The Vietnam Experience was released as a comprehensive 25-volume illustrated history of the Vietnam War. The inaugural volume, Setting the Stage, came out in 1, while the concluding volume, War in the Shadows, was published in 1988. During its publication, over 700,000 individuals subscribed to the series, resulting in more than 11 million copies sold total. The series received two Pulitzer Prize nominations from economist Kenneth Galbraith, who served on the Pulitzer history book committee at that time. Every major newspaper recognized Vietnam Experience with acclaim. The New York Times described the series as “the source on the Vietnam War,” stating, “How is one to avoid recriminations about the past without looking the past in eye? These books are the eye.”
