The documentary and book tell the story of the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, from their training through deployment in South Vietnam.

It interviews former U.S. servicemen and massacre survivors; both describe the background of the area where the village of My Lai lay.

In a review for Chicago Tribune, Marc Leepson criticised the book for avoiding "the common tactics of the Viet Cong", and describing their activities "in euphemistically positive terms."

[4] Writing for The Boston Globe, Gail Caldwell said the book was written with a "staccato, cinematographic style", and praised it for providing "broad context, from the horrific losses Charlie Company had endured [...] to the cover-up and subsequent acquittal of several chief Army officers".

[5] Murray Polner of Washington Monthly credited the two for "[laying]out the complete story, from the raid to the coverup, in straightforward and often agonizing detail.