Rating: 
Summary: Superb History-Snapshot of an Era
Review: I found out about this book when it first came out and I was stationed in Washington DC. It was of immediate interest to me, as my brother, a member of the West Point Class of 1964, had been killed in action in Vietnam, and was mentioned in the book. I called the author introduced myself and told him how much I liked the book and who I was. Rick Atkinson is not only a superb author, he is a fine man, and this book is an accurate tribute to, not only the class he chronicles in the story, but to the American fighting man in Vietanm as a whole. If you want an even, unbiased account of part of the war in Vietnam, this is it. It is much better than the highly touted Bright Shining Lie, of which I don't think too highly, and is one of the best books written on Vietnam. Atkinson tells the tale with aplomb, wit, empathy, and just plain good writing. Accurate and entertaining, you really can't put it down. I have also read his book Crusade on the Gulf War, of which I was a participant, and it was the best book I read on the subject. If the book is written by Rick Atkinson, buy it and read it-you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Perceptive and accurate
Review: I graduated from West Point in 1991, some twenty five years after the class chronicled in the book. Atkinson's description of life at the Academy is dead accurate (amazing how few changes twenty five years have delivered) and one assumes that his perceptive reporter's eye extends to the combat scenes in Vietnam. Therefore, for me this book is one of the definitive accounts of the Vietnam era. In that my generation has to rely on second-hand accounts to understand this era, The Long Gray Line is an authoritative guide. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in West Point, the Vietnam War, or the societal upheaval which followed the war's conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful piece of social and military history
Review: I happened across this book purely by accident but was intrigued by the premise and the reviews which it had received. I was not to be disappointed. Rick Atkinson has written a fascinating book which charts the course of West Point's class of 1966 from their entry into the Academy through the Vietnam War and the present. This book reads like an epic novel and soon it became impossible for me to put it down. At times hilarious, at times incredibly moving I was completely fascinated with the story of how the individuals in the class of 1966 dealt with all of the trials and tribulations which life threw at them and finished this book with a much more profound understanding of the suffering which Vietnam veterans have gone through, both in the war zone itself and on their return home. This book is not just military history, it is also social and political history and should be essential reading for anyone interested in reading about the events and ideas which shaped the last few decades of the 20th Century. I have absolutely no hesitation in giving this book five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Still Brings Tears Five Years Later
Review: I read this book five years ago. Yet I was sitting here this afternoon and - for reasons I can't begin to imagine -- began to see Tommy Hayes's face. I was flooded with memories and tears as I thought about these young idealistic men and the turbulent and morally confusing time in which they lived and died. This book is a masterpiece of reporting that blends a serious knowledge of history, excruciatingly vivid depictions of real flesh and blood people, and -- finally -- a brilliant understanding of the psychology of courage and fear and honor and shame. Want to be on the edge of your seat with excitement, be shattered with sadness, and learn more than you ever thought you'd want to know about Viet Nam, and all at one time? Read it. Read it. Now.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look at the shared history of a group of people
Review: I'm puzzled by the complaint that this book is not a definitive look at the entire Viet Nam era, when the book specifically says itself that it isn't. What the book IS, as it says on the cover, is a look at the West Point class of 1966, their shared experience at the academy, and the subsequent paths of the members after they left the academy into the turning point of a war which was changing America's perception of itself and the world, and the impact this has had on them since. I read the book several years ago and was quite impressed by it. I came back now to check up on it, because Wesley Clark was one of the graduates discussed in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Duty, Honor, and Country
Review: My friend, whom graduated from West Point in 1991, recommended "The Long Gray Line" to me. My object for reading this book was that I wanted to learn more about the Vietnam War, what happened and why. I also wanted to understand more about the problems and turmoil that followed when the War was over. Further, I realised the book would be a great source of information about the West Point Academy, something I wanted to learn more about since my friend had attended the Academy. (A discussion with the same mentioned friend about the Vietnam War had left no doubt that I had considerable gaps in my knowledge of both West Point and the Vietnam War). I was completely fascinated with the story, and it soon became impossible for me to put the book down. I even wished for longer commute to work, so I could read more (I already have 1 hrs 20 min of commuting each way to work!). After I had finished the book I asked my friend "Was is really like that at West Point?" and he answered "The book gives a 'pretty accurate' description of what it was like".. The first part of this book is about the Academic life at West Point, and at times this part of the book is absolutely hilarious! It left me smiling and laughing for myself.. I love the way the author, Rick Atkinson, describes the different characters. I had no problems picturing the different events in my head and I finished the book feeling like I practically knew all these cadets. The latter part of the book is about the war and it's aftermath. This part of the book is incredibly moving. The author describes these young men's (and their families) trial and suffering so well that you almost feel it as if the pain was your own. This part of the book left me in tears more than one time. I finished this book with a deeper comprehension of the pain and distress which Vietnam Veterans has experienced both while fighting for their country, and later returning home. Anyone interested in history, reading about the events and ideas that strongly influenced America in the latter part of the 20th century, should read this book. The words "Duty, Honour, and Country" will never mean the same to you after reading this book. It is not often that I read a book, which so deeply touches my heart as this one did!
