Mark Bowden is the author of thirteen books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down and the Sunday Times bestseller Killing Pablo. He reported at the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for the Atlantic, Vanity Fair and other magazines. He is also the writer in residence at the University of Delaware.
The book is a mighty piece of work, and as fine an account of a battle as you will likely read. Hell, I wish I had written it. * The Times * Hue 1968 is a meticulous and vivid retelling of an important battle. * New York Times * Meticulously analytical... excellent... gives us the clearest picture yet of what happened in Vietnam * USA Today * An extraordinary feat of journalism...Here the best and worst of human behaviour is exposed in glaring light. -- Karl Marlantes * Wall Street Journal * Hue 1968 will tell you all you need to know about the most deadly urban fighting involving US troops in Vietnam...a heck of a story - and, depending on your perspective - a disturbing one... the bulk of the evidence in his book comes from interviews with eyewitnesses. The pains he took to amass this material are truly remarkable, and he is to be congratulated for including all sides in his sweep. * Times Literary Supplement * Bowden tells this story with a power and a wealth of detail that no previous history of this offensive has approached - this is another instantly-recognizable classic of military history. * Christian Science Monitor * Hue 1968 is, by far, the most comprehensive (and balanced) coverage on this battle I've seen. -- Brigadier General Mike Downs, USMC (ret.) Hue 1968 unravels one of the great mysteries of our time... Did the Battle of Hue end up as a victory or defeat? The answer depends on who's asking and who's telling. Bowden takes on both roles and does it well. -- Lieutenant Colonel Charles A. Krohn (ret.), author of THE LOST BATTALION OF TET This book is a tragic tale of misunderstanding but also one of great heroism and sacrifice by those who fought in the streets of Hue and in the nearby rice paddies and villages. -- Brigadier General Howard T. Prince II, USMC (ret.), Commanding Officer, Bravo Company, 5/7 Cavalry, 1968 There is no more complete, accurate and detailed book. It reads like a novel even though is it made up almost exclusively of very personal accounts. -- John Wear, president of the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association