I found this book very exciting to read. Harry is a very brave man who put it all on the line for his country.

At the risk of being called un-patriotic, I'd like to recommend that readers balance "Good to Go" with other views of combat. I don't believe Harry intends to glorify warfare, but his run-n-gun, against-all-odds, constant near-miss stories might give the impression that the sheer horror of combat can simply be erased by its excitement. For the vast majority of veterans, this is simply not the case.

So, I recommend finding and reading a book that, for example, describes what it's like to be overrun in the middle of the night by hundreds of the enemy, to be covered by a best friend's blood and insides, to be surrounded by dead and dying men, and to experience the fear (yes, fear), dispair, agony, and emotional turmoil associated with combat.

I hope my point is not misunderstood here. If you were only to watch Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris, you probably wouldn't get a full picture of war. Seeing "Platoon" might help you understand that war is usually not about thrill, rather war is hell.

I respect men like Harry. I believe they are few and far between. My guess is that most combat veterans, and perhaps even Harry himself, know a very much darker side of war. It obviously wasn't the intent of Harry and his writer to convey that side, but the reader should not assume that it does not exist.

I've read dozens of Navy SEAL personal accounts of Vietnam and this ranks up there as one of the best, along with Daryl Young's "Element of Surprise" and Jim Watson's "Point Man". Most of the book deals with his battle experiences. The great thing about the book is that every op was very different and refreshing. There's not a whole lot about his training to make UDT and SEAL Team and there is a chapter or two devoted to his personal life during his Navy career and after but the book flows so well that you find yourself really liking Harry and wanting to read these things. Several chapters at the end dealt with post-nam experiences which weren't all that interesting but the writing is so engrossing for the most part that it'll keep you up at night.

If this book only contained the author's war stories I would still,without hesitation, give this book 5 stars.Readers of this book however,are privy to much more then being made to feel the pop-pop of bullets whizing by while they travel from battle to battle with the most elite warriors America fielded in the jungles of Vietnam. This book also takes one through the battlefield of the soul as we witness the author's struggles to survive the minefield of a bad marriage, navigating with the same courage that earned him many combat medals.In the end,his heroism is not left to dangle in the undergrowth of a forgotten country,but left to fuse the reader with a geater sense of honor.You see if the author-a man of such courage,and digity-could still be turned into a patsy by a manipulating woman he loved,if he was never less then a hero for all the humiliations he suffered,then so many of us who once knew such pain,will be a bit more whole after reading through his story.

Without doubt, this is one of the best accounts of military history that I have ever read.

'We Were Soldiers' describes two separate engagements between the NVA and American forces in the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam. This battle, fought in 1965, was one of the first 'real' encounters between US and NVA forces, and it changed the Vietnam War from a political exercise to full fledged conflict.

Essentially, the book is divided into two stories, that of the soldiers that fought at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray, and that of the soldiers that fought at LZ Albany, two locations in the Ia Drang valley.

The book is frighteningly honest about the harsh realities of war, and does an excellent job at showing the human cost of war. Lt. General Harold 'Hal' Moore writes in a very forthright and honest manner, and it is obvious he is someone that does not mince words, and I believe that every word in this book is truth.

The book isn't easy to read, and it certainly isn't a light, entertaining story. If anything, the book is closer to a history text, rich in detail and thoroughly referenced, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fascinating read.

But overall, what I admired so much about this book was the honesty of it. Nothing is withheld, all is told, typical of 'Hal' Moore. After reading this book, it is obvious to me that Hal is a man of the highest integrity and earned every star on his shoulder.

I am an Australian, and although the men at Ia Drang weren't from my country, I was still deeply moved after reading this book. Every man that served in that valley was a hero, and I admire them greatly. I recommend all Americans read this book, young and old.

I read this book in 1993, right after it first came out. It was the marine commandant's choice for Marines who wished to read in their field of concentration. Joe Galloway, a war correspondent and Col. Hal Moore, the commanding officer in this horrific battle in the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam, co-wrote this superb depiction of one of the first set piece battles of the Vietnamese war. That these men survived this battle at all is mute testimony to their irrepressible fierceness, to their dogged determination, and to the fearless efforts of their air and artillery support. They fought a courageous enemy who was bent on one purpose, the annihilation of their American foe. It's a brilliantly told tale of military heroism and perseverance. The recent death in the WTC bombing of one of the primary participants in the battle, Rick Rescorla, and the articles dedicated to his selfless display of bravery as he made certain that his charges were evacuated from the WTC, caused me to review this book once again.