Rating:
Summary: The Long Gray Line
Review: One of the best books I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them. What a wonderful piece of work. The book describes in vivid detail what these professional soldiers went through at West Point, Ranger training, Vietnam and after the war. This book is written with such detail that I feel I knew George Crocker, Jack Wheeler, Tom Carhart and Jim Ford personally.
Rating: 
Summary: Jaded, Bitter, Gloomy Prism of Vietnam Syndrome
Review: Rick Atkinson's father was an army officer and so his entire family ought to be thanked for living a relatively spartan life so that we civilians may enjoy freedom.
Mr. Atkinson's book is very well-written. You can gulp down page after page, particularly if you already have respect and reverence for the sacrifices that men of West Point have fought, bled, and died for to make the USA free and exceptional.
Mr. Atkinson deserves great credit for including, what I believe, is the heroe of the book: George Crocker, the tremendous ranger who fought through Vietnam, stuck with the Army during the wilderness years of the 1970s and helped spearhead the overthrow of the communist invasion of Grenada.
(ATKINSON, HOWEVER, HELPS DOWNPLAY GRENADA. GRENADA WOULD HAVE INCLUDED A MASSIVE CACHE OF WEAPONRY AND LANDING STRIPS FROM WHICH SOVIET CLIENTS LIKE CASTRO AND ORTEGA COULD ATTACKED FREE COUNTRIES ON OUR SOUTHERN BORDERS.)
It is also wrong, I believe, to view West Point through the prism of the Vietnam War. Mr. Atkinson's fatal error is that he uses American failures in the war TO CAST RADICAL DOUBT ON THE TRIPARTITE PRINCIPLE OF DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.
Once again, the reader is subjected to a journalist who portrays decent, honorable young American men who sign up to serve and are screwed by the American government. The West Pointers who sacrificed themselves in Vietnam, even rear echelon doubters, are VICTIMS or DUPES.
The reader is led to believe reality of West Point all caught up with its hype with Vietnam. BAD KARMA and PAYING THE PIPER - supposedly prove that the anti-war leftists had a valid point.
Ultimately, Mr. Atkinson uses these West Pointers battles to further the anti-Vietnam war argument. Too often, the protagonists are presented as haunted slaves of a system that holds principles that are super-human and unsustainable by ordinary men.
Once again, the reader is subjected to a journalist who uses military people to plant the seeds of radical doubt in our military institutions.
Rating: 
Summary: From an ordinary vet
Review: The author does a good job writing this book. If you are interested in the Vietnam era, it gives a West Point graduate's perspective. As an ordinary drafted vet, myself, I was left back then with the impression that most West Point officers who came through during Vietnam never seriously thought they would ever get caught in a real war when they went after getting that free education at West Point. Maybe that is why this book tends to be very negative and discouraging. It is discouraging enough to tend to make you feel sorry for the people in the book. It is so negative and discouraging that, if I work for the admissions dept at West Point, no way do I encourage applicants to read this book ----- in fact, just the opposite.
Rating:
Summary: A stunningly absorbing book
Review: This account of the West Point class of 1966 from its beginnings in 1962 up to 1988 is very well done, and one suffers and glories with the members of it in this triumph of the personal historian's art. I would have liked a list of the graduating members of the class of 1966--maybe with their rank from 1st to last, and with Gold Stars by those who died for their country. But this is not designed as that kind of a book, and I found it unfailingly readable. A triumph for the a book of this type.
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