Just finished Neil Sheehan's
A bright shining lie. This book is about a man named John Paul Vann who went to Vietnam as a military advisor, and later on, as a civilian advisor. Sheehan was a part of a press corps that included Peter Arnett and David Halberstam. Vann provides insight to the press about the inner workings of the war and how the ARVN forces were not engaging in battle, how the Saigon regime engaged in corruption, as well as how the war became hopelessly lost. Vann risked his life numerous times and the accounts are absolutely amazing. After surviving ambushes, helicopter crashes, and mortar shelling, Vann ends up passing away in a non-combat related helicopter crash due to an amateur pilot navigating tough terrain at low altitude. What is fascinating is how Vann had contact with everyone from Nixon, to Daniel Ellsberg, to Halberstam and certain prominent generals of both America and South Vietnam. If you want a good book about why the war was "lost," this one would be it.
A somewhat dated interview that will give you a good overview of the book.