Most Americans are sadly deficient when it comes to any knowledge of military history and its impact on the course of civilization. It seems too often that we are a nation of full stomachs and empty heads. However, the emotional trauma of the recent Taliban attacks on our soil has shaken us loose from our stupor and an interest in affairs military has been thusly ignited. As one who remembers WWII, and whose family is filled with men who went to every war this country has ever fought, my fervent wish is that our citizens will one day wake up to what actually happened in SE Asia in the mid to latter part of the 20th century. My second wish is that people will grow to understand that terrorists are not patriots, and that they are not leaders of their people. Cromwell, Bolivar, George Washington, all of whom refused the crown, they were leaders of their people. Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, they were and are killers of their people. America fought a cold war, rebuilt Western Europe and Japan, and liberated South Korea from the Communists like the aforementioned. Vietnam was a battle in that Cold War.

The Taliban, who have taken many lives to further a fanatical agenda, are merely the latest iteration of terrorists who seek to do what our constitution was written to prevent. This book is a great story about men who fought and died for principles that too many know too little about to understand. Perhaps now that the country is on high alert we'll gain back some ground form the empty heads that have presided over the media and academia in America. Buy this book and read it, you'll be very glad you did.

Oh, what an extraordinary book. This book satisfies on so many levels. First, it provides an accurate historical account of the most important battle of the Vietnam War -- the first one. From this examination, the reader can understand why the U.S. reached strategic failure in Vietnam. Until its publication, there has never been an accurate accounting of this savage, enigmatic battle, only partial analysis and limited oral histories. This book presents the battle from the battalion commander view and integrates it into the goals of the war. Second, the book presents, in unsparingly frank terms, the sacrifices and courage exuded by average American boys in combat with an ardent foe in a foreign land. After reading this book, I dare anyone, ANYONE, to question the scope and magnitude of the sacrifices made by those who served in Vietnam. The depictions of combat and its accompanying loss will stay with the reader for a very long time. Lastly, for all military buffs, it's a great read and allows you to engage in some healthy hero-worship. In honor of those who served and died on this tragic battlefield and all those of Vietnam, a paraphrase of the inscription at Thermopylae is in order: "Go tell the Americans, stranger passing by, Here, obedient to their laws we lie."

Being a Vietnamese-American who has taught and lived in post-1975 Vietnam, I was expecting a lot when I picked this book up from a sidewalk book vendor in Saigon a few years ago. What can I say? Pham blows it. There are no Vietnamese characters of any depth in this memoir, but, as the memoir field and the market seems to dictate nowadays, seems to be a literary excuse for the writer to exorcise personal demons while maintaining a pretense towards art. As far as memoirs go, this is one of the most self-indulgent ones I have yet to read. This memoir works in the sense that Pham is the ideal of everything I dislike about certain Vietnamese-Americans; vain at the expense of other's self dignity, easy to complain while lacking the sensitivity to make even the smallest concessions, and self-important to the point of not even realizing that his admission of his conceit is an acceptance only in words. The pretty things Pham tries to say in this book, the lush descriptions and mild poesy, is just fluff. His actions speak louder than words. He paints shallow caricatures of just about everyone he meets on the road, from his one paragraph descriptions of his ... buddies in Saigon (whom we never get to know, though they seem the most interesting characters in the book), to every soldier he meets on the road, to even the bar girl Kim, who Pham ends up using (in a literary sense, though I'm sure he had his fun) as some sort of convenient stereotypical "mail-order bride" love interest. There are some fine sentences and descriptions in this work, but as a whole, he whines far too much. There were points in the story when I was just begging Pham to argue the point, make the connection, but he always failed to create the subtext, and it all eventually came off as a shallow representation of a complex country and people. Perhaps that was his point, to contrast his own lack of understanding and empathy for Vietnam, caught as he is between two worlds. But if that is the case, he doesn't help himself as an author, because he then forces the reader to look elsewhere for the true story. In the end, after his buddy Cuong awakens him to his own lack of awareness about his straddling of two cultures, Pham throws it away, using it as he does everything else in this book to "save face." He always retains his nobility of character. What a bunch of [stuff]. He tries a little too hard, the model "model-minority." A good writer integrates the landscape and memory in a way that gives them significance rivaling that of his most real characters (I'm sorry, but the last couple of chapters end up being typical memoir mush - superfluous, self-gratifying reflection), but as he has nothing beyond paper cut outs for people in this book, and his questions of self-identity have been plumbed and written about much more eloquently and profoundly by many other Asian-American authors, "Catfish and Mandala" seems a prostitution of ideas. It is good that Vietnamese-Americans of his generation are writing, and Pham seems to have stylistic talents that could make for much better literature if he can eventually learn an artistic sensibility not based on topical pandering and exoticism. We're still waiting for the first great Vietnamese-American author. And please, no more memoirs!

