by Neil Sheehan
First published 1971
Lieutenant Commander Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter takes command of the destroyer escort U.S.S. Vance in the waters off Vietnam. For ninety-nine days in early 1966, he leads the vessel through operations along the coast. Then the Navy relieves him of his command. What transpired during those three months aboard the Vance becomes the center of heated debate. The incident escalates into one of the most significant controversies the United States Navy has faced in more than ten years. Officers take sides. Questions multiply about leadership, protocol, and military justice. The affair divides the service and captures public attention. Sheehan reconstructs the events that led to Arnheiter's removal and traces how a single command decision spiraled into a major scandal that would be remembered simply as "The Arnheiter Affair."
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Vietnam
Period: 1966
304 pages · Hardcover · Random House