Facing My Lai

The My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968, and the court martial of Lt. William Calley a year and a half later are among the bleakest episodes in American history and continue to provide a volatile focus for debates about the Vietnam War. Other books have exposed the facts surrounding the incident; ""Facing My Lai"" now examines its haunting legacy through an exchange of contemporary viewpoints. This powerful book presents a stellar gathering of writers, including journalists Seymour Hersh and David Halberstam, novelist Tim O'Brien, historian Stephen E. Ambrose, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, military prosecutor William Eckhardt, and the two true heroes in the My Lai story - Hugh Thompson and the late Ron Ridenhour. As these authors show, the US is still trying to come to grips with its bitter experience in Vietnam. A grim window into the darker side of American history, ""Facing My Lai"" reminds us of humanity's baffling capacity for atrocity within the crucible of war as well as its urgent need for healing in the face of such violence.