Andrew Pham's narrative weaves through various issues of being Asian-American, escaping Vietnam, cultural identity, sexual identity, racism, capitalism, etc., but what makes CATFISH a good read is that it's just a very engaging story. Pham has a style of writing that took me a while to get warmed up to, but he writes with humor and emphathy, and a candor that makes memoirs worth reading.

Contrary to some other reviewers, I don't think it's fair to expect that Pham's book be written so you can learn about the country of Vietnam and its people for your own purposes. If that's what you want, get a Lonely Planet guide. Besides, he does say a lot about the country and its people, albeit through his biased, "Viet-kieu" eyes. And that's why you read memoirs--they're personal.

Pham deserves some praise for being crazy enough to bike from San Francisco to Seattle, throughout Japan, and from Saigon to Hanoi and back. And his portrayal of poverty and change, of the ugliness it brings to the people he wants to love, is enough to recommend this book.

It has been a long, long time since I have been so moved by the work of a new American author. "Catfish and Mandala, A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam", by Andrew X Pham, is a book that invites one along on a trek through the minds, hearts, and souls of two nations. As a veteran of the Vietnam War I tagged along willing with Mr. Pham----at first. I soon found myself being pulled deeper into the past, a past that long ago laid waste to my youth and my spirit. Having read this book, I view the world in another light. I view the Vietnamese and American people with an understanding that has escaped me for so many years. To call "Catfish and Mandala" a travelogue is to call Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and Kerouac's "On the Road" travel books. "Catfish and Mandala" is truly great literature. I only wish it had been written sooner.

"A Bright Shining Lie" is a brilliant, if flawed, masterpiece. Journalist Neil Sheehan first made a name for himself as a reporter in part thanks to the enigmatic American Hero, John Paul Vann. Vann's story is both fascinating and tragic. His military career was seemingly derailed by his attempts to tell the truth about the war during the advisor period (1962-64), but in fact it was his personal indiscretions that did him in. The book was the work of a lifetime for Sheehan (taking him many years to complete) and it shows. The only problem is that Vann's later career in Vietnam as a civilian advisor (1967-1972) gets the short shrift. Sheehan uses Vann's combat death in 1972 as a metaphor for American involvement in Vietnam. But in fact, by 1972 Vann truly believed that the South Vietnamese were winning the war and had they not been abandoned by their American allies, they might have. Nevertheless, this is a vital book for anyone who wants to understand America's lost war.

