A Very Short War

A Very Short War is a unique and compelling account of the Mayaguez-Koh Tang crisis by soldier-historian John F. Guilmartin, Jr. A former air rescue helicopter pilot stationed in Thailand in May 1975, Guilmartin revisits Mayaguez and Koh Tang - and the chaotic events leading up to the affair. He sheds new light on the politics, the tactics, the orders, the high-level decision makers, and the fighting men entangled in a crucial military action that nearly ended in disaster for U.S. forces. Arguing that the Mayaguez-Koh Tang operation demonstrates war's essential unpredictability, Guilmartin deftly explodes many of the popularly held myths that surround the nature of war.

John F. Guilmartin, Jr., is associate professor of history at the Ohio State University.