The role of the news media during the Vietnam War has aroused much controversy. The author aims to demystify the subject in a book that presents a scrupulously researched study of the press and armed services. Drawing on a thorough examination of military documents and newspaper and broadcast reports, Hammond explains how the press allowed the military to bring back tear gas for use in the war, how various news organizations contradicted themselves and one another in describing the war's unfolding, and how much of the American public came to feel that the war was a hopeless effort.