A Bright Shining Lie is a true story about a man named John Paul Vann and America's involvement in Vietnam. The author, Neil Sheehan, was a war correspondent for the United States Press International and the New York Times. His book in 1989 was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The book starts out at Lt. Col. John Paul Vann's funeral in 1972, ten years after he arrived in Saigon, after a helicopter crash back in Vietnam. His story shows America's failures and disillusionment in Southeast Asia. In 1954, the French were defeated, Vietnam then was divided by Ho Chi Minh's Communist North and the Southern regime of Ngo Dinh Diem. Vann had an opportunity to go to Vietnam and he took it right away because he wanted to fight his way up the ranks. When he arrived he was teamed up with South Vietnam's Colonel Cao. Right away Vann notices the corruption of the South Vietnamese regime and their incompetence in fighting the Communists. Sheehan shows this throughout the book with many examples of what the South Vietnamese did. Colonel Cao was shone taking pictures of his men pretending to be dead VC's (Viet Cong) to impress the higher officials and to show that we were winning the war. The South Vietnamese army did not know what they were doing and lost many battles. As Sheehan graphically describes the battles, the Viet Cong are winning them, but that is covered up by South Vietnam and America portraying them as being the supreme force. Vann secretly told reporters how the war was a waste and Neil Sheehan was one of these reporters. The peasants in Vietnam were caught in the middle between the North and the South. We gave the peasants guns then they were seen used by the Viet Cong in battle. Sheehan noted that the corrupt South Vietnamese did not care for the peasants and carpet-bombed their villages because of known Viet Cong inhabitants. This whole book is based on Vann's telling the self-deceiving illusions of the American military and civilian bureaucracy. Vann was sent back to the United States after the army found out about his meetings with reporters. America hid the truth throughout the whole war. He then resigned, but could not stand not be in on the action. Sheehan said, "The war satisfied him so completely that he could no longer look at it as something separate from himself" (745). Later Vann was able to get a position as a civilian aid and went back to Vietnam in 1965. This is when Sheehan depicts another corrupt South Vietnamese soldier. Colonel Dinh, he resisted America's help in the war. He killed his own soldiers, did not want to help the villagers in any way and destroyed their villages. Vann's main goal was to stop this and gain the villagers trust. He ran pacification programs, mobilized allies among South Vietnamese forces, coordinated America's support and had many theories on how to turn the war around. Sheehan also wrote detailed descriptions of John Vann's family and the struggle he had with it during the war. From this the reader is able figure out why Vann always cheats on his wife. His mother, Myrtle was like this and it was a hard subject for John to talk about. In Vietnam Sheehan tells about two secret lovers of Vann. He could not control his sexual compulsion. His military career was almost ruined years earlier because of his affair with a babysitter. Sheehan writes a lot about Vann's character flaw. His wife divorces him later because of this. He was able to get all of this information with interviews of many people while his time in Vietnam as a correspondent. Vann wanted things to be done his way, he wanted to win. Sheehan said, "He was not supposed to accept defeat" (269). Sheehan talks about Westmoreland, the Commanding General in Vietnam and how he believed that the Viet Cong would not attack Saigon during "Tet" the Chinese New Year in 1968. Vann believed that they would and they did. Vann helped lead the fight against the VC and they were successful. Vann took a position in the South Vietnamese army. He served as general in command of the Central Highland Regime. President Nixon had ordered U.S. combat troops out of Vietnam in June of 1972. The U.S. said it was the South Vietnamese war and they are giving them more control. Sheehan in the story points out that the South Vietnamese had little interest in the war in the first place. Vann in 1972 had his coordinates in Kontum carpet-bombed by B-52's to try to wipe out the second, the third and the fifth divisions of North Vietnam. This was a big risk Vann was willing to take, because of the corrupt Dinh who changed orders and they were forced to retreat into a mine field as VC's advanced forward. Sheehan points out that Vann had a different outlook on the war. He was concerned now about his fighting and not the peasant revolution. Earlier he was bothered that, "...the United States could generate an astonishing reaction from the peasantry once corruption was eliminated and the American millions were getting down to the poor instead of being siphoned into the feeding trough of the Saigon hogs" (539). John Paul Vann soon died in a helicopter crash during a rain storm, ten years after he first arrived in South Vietnam. The biography by Neil Sheehan was very detailed about the war the way John Paul Vann experienced it. First as an Army Colonel and later a civilian pacification leader. Sheehan's book clearly shows the corruption of the South Vietnamese regime, their incompetence to fight Ho Chi Minh's Communists and their brutal alienation of their own people. Vann was able to bring these secrets out to reporters like Neil Sheehan to inform the public of what was going on in South Asia. This brings up the question that what if the military and government leaders had listened to Vann's earlier assessments of the weakness of the South Vietnamese military and the Diem regime? What would have been different? This book was very well written and brings much of the war right out into the light. If the reader does not have much knowledge of the war in Vietnam, this is the book to read. Vann personified our good intentions, our courage, our arrogance and are folly in the war. There is one shortcoming of the book. The book ends after Vann's death in a helicopter crash. The reader is left there wanting to know more about the events in Vietnam after his death.

