Magnificent

A beautiful 8 hours. Bryan Cranston's reading is superb and the final chapter, as read by the author, is a very poignant finish to a truly wonderful book.

Only stumbled upon this book following Tim O'Brien's appearance on The Vietnam War documentary by Ken Burns. Both of these reflections on the conflict have been utterly mesmerising in their own ways. A great introduction to the subject for a person previously unaware of this most important topic in recent American history.

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Unforgiving and Unforgotten

I've always wanted to read a book about the Viet Nam experience. Not the war as such. More what it was actually like to be 20, in 1968, in a foreign country fighting an enemy who were almost part of the landscape. To be utterly alien to the location, the culture and the people. This book was that great first book. Narrated perfectly by Cranston and fully deserving of its near cult status. Hard to tell story from fact, biography from autobiography, a blur of the picture but occasionally freeze framing you on an image so clear it's hard to focus on the next sentences. Yes, it's got the gore, yes it's got the violence, yes it's got the insane anecdotes of war woven throughout but these are almost superfluous. The book is about love, life, death and the undead. If you're looking for Rambo or Chuck Norris or Flight of the Valkyries, rent a movie. If you want 'Nam, seen, heard and felt through the boots and soul of a 21 yr old boy soldier and the effect the place had on him and all he served with, read this book.

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1 person found this helpful

Fantastic

fantastic narration. not just a great war book, but a great book. brilliantly written. a favourite

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Funny, sad, thought provoking and throughly enjoyable

I inhaled the book, so to speak, Bryan Cranston’s voice is like butter and his reading was excellent, I would listen to him read the phone book. This book was funny and sad - it’s a book about the Vietnam war so it’s going to be sad - and made you think and feel and it really was a joy to listen to. Also the writing was excellent, will be listening/reading more Tim O’Brien

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Masterful stories indelibly told

An incredible set of stories capturing the horror, beauty, and sheer strangeness of war. A set of indelible images wonderfully rendered by Cranston's immersive narration. Absolutely recommended.

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Masterfully written and superbly narrated

I am sincere when I say that this book has the same significance as "All Quiet on the Western Front". Both describe the extreme mental and physical distress and bitterness of soldiers confronted with protracted fear and madness, the effects and wounds of which are often carried for a lifetime in flashbacks, dreams and guilt. The prose often rise up to poetry and are complimented by the superb narration skills of an accomplished actor, Bryan Cranston.
At times the storylines are bizarre and reminiscent of "Apocalypse Now" but full of meaning. At others the stories are deep but more homely. The last chapter concerns the effects of PTSD on the author and the people around him. Though recognised now with therapy, theoretically, available PTSD is protracted torture which some cannot endure to this day.

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What is a true war story?

What is a true war story? Can there ever be such a thing?

Tim O'Brien ponders this and explains that there cannot, at least not really. It is not short stories or non-fiction or a novel, but some of all these things and these tales and memories and anecdotes of Vietnam all coalesce into a book with great gravit, punch and poetry. Here the war is so intense that it overrules all else and there is an authentic and truthful power in the layers of the narrative that can't be described, at least by me.

Bryan Cranston's reading is wonderful.

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5 people found this helpful

One man's story, the tales of many.

This book was hard to put down. It takes you on a roller coaster of emotions as you listen to the experiences. Trying to decide which are fiction you which are the authors experiences.
This isn't a book about guts and glory, it's about the human mind and the many corridors it wanders to keep surviving.

Narrated perfectly by Brian Cranston.

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Amazing book

A powerful story about experiences in Vietnam, the narration by Bryan Cranston is really incredible

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It’s the little things

An absolutely outstanding book on war and the “truths” that we bring back. There is the truth that we may tell our friends and loved ones but there is the truth that one may witness in war. Too horrific, too final for those who weren’t there my not understand. Cranston does a beautiful job of bringing the characters to life and the author recounts of how a dead Vietnamese man reminds him of his first date bought tears to my eyes. This book isn’t a war story but a love story. How soldiers love one another and how they start to love war whilst hating it!

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