I recently ordered online a copy of A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan (I read it years ago but lost my original copy). Vann was a really unusual guy, very outspoken, was basically forced out of the US Army as Lt Col during the Vietnam War because what he was trying to tell the top brass about the war in Vietnam was very unpopular. He went back to Vietnam with USAID and ended up commanding troops as a civilian with similar authority to a general. Was also a close personal friend of Dan Ellsberg's.
Vann had many personal failings and no doubt pissed off a lot of people but he was a very interesting character. I recommend this book.
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 "It is better to be feared than loved" - Nicolo Machiavelli
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