Neil Sheehan's book on the experience of John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam is one of the handful of essential readings on that era.

We follow the life of Vann in Vietnam and through his life see the American involvement from a unique perspective. Both as an officer and later a government official Vann was actively engaged and dedicated to the Amercican cause. The contrast between a superpowers strategy and the story of one man's involvement is wonderfully done. Biography, diplomatic history and war intertwine. The story documents the leadership's willingness to believe what they wanted to hear, Vann's attempts to illuminate the realities in the field to them and his struggle to implement what he considered the correct actions.

Sheehan is an excellent writer and weaves a narrative that is informative, exciting and sometimes opinionated. His bio of John Paul Vann serves as the vehicle to expose the hopes and failures of the American involvement.

An excellent telling of an American tragedy, well deserving of the Pulitzer. Highly recommended.

When I was in high school I hated every book we read. With the exception of one, Fallen Angels. This book depicts war the way it is, instead of like some books that don't really go into the detail of fire fights. It's not your typical boring school book assignment. The story is great as well. The fact that I enjoyed reading a book in english class is a good enough explanation to the merit of this book.

One of the most suspenseful books I have read so far in my life would definitely be "Fallen Angels." Walter Dean Myers, (the author) has written very many 5 star books including "Fallen Angels." This book was a good read for me at 309 pages. The main reason I liked this book was the non-stop suspense and all of the huge fire fights. Perry, (the main character) gets drafted to the Vietnam War. Perry gets into about 15 patrols and about 7 of them turned into fire fights. In all of these fire fights, Perry never once killed a Cong, (Vietnamese). Even though Perry never killed anyone, his patrol mates like Peewee, Johnson or Monaco had shot down quite a few Congs. Relating to Perry was easy for me and it probably would be easy for you to because this book has so many different points of views. I encourage you to read "Fallen Angels" because this book was so good that I couldn't put it down no matter how hard I tried. The big question is, will Perry get shot down on the battle field. or will he make it out alive?

Fallen Angels is a great Vietnam book, though some extensive knowledge of weapons during the period is needed in order to fully understand the book. It is about an African American soldier named Perry who joined the army since he is from a poor family his athletic scholarship is ruined when he hurts his knee. He meets another African American who calls himself PeeWee and together they struggle to survive their required 14-month tour through Vietnam. Through luck, skill, and Peewee's and Perry's growing companionship they survive battle through battle as everyone around them dies. The book has lots of battles, with a physical enemy, the Viet Cong (Cong/VC) and with the emotions they encounter throughout their time in 'the worst place on earth.' Walter Dean Myers description and the characterization he uses all add to make Fallen Angels an unforgettable book. His ingenious balance of characters the interactions make this story very realistic. The traits of a character are compatible when two are friends and clash when two characters argue or fight. Though I was somewhat required to read this book I found that I could not put this book down and almost read past the time I had to get to class. I enjoyed Fallen angels better than most Tom Clancy's books other than Clancy's famous Rainbow Six.

I was a Marine Scout Sniper from 1980 to 1984 and have read virtually all the books pertaining to Marine Corps Scout Snipers. Of all the books I have read, this is the only autobiography, and the author does an outstanding job of getting the reader inside the sniper's mind at work and play. Ward mentions some statistical and historical points, but the focus is on the psychology of a Marine Sniper in and out of combat. Ward also introduces the reader to a sniper by the name of Charles B. Mawhinney who racked up 101 confirmed kills. Another author by the name of Lanning goes into more detail about this sniper and Joseph Ward in his book, Inside The Crosshairs. They are also both mentioned in the book, One Round War, by Peter Senich, a recognized authority on sniping. All three books are very different and excellent reading for anyone wanting to know about Marine Corps sniping and the Vietnam War. Ward has gone to great lengths to write an extraordinary book for the military buff and lay person alike, which makes any negative reference in the reviews most offensive. I have gone back through the pages mentioned in another review and can't even find the petty discrepancies that seem so important to someone else. I really liked this book!

