Rating: 
Summary: Cheerleader mush
Review: I had hoped for an insightful biography of John Kerry. This is just a whitewashed story of his life. Everything is bathed in positive rays of sunshine. People who did not like John Kerry are described as being part of a "cult of envy". It's hard to believe this book is not satire; Kerry is the Doc Savage of his generation. The stories of the war years were more interesting and kept me from rating the book lower. I will still be searching for a true, objective biography of the man.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprised Me!
Review: I love politics and make a point of reading as much as I can about all the players - positive-negative-unbiased-etc. Because of this "hobby" I picked up Tour of Duty a few months ago (shortly after it was released, I believe) and on my shelf it collected dust until a trip.
I had to partake a couple of plane trips within a months time for work, one in which I was going to be able to visit the Viet Nam wall and touch my cousin's name, so I decided to pick up Tour of Duty and even though I am not into "war" stories I was captivated.
Again, I have read tons of political books from all sides and am very aware of "propoganda" both positive and negative and this one does not read as such (propoganda) and is a great adventure story...recalling that it is true - takes my breath away.
I also find it interesting that I was finishing the book, during a week when J. Kerry was on the NBC Sunday morning show and pundits from the rep. party were decrying his military record for about a day and a half (the obviously had not read this book, or anything about this war) and by Monday evening those same pundits were saying in effect "okay, he is a hero but this doesn't really matter." I found it so interesting to have watched these political events, while having the background of facts that this book produces.
Whether you want to read about the Viet Nam war, John Kerry, a great adventure story or all of the above, I recommend heartily Tour of Duty. Let us just say that my opinion about the man, who is the subject of this book, was raised tremendously.
Rating:
Summary: Andres Puentes Writes 3 Reviews !!
Review: Is Andres Puentes trying to reduce to the number of stars on this book? Yes indeed !! He has 3 of them, all with 1 star. Proves reviews on amazon are bull.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 months and we're supposed to make him President
Review: Propaganda piece to make John Kerry look presidential. Doesn't do enough in covering John Kerry's radical extremism in slandering US GI's in Vietnam as war criminals and the bad guys. Kerry served a total of 4 months and this book makes it out like he is a regular Audie Murphy, do all for your brothers in arms. Kerry sought to get out after getting a third Purple Heart(due to very minor 'injuries') and got out after those 4 months, leaving those 'brothers in arms' to come back and join the pro-Hanoi, Fonda sponsored Vietnam Veterans against the War, a very radical, communist loving group that slandered the US and our troops still over there(The North Vietnamese used Kerry's supportive rhetoric as propaganda with our POWs) as the one committing the wrongs and this book attempts to sugar coat it. Kerry is a phony. This book is a phony.
Rating:
Summary: John Kerry & Douglas Brinkley -- great pairing / great story
Review: Much of what we hear about John Kerry - good and bad - is exposed in this fascinating tale of Senator Kerry's life through the early 1970's.Kerry's arrogance is apparent in numerous incidents during his school days, in Vietnam and with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. However, his bravery, intelligence, and commitment to his country also come through loud and clear. Douglas Brinkley is an great historian and an even better story-teller.
Rating:
Summary: PT 109 NOT
Review: Who would write about the experiences of a junior officer who only served for four months of a full year tour in a war lost 40 years ago? Perhaps that person himself, as an apologia, or Douglas Brinkley, if the subject happened to be a Presidential candidate. Just as nobody would write about the experiences of a junior officer who mistakenly placed his PT Boat in the path of a Japanese destroyer during the Second World War, unless that person had been Senator and Presidential Candidate John F Kennedy ....
But Kennedy's story was told in retrospect: his Presidential bid made the PT109 story interesting, and not vice versa. One doubts Kennedy thought about running for the White House while fighting the Japanese. Not so with Kerry. What Brinkley's book makes painfully obvious is that Kerry's whole career has been a cynical imititation not of Kennedy the hero, but of Kennedy the cadidate. One could hope that, should John Kerry become President, he would follow his alleged role model's example and cut taxes while strengthening defense. Unfortunately, during his 19 years in the Senate he has done exactly the opposite. It is by this performance, and not the deliberately cultivated myth that Brinkley propagates, that candidate Kerry should be judged.
Rating:
Summary: PT 109 NOT ....
Review: Who would write a book about a junior officer with four months combat experience in a war lost 40 years ago? Perhaps the man himself, or perhaps Douglas Brinkley if the subject happened to be running for President. Just as the story of a junior officer who managed to screw up by placing his PT boat in the path of a Japanese destroyer in the midst of the greatest war in history would not be worthy of note unless that fool happened to have been John F Kennedy....
But in Kennedy's case, the incident was glorified in retrospect - I doubt Kennedy was planning his Presidential bid while serving in the Second World War. What Brinkley's book makes painfully clear is that Kerry's whole life has been a deliberate imitation not of Kennedy the war hero, but Kennedy the candidate. One could hope that, should the Senator become President, he will emulate the first JFK by cutting taxes and boosting national defense. Unfortunately, during his nineteen years in the Senate, Kerry has done exactly the opposite. These are the actions he should be judged by, not the deliberatly ( and cynically) cultivated heroic myth that Brinkley is propagating.
