Bill Haponski is a 1956 graduate of West Point, commissioned in the armor branch. He served in a tank battalion in Europe during the Cold War. In 1967 he received a doctorate in English language and literature from Cornell University while also teaching full-time at West Point. Arriving in Vietnam in 1968 as a lieutenant colonel, he first was the senior staff officer in 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, then served as commander of the Task Force 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division. The task force was engaged in everything from pacification to contacts with small enemy units to fierce day-and-night battles against battalions and a regiment. Down in the jungle, night and day, he directed the battles in close combat along with his men. After Vietnam he returned to West Point and became Professor of Military Studies, first at University of Vermont, then at Fordham University. After retiring from the Army, he held further academic positions and wrote several books.
Unlike the breast-beating mea culpas of many Vietnam accounts, the author rationally dissects the strategies and mindsets on both sides to try to figure where, and how, the American military went wrong. Haponski asserts that the war's fate was settled centuries before this nation got involved, and that no amount of second-guessing was likely to have changed the outcome.--New York Journal of Books This highly researched book provides a detailed look at the history of the Vietnamese culture. After reading this you'll discover why the author calls this an unwinnable war . He continues on describing his own experiences in Vietnam. The maps provided enable the reader to track his own adventures to various areas. --Chief Master Sgt. (Ret.) John J. Charlton A book of this magnitude should offer guidance for the future--at least a warning to wake up members of Congress. Otherwise, America could become entangled in another misdirected war, one lasting perhaps as long as nineteen years. Autopsy of an Unwinnable War: Vietnam provides a challenging thesis that stirs the mind. --The VVA Veteran Followers of Vietnam War history would do well to consult Autopsy of an Unwinnable War above most others: its ability to synthesize the extent of political, social, military, and personal experience for a clearer, bigger picture of why Vietnam was an impossible conflict all along makes it a winning, engrossing study that should be on the shelves of any definitive Vietnam War collection. --Midwest Book Review