Over the years I have had the pleasure of interviewing Vietnam Vets, and Vietnam era nurses, doctors, Red Cross Donut Dollys, and refugees. I have also extensively researched the Vietnam War and have a keen interest in Scout Sniping. Off all the books I have read on this subject, some of which have referenced Dear Mom by Joseph T. Ward, this is by far my favorite. Mr. Ward is not only a good writer, he has a special way of talking to the reader as he recounts his tour of duty in Quang Nam province. I found an earlier review (doyle) to be maliciously inaccurate, possibly a case of sour grapes. This book is not only accurate, but also entertaining. Highly relevant too in lieu of recent events and talk of using snipers in our newest war in Afghanistan.

This book is a MUST for any one looking to delve deep into the Vietnam War without the glitter and nonsense. The author makes the reader see, feel, hear, smell and taste the war. Its easy to read format will appeal to the military history buff and novice, men and women alike. It is a unique book about a unique groop of men, the Marine Corps Scout Snipers. I laughed, I cried, I learned. If you are a Vietnam Veteran you will want extra copies for friends and relatives. Also recommend, In The Crosshairs, by Michael Lee Lanning and A Sniper In The Arizona, by John J. Culbertson.

I'm not a vet; I have no real personal connection with Vietnam or the war. Nor was any required to experience Dispatches. It's as much a poem about the condition of men at war, any men, any war, as it is the story of Herr's year as a war correspondent. It's not a history of the war; you won't find a handy map and glossary in the back. (If you honestly don't know what words like di di, zip, grunt, 16, and DMZ mean, I suggest you bone up on your history before trying this.) However, if you're even mildly knowledgeable, there's nothing to prevent you from feeling the full impact of the language here. And what language! If I ever manage to write anything half so eloquent, so beautiful, and so horrifying in my life, I'll be content to shut the laptop and walk away without writing another word.

Herr describes, in brief and sometimes disjointed vignettes, his experience as a war correspondent: the fear of death, the love of the machinery, the media-driven fantasies, the ambivalence of the troops towards the correspondents, and the correspondents' ambivalence about the troops, the misery of Khe Sanh, the frustrated schemes of the bureacracy, the myth and the reality of the drug-taking, foul-talking, anti-establishment reporters who supposedly "lost us the war".

I've probably been overstating this, but I love this book.

It is not the content the distinguishes Michael Herr's "Dispatches," it is the delivery. Herr is an excellent reporter who risked life and limb to cover the Vietnam War. The book is his account of what he saw there. What he saw was young American soldiers, far from home fighting a war few of them understood against an frustratingly elusive enemy. If this sounds like the subject matter for many Vietnam books, it is. But Herr's writing is so evocative ans so powerful that many of his descriptions will stay with you for a long time after you've put it down. Along with Phillip Caputo's "A Rumor of War," and Fredrick Downs's "The Killing Zone," this is one of the best personal accounts of the Vietnam War available.

A warts-and-all account of the Vietnam War. Possibly the best book on this subject in the last thirty years, Michael Herr gives us an objective look into the horror of combat without looking through the eyes of rose-tainted patriotism. He invokes the dread and chaos of the battlefield and weighs out the whims of human behaviour, bravery and insanity, meekness and humanity, without the judgement or condemnation that might be meted out by a loftier author.

Herr's use of brutal imagery absorbed me into his savage surroundings. From the soldier who can't stop drooling as a result of a particularly dreadful gun battle, to the scenes of the dead, American and Vietnamese, adult and infant, on eclectic battlefields and village streets.

The characters are real people in a situation that most of them neither like nor understand. They are young men who invoke the same shortcomings we all have. But they are a step above the common reader. They are professional soldiers and act that way despite their misgivings. They push past the boundaries of fear and into the realms of heroism or insanity or death. Everyone that he introduces is individual. There are no carbon copy soldiers here. They are funny or musical or religious or delusional, whatever their idiosyncrasy may be. I felt as though I was being introduced to people I knew throughout the book.

Most books on the topic of war that I have read tend to stay with one platoon. Herr constantly shifts places and battalions and makes the reader feel as though he/she is part of something bigger. There is no single climax in the book. An honest reflection of that war perhaps. Each chapter is as horrific and exhilarating as the next.

