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!
Rating: 
Summary: What Drives John Kerry
Review: For anyone that is interested in knowing what makes John Kerry tick, this is a book that must be read. John Kerry's extraordinary devotion to public service can be explained by reading of his experiences, as detailed by Douglas Brinkley. This is not a so-called "campaign biography," as has been claimed by several other reviewers. This is a detailed description of John Kerry's service to the country, both during and after the Vietnam War. Anyone who doubts Kerry's courage and tenacity will be disabused of those doubts upon reading this book. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a hero.
Review: Offshore for so long in his first tour. Then back for only four months, received minor wounds, got medals and "out" while others slogged through jungle in the real war.....Kerry is no hero. A biased book the purpose of which is to win an election, not to give a true account of the war. Kerry came back and accused our soldiers of hideous acts of cruelty and murder; he testitied to these facts while our men were still there. Some of them were even being held prisoners by the enemy at the time. How do you think they were treated by the enemy after hearing what our soldiers did to their people? A disgusting excuse for an objective book. SAVE YOUR MONEY.
Rating:
Summary: Politics and War
Review: When in doubt change the subject, call people names, or make an appeal to emotion, right? Come on! Tour of Duty has nothing to do with the events of World War II (and certainly not Pearl Harbor). It has nothing to do with Max Cleland, other than the fact that like John Kerry he received a purple heart in Viet Nam - only in his case he suffered geniune wounds and became actually incapable of duty (unlike Kerry). If John Kerry is a hero, Tour of Duty fails to prove it, that is unless one's definition is so general and faith-based as to be objectively meaningless. You can run from the truth but you cannot hide, Tour of Duty is just a a campaign book glossing over the truth to create a false image of man who has no apparent ideals other than his own self advancement ("I oppose gay marriage, I also oppose any effort to ban it"), no apparent leadership skills skills other than following whatever he thinks will serve his political ambition ("I support the removal of the evil dictator Saddam, I oppose the president's poor judgement in invading Iraq"), and certainly not much value as a soldier, expense-paid-for-by-Jane-Fonda anti-war "activist," or as an United States Senator - what has he ever actually done in that capacity that matters? Even this campaign biography, if read with some skepticism, can only confirms these sad truth about the liberal junior senator from Massachusetts.
Rating:
Summary: War and Politics 1944-2004
Review: On D-Day, 6 June 1944, American soldiers were accidentally drowned in the English Channel because their inflatable life preservers were worn incorrectly. Nearly a quarter century later, during a helicopter evacuation on a hill near Khe Sanh, 8 April 1968, U.S. combatant Max Cleland picked up a grenade - thinking it was his own with the pin intact. The twenty-five-year-old Army captain had his right arm and both legs blown off. Decades after the war in Vietnam, Republican columnist Ann Coulter criticized triple-amputee Cleland for "allowing Democrats to portray him as a war hero," because his injuries were a result of an accident rather than enemy fire. Growing up in the 1950s, it was not uncommon for children to be asked, "What did your daddy do during WWII?" Ike became President and most Americans took pride in their contribution to that war effort. Today's youth have a curiosity about the war in Southeast Asia, but veterans and citizens on either side of the peace issue seem understandably reluctant when talking about it. Children of veterans who want to learn more about war and politics in the late 1960s and 1970s should read Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley. Although a sad chapter in American history, the politics of the war in Vietnam is described through the eyes of one combat sailor who was there. Historian Brinkley claims that John Kerry "exerted no editorial control on the manuscript." The politics of war is not unique to the Vietnam era. On Normandy D-Day, a glorious day for the Allies and FDR's administration, and a day of gratitude and thanksgiving throughout our nation, politicking continued in Washington, D.C. With the November 1944 election approaching, in an attempt to embarrass President Roosevelt, the House of Representatives directed the Secretary of War and the Navy to begin court-martial proceedings against Admiral Husband E. Kimmell and General Walter C. Short for negligence over the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. The naval service of Lieutenant Kerry and sacrifice of Captain Cleland should not be trivialized for political gain. As the son of a D-Day naval officer and grateful citizen of this nation, I honor and salute the sacrifice of all Vietnam combat veterans, both Republicans and Democrats on either side of the peace issue. One of every ten Americans who served in Vietnam became casualties with amputations and crippling wounds 300% higher than in WWII. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude and special care for the 75,000 Vietnam veterans who are severely disabled. This book is not about pity for Max Cleland, for he courageously plays the hand he was dealt in Vietnam. Tour of Duty gets five stars because the book is an exceptionally well written biography of Senator John F. Kerry, Captain Max Cleland's friend and hero.
