"As the United States now faces a major defeat in its occupation of Iraq, the history of the war in Vietnam has taken on renewed importance. In this timely study, Joe Allen examines the lessons of the Vietnam era with the eye of both a dedicated historian and an engaged participant in today's antiwar movement. In addition to debunking the popular mythology surrounding the U.S.'s longest war to date, Allen addresses three elements that played a central role in routing the U.S. in Vietnam: the resistance of the Vietnamese, the antiwar movement in the United States, and the courageous rebellion of soldiers against U.S. military command. Allen reclaims the suppressed history of the GI revolt and its dynamic relationship to the international peace movement. He traces the lessons and confidence of the struggle for civil rights that helped give birth to an active and organized antiwar movement. He documents how the erosion of support for war both in the United States and inside the military left the world's most powerful political and military establishment unable to combat the determined warfare of the Vietnamese." --P. [4] of cover.