The length of it, in particular, displays an author who wants to show us the bare bones: no hyperbolic descriptions that eventually desensitise us to the events, no ivory-tower pensive soliloquies to the tragedy of war. Michael Herr gives us the facts and trusts the reader's intelligence to decide.

Practically everyone who knows me has heard me rave on and on about this book. I read it for the first time about 4 years ago, after picking it up while browsing through the bookstore. I read the excerpt at the front recounting the Vietnamese general's final moments and I was hooked. I recently finished it again, and it was even better this time. Everything that happens to Hathcock seems like something out of a movie; something no mortal man could survive. I learned to respect the discipline and will-power of a well-trained Marine, and was left in awe of the effectiveness of the sniper. Charles Henderson does his part, too. He not only tells Hathcock's incredible story, but makes it an immersive, addictive one to read. Through his clear and descriptive writing, the reader is transported back in time to the dark "Charlie"-filled jungles of Vietnam, where he lies beside the sniper known as "Long Tra'ng" and experiences not only the satisfaction of a well-placed shot, but also the emotional struggles that a man must deal with when he takes the life of another one. Undoubtedly a timeless classic

While I myself didn't follow in my dad's footsteps as a Marine (he was Marine Air Group 61 in WWII--HURRAH!) but went in the Air Force instead (Security Forces--HOOAH!), the Corps still holds a special place in my heart, and reading this gripping story of Carlos Hathcock's exploits reminded me of why I will always love the Corps, even if I didn't wind up joining. Reading the book has made Gunny Hatchcock one of my all-time heroes, and it made me wish to hell the USAF had a sniper program! I lent this book to one of my SF buddies in exchange for Charles Sasser's "One Shot, One Kill" (another great read). America lost a true hero a couple of years back when Carlos passed away, and may God rest his soul. Kudos to Charles Henderson for at least keeping this outstanding troop's memory alive! Semper Fi!

Although I lack military experience, I must say that this novel is perhaps one of the greatest military biographies I have read. Perhaps the reason this novel is so enjoyable, is because you have absolutely no idea what story will be told next. Furthermore, if you are like me, you possbily never even heard the name Carlos Hathcock before.

This biography was very enjoyable, because it kept me on the edge of my seat. The personal stories of Hathcock, and eyewitness accounts are amazing. I can't fathom an individual who can shoot a gun accurately at 2,000 yards. But this novel gets you in close and personal with a person who lived by the motto, "one shot, one kill" at a distance of over 1,000 yards.

Henderson, the author, does a great job of describing Hathcock, and his missions by using expert witnesses and documents. Merely page through the bibliography to see the amount of research that Henderson did for this novel, and you will realize that this book must be pretty close to the absolute truth.

Overall, this book is fantastic, due to the missions that are explained in here. Henderson makes you feel right at home with this legend, and creates a lively image on each mission. As a result, this novel is easy to read, because it is a page-turner. Henderson also does an excellent job as to explain the mentality of Hathcock towards the Marines and towards the art of sniping. I never realized that a person who is a sniper must have a unique mentality in order to do this job. And Henderson shows that sniping is not for everyone.

The novel also immortalizes Hathcock as a hero and a leader.....as it should. Hathcock was at the top of his field, and literally designed the manual for this new class in the military. But his ideas have found there way into SWAT teams, and police forces through the world. Hathcock was a hero, who ultimately paid the price for his bravery in the Vietnam war. This novel is a must read for all individuals, not just the military type person!

