Chronicling the final, mazy days in Saigon through the voices of those who were there, as well as those who would never be heard from again. Henderson, in elucidating the excruciating details about the horrors that occured, tells a smoothly written, smoothly readable story, gallant, heroic and poignant all at once, of those trying to rescue who they could.

The Paris Peace Accords, painstakingly reached Jan. 17, 1973, concluded all U.S. activities in Vietnam. Although the fierce fighting was now over, combined forces of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong launched an almost overwhelming attack to overrun the entire south for unification into a communist nation.

Although this history has been the subject of countless books, author Henderson, combining extensive interviews with new research, presents readers with rarely told accounts of those at the highest, and lowest, levels of involvement — including the recollections of NVA and Viet Cong soldiers. He writes, ‘‘This is the fourth book that I have written about the Vietnam War. It is without a doubt the most difficult of any I have written, and I suspect it will remain the most difficult that I will ever write. Not only did I have to interview our past enemies in the field, but also leaders from both sides, U.S. embassy personnel, guerilla commanders, civilians, double agents, NVA’s General Tran Van Tra, and former president Gerald Ford.”

Three long years went into this effort — 1993 through 1996. And his effort paid off handsomely. The soft cover summarizes the North’s invasion of the South, right down to the final minutes before the fall of Saigon when a courageous pilot defied orders to save the last five Marines guarding the roof of the U.S. embassy.

No wonder ‘‘Goodnight Saigon” won the American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award. Henderson’s vivid, carefully pieced together sketches paint a persuasive portrait of tragedy and hope.

Retiring as a chief warrant officer, Charles Henderson turned to writing the exploits of fellow Marines, such as Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock in the critically acclaimed military classic ‘‘Jungle Rules” and ‘‘The Faithful”. Today, this amazing Marine vet runs his family’s cattle enterprise outside Peyton, Colo.

Editor’s note: Don DeNevi is a retired college instructor who has authored several military books, including ‘‘The Military Railway Service in World War II” and ‘‘The Wescoast Goes to War - Homfront Activities Buring World War II.” Today he supervises the recreatioin program at San Quentin State Prison for the California Department of Corrections.