Based on classified documents and interviews, a controversial history of the Vietnam War argues that American acts of violence against millions of Vietnamese civilians were a pervasive and systematic part of the war.

An operation, not an aberration -- The massacre at Trieu Ai -- A system of suffering -- Overkill -- A litany of atrocities -- Unbounded misery -- The Bummer, the "gook-hunting" general, and the Butcher of the Delta -- Where have all the war crimes gone? -- Wandering ghosts.