|
I will say the first two chapter which Caputo talks about joining the marines and basic training were a little slow but a necessary beginning. What A rumor of War does for me is brings me back to reality - takes away all the glory, the honor etc that military history is loaded with and shows me what it's truly like being the ordinary solider. This book written by a marine lieutenant the beginning stages of the Vietnam war tells the reader how war changes the soldier from their glory hunting idealist soldier to a walking killing machine driven to he brink of madness. I read a lot of US military history books. I would rank this book as almost as good as Sledge's "With The Old Breed". Every once in a while though I'll take a break from the history of a particular war and read a war memoir. It's a passion of mine. This book was perhaps one of the best books I have read in a while - a real page turner.
He goes through a long journey of disappointments, setbacks and helplessness. I've never been a big fan of war stories, but this book won me over wholeheartedly. Caputo's story is honest and personal, not sparing himself anything, but taking you deep into the mind of a soldier. He manages to climb his way up the military ladder, but the more successful he becomes, the more the events spiral out of control. Caputo tells his own personal account of Vietnam, from being an innocent midwest boy hungry for adventure, to an aged, broken man torn apart by war. He goes into the military, ambitious for glory and battle.
The air was as heavy as wet burlap and the sweat caused my vision to blur. This memoir is incredibly accurate in its protrayal of the battles both within the grunts and outside. Beside me, my buddy, Philip Caputo, was burning a leech from his stomach. Caputo brings us this close to what it felt like to be in 'Nam fighting a mindless battle against the little people who ruled the night. Ron Lealos author of Don't Mean Nuthin' I was focused on the tree line 100 yards east. There was a sniper in the waving palms and Caputo was next on watch so I could use my zippo on one of the slimey bastards.
Maurice Caputo's account as a combat officer is the best book on direct experience in Nam. It ranks up there with Normen Mailer's The Naked and fhe Dead and Audie Murphy's WW2 account of his combat experience in To Hell and Back superbley written--gripping.
An excellent read and I highly reccomend it. Caputo holds nothing back when it comes to describing life on the front line and what goes through the minds of these young, too young Marines who fought on the front line. I thought this book was the best book on Vietnam that I have ever read. Its a facinating look into life as a line officer in a front line Marine Infantry batallion during the early part of the war.
|
