Synopses & Reviews
Robert Timberg weaves together the lives of Annapolis graduates John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter to reveal how the Vietnam War continues to haunt America. Casting all five men as metaphors for a legion of well-meaning if ill-starred warriors, Timberg probes the fault line between those who fought the war and those who used money, wit, and connections to avoid battle. A riveting tale that illuminates the flip side of the fabled Vietnam generation -- those who went.
Review
David Halberstam author of andlt;Iandgt;The Best and the Brightestandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;The Nightingale's Song...andlt;/Iandgt; has an almost hypnotic authority all its own and belongs on the same shelf as those classics of the Vietnam War, Neil Sheehan's andlt;Iandgt;A Bright Shining Lie,andlt;/Iandgt; Philip Caputo's andlt;Iandgt;A Rumor of War,andlt;/Iandgt; and Harold G. Moore and Joseph Galloway's andlt;Iandgt;We Were Soldiers Once...and Young.andlt;/Iandgt;
Review
Mike Barnicle andlt;Iandgt;The Boston Globeandlt;/Iandgt; This is an amazing piece of work that could make you cry over descriptions of bravery so bold and so big...It is about the soul of a nation...This is a stunning book.
Review
Mark Shields andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt; If you want to read a terrific book about courage and cowardice, honor and betrayal, suffering and death, and the indomitability of the human spirit, get andlt;Iandgt;The Nightingale's Song.andlt;/Iandgt;
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [500]-516) and index.
About the Author
Robert Timberg graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1964 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He served with the First Marine Division in South Vietnam from March 1966 to February 1967.
Timberg has been a newspaper reporter for the past twenty-five years. From 1973 to 1981 he worked for the Baltimore Evening Sun. In 1981 he joined the Washington bureau of the Baltimore Sun. From 1983 to 1988 he was the Sun's White House correspondent. In 1986 he was awarded the Aldo Beckman Award, given annually by the White House Correspondents Association for excellence in covering the White House. He is currently deputy chief of the Sun's Washington bureau.
Timberg holds a master's degree in journalism from Stanford. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
In addition to daily reporting, Timberg has contributed articles to Esquire, the Washington Journalism Review, and Nieman Reports.
He lives with his wife, Kelley Andrews, a federal government official, and youngest son, Sam, in Bethesda, Maryland. He has three older children, Scott and Craig, both newspaper reporters, and Amanda, a senior in college.
Table of Contents
andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;CONTENTSandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Prologueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Book I. IHTFPandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;I. Halos and Hornsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Imagination Is Funnyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Showdownandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Book II. Fields of Fireandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Fire at Seaandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. Music Bingo, Dummy Math, and Gamma Raysandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6. Welcome to the Gallant Marinesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7. The Crown Princeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;8. The Bloody Filterandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;9. Do You Want to Go Home?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;10. The Cherry Boyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;11. The Naturalandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;12. Trusting the Systemandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;13. 'Tis the Season to Be Jollyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;14. Stranger in a Strange Landandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;15. The Reasonable and Honest War Criminalandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;16. Long Tall Sallyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;17. The Water Walkerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;18. Adult Educationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;19. A Tutorial with the Greatsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;20. Reentryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;21. A Change of Heartandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;22. Pug Henryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;23. Women Can't Fightandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;24. Guerrilla Warfareandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;25. Garlic in a Crowded Elevatorandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Book III. The Nightingale's Songandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;26. Ollie, Bud, and Johnandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;27. The Candidate from Hanoiandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;28. Scorpions in a Jarandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;29. Noble Cause Reduxandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;30. The Doubtersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;31. The Presbyterian Climaxandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;32. Put 'Em Up, Put 'Em Upandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;33. Remember Yamamotoandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;34. An Alien Presenceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;35. I Don't Have Any Lifeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;36. The White Tornadoandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;37. The Biggest Hawk and the Biggest Doveandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;38. Where Was Al Krekich When We Needed Him?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;39. Chinatownandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Epilogueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Note on Research Methodsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Interviewsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index