Synopses & Reviews
In andlt;iandgt;Black Hawk Down,andlt;/iandgt; the fight went on for a day. In andlt;iandgt;We Were Soldiers Once and Young,andlt;/iandgt; the fighting lasted three days. In andlt;iandgt;The Village,andlt;/iandgt; one Marine squad fought for 495 daysand#8212;half of them died.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such and#8220;Combined Action Platoonsand#8221; (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.
Review
Charles B. MacDonald Author of andlt;Iandgt;Company Commanderandlt;/Iandgt; Unquestionably the best book to come out of the Vietnam war -- human, compassionate, suspenseful, dramatic.
Review
Keith William Nolan Author of andlt;Iandgt;The Battle for Saigonandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;A Hundred Miles of Bad Roadandlt;/Iandgt; One of the small handful of truly great books to come out of the Vietnam war.
Review
The Washington Post A minor classic about war.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; A vivid and unbiased portrait of one Vietnamese hamlet in the grip of war...Exceptional insight....West has told this story with honesty and without embroidery, while bringing out its inherent human drama.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;Washington Post Book Reviewandlt;/Iandgt; This is the way Vietnam should have been fought -- by tough volunteers who lived alongside the Vietnamese....It will take the sternest idealogue to remain unmoved by West's perceptive and human treatment of the men who fought it....It's an account of brave men at war in a far country, honestly told.
Review
Washington Post Book ReviewThis is the way Vietnam should have been fought -- by tough volunteers who lived alongside the Vietnamese....It will take the sternest idealogue to remain unmoved by West's perceptive and human treatment of the men who fought it....It's an account of brave men at war in a far country, honestly told.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;Pacific Affairsandlt;/Iandgt; Pure Hemingway in the best sense of that characterization....West brilliantly portrays the drama of a war few Americans have known.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;Leatherneck Magazineandlt;/Iandgt; A fantastic, down in the mud and crud book of enlisted Marines fighting to defend a village....West tells of some of the victories and the tragic cost. And he tells it well.
Review
Peter Braestrup Author of andlt;Iandgt;Tetandlt;/Iandgt; A superbly honest, readable work that goes beyond journalism to become good literature.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt; A minor classic about war.
Synopsis
In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days--half of them died.
Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.
Synopsis
The true story of seventeen months in the life of a Vietnamese village where a handful of American Marines and Vietnamese militia lived and died together attempting to defend it. In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days--half of them died.
Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.
Synopsis
In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days -- half of them died. Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.
Synopsis
In 1966, 15 United States Marines entered the tiny village of Binh Nghia, Vietnam, to secure and clear the surrounding jungle of the enemy. The villagers themselves aided the Marines in their fight against the Viet Cong. Here, an unbreakable bond was forged between the Americans who fought for Vietnam and the villagers who matched their devotion and determination.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Francis J. "Bing" Westandlt;/Bandgt; served in Vietnam as a Marine infantry officer, and later as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Dean of Research at the Naval War College, an analyst at the RAND Corporation, and a lead CNN commentator during Desert Storm. He is currently president of the GAMA Corporation. A frequent contributor to defense journals, West is also the author of Small Unit Action in Vietnam, and Naval Forces and National Security. His new novel, andlt;Iandgt;The Pepperdogs,andlt;/Iandgt; is available from Simon andamp;amp; Schuster. Visit his Web site at www.westwrite.com
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Foreword by James R. Schlesinger,Former Secretary of Defenseandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Author's Prefaceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book Iandlt;/Iandgt; The Settingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book IIandlt;/Iandgt; Night Patrolsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book IIIandlt;/Iandgt; Defeatandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book IVandlt;/Iandgt; "Work Very Hard -- Never Look Tired"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book Vandlt;/Iandgt; The Challengeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Book VIandlt;/Iandgt; Acceptanceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Epilogue: 1967andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1968andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1969-70andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1971andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2002