The Rise and Fall of an American Army represents the first total battlefield history of ground forces in the Vietnam War, containing much previously inaccessible material. The original manuscript for this book was specially declassified for publication.Year by year, front by front, the narrative follows the war in extraordinary, gripping detail. Over the course of the years from 1965-1973, the changes in the fighting and in the combat troops themselves are described and documented.This book, as Col. Harry Summers concludes in his foreword, "provides a lasting tribute to the men who fought and died in Vietnam. Those who served there - and those who would understand those who served there - owe [Stanton] an enormous debt of gratitude."Readers of military history know Shelby Stanton as a writer of memorable prose, recreating the feel and throb of battle with dramatic precision. The text is illustrated with over fifty unusual photographs - most of them from the author's private collection - and fifteen original maps. Read Less