who come to this collection, was extraordinarily broad. Many topics he addressed repeatedly over long periods of time, his views-and his articulation of those views-evolving over the years. That is particularly the case with respect to doctrinal matters, the tank-antitank calculus, and the preeminent importance of the individual soldier. Materials chosen for inclusion in this collection accordingly reflect some repetition, especially in matters of long-term interest to General Starry, illustrating how his thinking developed. Starry himself often made intentional use of repetition, as for example in his well-known speech "Tanks Forever and Ever," in which he recapitulated virtually his entire argument from the earlier "Tanks Forever." To provide some structure to this wide range of material, it was decided to present items in categories and then, within those categories, chronologically. As will be apparent, quite a number of the pieces could just as well have been inserted in other categories, so where to place them was simply a matter of editorial judgment. The real impact of this material is, in any event, in its cumulative depth and range, so it is hoped that many readers will make their way through the entirety of the collection. For those primarily concerned with particular aspects of General Starry's eclectic interests, in addition to categorizing the materials under topical headings, an extensive index has been provided. Articles and speeches are, for the most part, rendered in their entirety. Where exceptions have been made, those are indicated in the usual manner by the use of ellipses. When it comes to messages and correspondence, however, only internal omissions have been shown and, in the majority of cases, what has been included is only a pertinent excerpt from a longer communication. Often General Starry annotated papers to show that he had seen them by drawing a small star and inserting within it a capital letter Y (thus Starry). An example may be seen on the book's back cover and at certain other points in the text. A frequent sign-off, often followed by the hand-drawn star, was "Press On " which has thus been adopted for this collection's main title. Finally, there will be found, in some categories of materials, considerable discussion of the threat. In the context of the times, of course, that meant primarily the Soviet and Warsaw Pact threat, which also constituted the principal anticipated adversary in the much-discussed Central Battle. While that threat no longer exists, at least to the same degree, it is important to be aware of the Starry conception and depiction of it in order to understand much of what-in terms of doctrine, tactics, equipment, and training-was driven primarily by contemporary appreciation of that threat.

General Starry's range of interests, as will be apparent to all who come to this collection, was extraordinarily broad. Many topics he addressed repeatedly over long periods of time, his views-and his articulation of those views-evolving over the years. That is particularly the case with respect to doctrinal matters, the tank-antitank calculus, and the preeminent importance of the individual soldier. Materials chosen for inclusion in this collection accordingly reflect some repetition, especially in matters of long-term interest to General Starry, illustrating how his thinking developed. Starry himself often made intentional use of repetition, as for example in his well-known speech "Tanks Forever and Ever," in which he recapitulated virtually his entire argument from the earlier "Tanks Forever." To provide some structure to this wide range of material, it was decided to present items in categories and then, within those categories, chronologically. As will be apparent, quite a number of the pieces could just as well have been inserted in other categories, so where to place them was simply a matter of editorial judgment. The real impact of this material is, in any event, in its cumulative depth and range, so it is hoped that many readers will make their way through the entirety of the collection. For those primarily concerned with particular aspects of General Starry's eclectic interests, in addition to categorizing the materials under topical headings, an extensive index has been provided. Articles and speeches are, for the most part, rendered in their entirety. Where exceptions have been made, those are indicated in the usual manner by the use of ellipses. When it comes to messages and correspondence, however, only internal omissions have been shown and, in the majority of cases, what has been included is only a pertinent excerpt from a longer communication. Often General Starry annotated papers to show that he had seen them by drawing a small star and inserting within it a capital letter Y (thus Starry). An example may be seen on the book's back cover and at certain other points in the text. A frequent sign-off, often followed by the hand-drawn star, was "Press On " which has thus been adopted for this collection's main title. Finally, there will be found, in some categories of materials, considerable discussion of the threat. In the context of the times, of course, that meant primarily the Soviet and Warsaw Pact threat, which also constituted the principal anticipated adversary in the much-discussed Central Battle. While that threat no longer exists, at least to the same degree, it is important to be aware of the Starry conception and depiction of it in order to understand much of what-in terms of doctrine, tactics, equipment, and training-was driven primarily by contemporary appreciation of that threat.

General Creighton Abrams has been called the greatest American general since Ulysses S. Grant, yet at the time this book was first published in 1992, he was little known by most Americans. For more than four decades, in three wars and in challenging peacetime assignments, Abrams demonstrated the skill, courage, integrity, and compassion that made him a legend in his profession. Thunderbolt is the definitive biography of the man who commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam during the withdrawal stage and for whom the army's main battle tank is named. With a new introduction by the author, this edition places the complex and sophisticated Abrams and his many achievements in the context of the army he served and ultimately led, and of the national and international events in which he played a vital role. Thunderbolt is a stirring portrait of the quintessential soldier and of the transformation of the U.S. Army from the horse brigades of the 1930s to the high-tech military force of today.

A model of policy analysis, Arms Transfers under Nixon provides a lucid and lively demonstration of how the Nixon administration combined skillful diplomacy and the adroit use of arms transfers to bring about a remarkable series of American foreign policy achievements. The Middle East provides the most dramatic example. Here, the Arab-Israeli military balance was stabilized, Egypt was persuaded and enabled to forsake its heavy dependence upon the Soviet Union, conditions favorable to peace negotiations were arranged, and important interim agreements were brokered by the United States.

In the Persian Gulf, the promotion of Iran and Saudi Arabia as effective guarantors of regional stability in the wake of British withdrawal, and maintaining the pro-Western orientation of these governments, are shown to have been essential to crucial United States and Western interests. The dramatic reversal with the collapse of the Shah's government is assessed, as are the causes of that post-Nixon debacle.

The battles that accompanied the administration's initiatives -- battles with hostile nations, with allies, with the Congress, and even within the administration -- and the diplomatic and political moves by which opposition was overcome provide the stuff of an exciting and instructive narrative.