The Best Vietnam War Book Reviews
Author Duke Barrett’s The Wall of Broken Dreams is an epic, dreamlike panorama of war, adventure and loss – a true and personal homage to the men who lost so much in the Vietnam War. This ambitious novel has a sweeping scope and allows a complete under-the-skin understanding of what it was to fight, fear, [...]
Cherries – A Novel by John Podlaski, 2010 Author John Podlaski contacted me personally and kindly let me have a look at his gripping and highly authentic Vietnam war novel, Cherries (aff). I made it out to be a really intense grunt’s-eye ride through the whole Vietnam GI experience, with no detail spared. Written with [...]
Going After Cacciato – Tim O’Brien, 1979 Tim O’Brien’s acclaimed Vietnam novel traces a squad whose task it is to retrieve the footloose Cacciato, a young grunt who’s seemingly just wandered off cross country with the aim of making it to Paris. This novel is pretty dreamlike in places, but really has some terrific descriptions [...]
After My Lai – Gary W Bray, 2010 This very recent book is a thoughtful and intellectal portrait of military leadership. Bray took control of the platoon tainted by My Lai after the events of the massacre, and here attempts to explain the incredible pressures and frustrations of men at war. The premise of After [...]
Guns Up! – Johnnie Clark, 2002 This book is a popular read on the camaraderie, grit and horror of frontline fighting with the Marines during Tet. Clark’s brutal and shocking story is that of a heavy machine gunner, a prime target for enemy fire. “Guns Up!” (affl) went the battle cry that sent M60 machine [...]
Very Crazy, GI – Kregg P Jorgenson, 2001 If you’re looking for some “beaucoup dinky dau” (crazy) tales from Nam, this could be the book for you. Very Crazy, G.I. (affl) is a collection of “strange but true stories from the Vietnam war” which might prove interesting for die-hard fans of the war genre. Jorgenson [...]
Fields of Fire – James Webb, 1978 James Webb’s Vietnam novel is an involving and compulsive read written by an author with a complete mastery of characterization. This is rough, gory frontline battle writing at its best, authentic and unforgiving. Definitely an adult read, the plot of Fields of Fire (aff) is forged around a [...]
Baptism: a Vietnam Memoir – Larry Gwin, 1999 This patriot-turned cynic’s tale of war, lies and brutality traces in microcosm the downfall of America in Vietnam. This is genre literature portraying battle in its naked state - bloody, brutal and raw. Larry Gwin was 23 when he arrived in Vietnam after volunteering as a Yale University graduate. After some time in [...]
If I Die in a Combat Zone – Tim O’ Brien, 1973 By far Tim O’ Brien’s best Vietnam book, this small but powerful read captures perfectly the profile of American youth at war. The author is an intelligent and self-examining writer and combines a wide spectrum of moral and political musings, personal recollections and [...]
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien, 1990 This is a fascinating read of literary power and merit with the war in Vietnam as its subject. Composed of 22 short pieces yet interlinked in theme, The Things They Carried (aff) is a novel in name which depicts the men of Alpha Company and the experiences [...]
Platoon Platoon remains one of Oliver Stone’s finest films, a powerfully directed and … [Read More]
