This is a superb collection of photos that depicts the ironies and inanities that resonated throughout the United States' misguided war in Vietnam. Here are haunting images of casual and mindless brutality, thought-provoking juxtapositions and the unforgettable faces of those caught up in the war as they try to lead their lives amid wanton destruction. This is a book about betrayal -- the betrayal of American ideals by U.S. leaders, betrayal of soldiers, betrayal of allies and betrayal of a people who suffered more than can be imagined.
These mesmerizing images are informed by Griffith's conviction that, "the overwhelming impression of Americans in Vietnam is one of stupidity rather than evil." The barriers of language and culture combined with arrogance prevented the "best and the brightest" from understanding what they had stumbled into. By provocatively combining photos and text to deliver perceptive insights on Vietnamese society, he sets a standard for war reportage that others still only aspire to.
A haunting and incisive critique of the U.S. war, "Vietnam, Inc." is the best of its genre and a remarkable achievement that has stood the test of time. Anyone interested in understanding the nightmare that branded a generation of Americans and Vietnamese will learn a great deal from this reissue of one of the classic antiwar documentaries to emerge from the miasma of devastation. These photos are an eloquent and evocative testimony to the destruction the U.S. wrought for specious reasons on people in a faraway land.