The "Quiet American" is set in mid-1950s colonial Vietnam. The author, a Brit, does an excellent job in setting the scene and characters. Virtually everything is appropriate to what must have been the time and place. Therein lies the diffficulty with the novel. While very well written, with sharp, cynical dialog, it is all too easy to read too much into "QA". There are all kinds of opportunities to behold allegorical references in Alden Pyle (the namesake),Vigot(the French detective), Fowler(the cynical Brit journalist) and especially Phoung, the young Saigon woman. Poor Phoung!! She and that sister will outlive us all. Armed with 20/20 historical hindsight, how easy it is to proclaim that "QA" is prophetic and prescient! If only LBJ had read it! Or Nixon!! This reviewer (and Vietnam vet) is a bit more cynical.The devil's advocate in me might state that Greene merely wrote a superior novel, set in Vietnam, but with nothing more added. Pyle, Phoung and the whole crew represent no one other than themselves. The story can stand quite capably on its' own two feet. with no "historical perspectives" required. The conflict between these views is the essence of "QA". I have to mention a classic line from the plot: "The French Army controlled the highways until 7PM. After that, they controlled the watch towers".That was Vietnam in a sentance. Every night our unit went back to our base camp, closed the gates and posted guys in the guard towers. Vietnam is a scary place after sundown and Charley (the Viet Cong or "Victor Charley") ran the place after dark. The headline is borrowed from my buddy, Jim Lydlle, the chaplain's assistant. Of the 2 opinions above, I prefer the latter. "QA" is not prophecy. It takes an American or a Frenchman to capture the essence of Indochina, just as I believe only Brits and Irishmen can write about Ireland. Readers wishing to appreciate the fascinating French Vietnamese period should pounce on "Street Without Joy" by the late Bernard Fall. The reader able to ignore all these constraints will enjoy "The Quiet American" on its'own merits. Too many constraints?. Welcome to Vietnam!

This is an eerily prophetic and, therefore, deeply disturbing book. Ostensibly the story of a love triangle involving a naive American spook, a jaded English journalist and a young Vietnamese girl, lurking just beneath the surface is an allegory for the whole experience of America in Vietnam.

Alden Pyle, the Quiet American of the title, was based on Col. Edward Lansdale, the renowned, or infamous depending on your politics, CIA operative who was sent to Viet Nam in the 50's to subvert the Vietminh after a string of successes in the Phillipines (he was also the model for William Lederer's and Eugene Burdicks "The Ugly American"). Pyle is an innocent who believes that others must surely share his ideals and pureness of motive. He is convinced, based on his adherence to the writings of York Harding, that there is a Third Way for Vietnam, somewhere between Communism and the corrupt colonial government. He has come to Vietnam to foster a group that will adhere to this Third Way. The journalist, Fowler, a cynical world-weary man of much wider experience, realizes that Pyle is a dangerous man because he is imposing his idealized vision on a group that is merely power hungry. Meanwhile, Pyle has fallen in love with Phuong, Fowler's Vietnamese girlfriend. And while Fowler can offer her little because his wife refuses to grant him a divorce, Pyle offers marriage and respectability and a life in America. As Fowler loses Phuong to Pyle and Pyle's group begins a terror campaign, Fowler finally abandons his neutrality and chooses sides, a choice made all the more ambiguous because of his romantic rivalry with Pyle.

The prescient pessimism that pervades this book is it's most interesting feature. Greene, writing well before we really got involved, seemed to sense that Vietnam was a tar baby that we idealistic Americans would not be able to resist embracing. Pyle's bloody blundering seems to presage the well-intended but disastrous mess that we would make of the entire country in the decades to come. One wishes that men like Robert McNamara and the Kennedys had paid attention to this literate warning.

GRADE: A

The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a typically great Greene novel. The more I read by Greene, the more I admire and respect and LOVE to read his work. This novel is set in Vietnam during the Vietnamese fight against French rule (before heavy American involvement). The main character, and narrator, Fowler, is a British reporter, going through the motions of filing his reports, living with his Vietnamese girlfriend, Phuong, and, basically, living. He has a wife in Britain with whom his relationship is irretrievably broken down, but his wife refuses on religious grounds to grant him a divorce. Alden Pyle, the "quiet American" is a young man he meets from the American Legation, an idealistic and sort of willfully naïve man who seems to believe everything he reads in books about Vietnam, but doesn't seem to notice the life around him. Fowler, his opposite, seems dulled and soggy by his complete acceptance of the pain of reality, but even then the horror, violence and disregard for human life of full-out warfare does break in on him.

This book was recently made into a movie with Michael Caine as Fowler and Brendan Frasier as Pyle, which is why we picked it up to read aloud just now, but it is so wonderfully and timelessly Greene. It has the unreliable moral atmosphere of most Greene novels that I've read, with the antihero narrator that one dislikes while one empathizes with him. This is another Great Greene!