Rating:
Summary: Tour of Duty, offensive and Insensitive
Review: As a Viet Nam war veteran, I am completely offended by Tour of Duty, which is nothing more than an attempt to exploit a bloody conflict (in which over 35,000 Americans died) to promote the Kerry candidacy for the presidency. This is not only inappropriate but is egregiously insensitve to both the survivors of that war and the families of its victims! It is exactly the kind of opportunism one has come to associate with that portion of the political spectrum. John Kerry should apologize and immediately arrange for the removal of Tour of Duty from the shelves!!!
Rating:
Summary: Tour of Duty
Review: I purchased this book to try and learn a little more about the man who would be the Democratic nominee, and frankly I didn't feel I learned anything that his sound-bytes harp on me over and over. The book is a long and dry book that's quite slow of a read. Kerry strikes the reader throughout the book to continue to be a condescending bag of hot air aimed at ruining this country via his hypocracy.
Rating:
Summary: John Kerry Called Vietnam Vets "babykillers"
Review: John Kerry and his associate Jane Fonda ran the The Vietnam (faux) Veterans Against the War Organization. They were instrumental in helping North Vietnam win the war and turning the tide. North Vietnam was ready to surrender conditionally until Kerry & Fonda rendered their aid. As the American POWs returned home in 1973, they spoke out about the inhumane treatment and torture they had suffered as prisoners of war. Their stories directly contradicted Jane Fonda's earlier statements of 1972. Some of the American POWs such as Senator John McCain, a former Presidential candidate, stated that he was tortured by his guards for refusing to meet with Jane Fonda and her group. Jane Fonda, in her response to these new allegations, referred to the returning POWs as being "hypocrites and liars." The Wall Street Journal (August 3, 1995) published an interview with Bui Tin who served on the General Staff of the North Vietnam Army and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. During the interview Mr. Tin was asked if the American antiwar movement was important to Hanoi's victory. Mr. Tin responded "It was essential to our strategy" referring to the war being fought on two fronts, the Vietnam battlefield and back home in America through the antiwar movement on college campuses and in the city streets. He further stated the North Vietnamese leadership listened to the American evening news broadcasts "to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement." Visits to Hanoi made by persons such as Jane Fonda, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and various church ministers "gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses." Mr. Tin surmised that "America lost because of its democracy; through dissent and protest it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win." Mr. Tin further advised that General Vo Nguyen Giap (Commanding General of the North Vietnam Army) said the 1968 Tet Offensive was a defeat. Gen. Giap in his book, made the same statement, adding that they were surprised by the news media reporting and the demonstrations in America. Instead of seeking a conditional surrender, they would now hold out because America's resolve was weakening and victory could be theirs. From 1969 to the end of the war over 20,000 American soldiers lost their lives in a war that the United States did not have the resolve to win. If General Giap was accurate in his assessment that North Vietnam was going to seek a conditional surrender at the Paris Peace Conference, but stopped due to the sensationalism of the American news media and the anti-war protests following the 1968 Tet Offensive, it follows that those who participated in these anti-war activities have to share partial responsibility for those 20,000 + Americans deaths. We won the war on the battlefield but lost it back home on the college campuses and in the city streets. Americans must realize that there are agents* operating in this Country attempting to undermine our Country and it's leadership through our democratic principles in an effort to achieve a foreign country's goal. A prime example of such a person during the Vietnam War was Jane Fonda, an admitted Socialist, who blatantly supported North Vietnam. * Agent - Any person who works to obtain the goals of another nation either for money or for their own political beliefs. A valuable lesson was taught by North Vietnam to other nations on how the United States may be defeated by fighting a two front war - the battlefield and the American home front. We must be aware of this vulnerability. In 1975, after the fall of the South Vietnam Government, Jane Fonda returned to Hanoi with her newborn son Troy for a celebration in her honor for the work she had done for North Vietnam. During the celebration, her son was christened after a Viet Cong hero, Nguyen Van Troi. Troi had attempted to assassinate Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara while on his visit to South Vietnam in 1963. The South Vietnam Government executed Troi for this attempted assassination.
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