Rating: 
Summary: Scary Kerry's Tour of Dooty
Review: This is a well written piece of press agent flackery, intended to enhance Senator Kerry's Vietnam anti-war activities in support of his presidential bid. I expected more from a presidential historian of Brinkley's reputation for scholarship. But then I felt sorry for Brinkley who had to listen to Kerry's overblown self importance for hours on end to get this book out in time for the start of the presidential primaries (most presidential research takes years to complete.) Most of us couldn't stand more than about twenty minutes with Senator Windbag before zoning out or needing to barf from this man's self absorption and gigantic ego, towering over even Senator Ted Kennedy. From the start, Brinkley gives us Kerry's own code word for his Vietnam service: "uncommitted soldier." He uses these two words at least a half dozen times. It means John Kerry didn't want to be in the war, and used a technicality to bug out after only four months in Vietnam, while his crewmen finished their required one year tours of duty. Brinkley fails to tell readers which came first: Kerry reading Navy regs that allowed sailors to leave early upon receiving three Purple Hearts, or, was he purposely claiming three very minor shrapnel wounds (each of which was covered by a Band-Aid, and did not require hospitalization?) The important thing is in three incidents, he was the only man in his crew to have been wounded. Rather suspicious. He used that Purple Heart technicality to bug out after four months, and get a cushy job as an Admiral's aide Stateside. The real tragedy of this story is that thanks to Kerry, he branded all American Vietnam veterans as baby killers and drug-addled losers in his anti-war activities, starting in 1971. He encouraged American citizens to heap scorn on the returning veterans in his zeal to end the war on terms favorable to Hanoi. Worst of all, Brinkley fails to interview a single returning American POW, held for two more brutal years of captivity in the torture hellholes in Hanoi and the even more brutal jungle captivity of South Vietnam, thanks to Kerry's antiwar activities which aided and encouraged Hanoi at the expense of our brave POWs. Brinkley should be ashamed of himself for this glaring omission of scholarship. It was only through the efforts of President Nixon using maximum military power and skillful diplomacy that we got our POWs released in 1973. Also, Brinkley fails utterly to give balanced coverage to Kerry's chairmanship of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIAs in the 1991-93 timeframe, which led to Senator Kerry kissing off the MIA cases, despite the pleas of family and thousands of American intelligence reports of men known to have been held captive after 1973. As a reward for getting President Clinton to extend diplomatic and trade recognition to communist Vietnam, his cousin received a multi-million dollar contact from that corrupt regime. Senator Kerry also was responsible for defeating efforts to get communist Vietnam to promote human and religious rights for the Vietnamese people, still living in a totalitarian police state to this day. Brinkley claims that Kerry was struggling financially during his antiwar activities in 1971 and thereafter, but fails to explain how he was able to travel all over the country spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for his antiwar activities. Where did the money come from? Also glaring is Brinkley's omission of extensive coverage of Kerry's antiwar activities by the Communist Party's Daily World newspaper. Hanoi John toed the communist line of "end the war now" on Hanoi's terms in 1971 and thereafter. Read this piece of campaign puffery with a great deal of skepticism.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time - Kerry is No Hero.
Review: Douglas Brinkley's book on John Kerry reads like a political pamphlet written by the Kerry Campaign. And Brinkely is an alleged "historian?" Give me a break. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. Brinkley has no problem making up his own facts to benefit Kerry. Mr. Brinkley's fascination (and obvious political support for) John Kerry clouds his views. Whatever Kerry did in four months in country in Vietnam (which is questionable) was wiped away by his actions when he got home. Apparently Kerry wants to forget his book "The New Soldier" and his leadership of "Vietnam Veterans Against the War," who did nothing but spit on and slander the heroic soldiers who fought in Vietnam for freedom, now that he's essentially the Democratic Presidential nominee. But, as John Adams once wrote -- facts are stubborn things. Vietnam service is popular and attracts votes -- so Kerry will play it to the hilt, this time with Douglas Brinkely as his willing accomplice. However, Kerry didn't think so in 1970 when the war was unpopular, especially among left-wing activists -- he testified before Congress that he was "ashamed" of what he did in Vietnam and of his service; that he committed "war crimes," and charged his fellow veterans with doing the same. Well, there was no evidence for that then OR now. It's all a matter of historical record that you can read for yourself -- don't allow Brinkley to color it for you. Kerry was simply out to make a political name for himself on the backs of his dead comrades. Not exactly heroic or a "Profile in Courage." Kerry is just a slimy political opportunist. Despite Brinkley's fauning account, it is clear that Kerry is no hero. This book is a waste of time and should not be confused with scholarship of any kind.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Heart breaking
Review: When I started to read Tour of Duty in January 2004, I knew very little about John Kerry. My knowledge of him was limited to bits and pieces of news picked up over the years. Since he had voted for the most recent war in Iraq, I had been a Dean supporter. As I read the book I came to feel as though I knew the man John Kerry. I could place my own life along side his remembering how the Vietnam war tore America apart. Kerry's own words in 35 year old letters provide insight into the heart and soul of a truely honest and admirable man. The book sheds light on his own personal struggle with doing what he believes to be right while fighting a war he knew to be wrong. It chronicles not only the war he experienced but also his/our fight to end that war. Like his fellow crewmates, who campaign by his side today, I would trust him with my life. John Kerry is the most knowledgeable, experienced, aware, hard fighting, honest and sincere presidental candidate I have ever known. If you have any doubts about how this man would operate under pressure, then read this book. He has my vote!
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