A Rumor of War

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Summary: An honest and terrifying view of a soldier's mind.
Review: This book has been the most thought provoking that I have read in a long time. Not only does it tell the story of the soldier's day to day life, but also the thoughts of a young boy who grew up too fast. The book itself captures and holds the reader's attention from the first chapter to the last. It is honest as well as terrifying. Anyone who wants to know what goes through a soldier's mind during the horror of war has to read this book.

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Summary: Astounding. A "must" read.
Review: In terms of a basic understanding of a Vietnam soldier's mentaility this book is unbeatable. Be prepared for a emotional roller-coaster.

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Summary: An excellent book. It should be read by all.
Review: This book is one of my favorites. I read it 10 or 15 years ago, and just finished it again. I was graduating from high school when the war was just starting to end. I was waiting for my greetings from the President, and a Senior Trip. I was glad it didn't come. But I think everyone should read this book. I brings back the memories of the 6:00 news, and tells a far more detailed story of the daily lives of our soldiers in Nam. Some quite frightening, all enlightening, and everyone should read this before they ever think of sending our youth to a land far away to fight on other soil. I am not saying we shouldn't do it, we should just make sure the cause is just, and we are there for the right reasons. This book is a must read for all high school students who don't remember or know much about the war in Viet Nam.

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Summary: This is one great Book, I have read this Book Twice,
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. It brings back alot of memory's from the Nam. I have also seen the move, which I think was good but not as good as the Book. Keep up the good work, and thank you for the memory's, they were not all bad, some were Very Good, You did not have to be there to enjoy this book. The book it's self brings you right in the action. You feel what they felt you see what they saw, it brings you right along with them when thay go on patrol,when they set a ambush or was ambushed, you feel the pride in every one of them. Even though thay were Marines.I was ARMY. THANKS GREAT BOOK

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Summary: Honest and engaging
Review: A superbly written account of Mr. Caputo's experience as one of the first Marines in Vietnam. Highly detailed and always entertaining, this is a must read for anyone interested in the Vietnam War or in the frightening effect that war can have on the individual

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Summary: Should be mandatory reading in every high school!!
Review: Caputo describes the Vietnam War, or the "the splendid little war" as he ironically calls it, as his journey from being an enthusiastic idealist poisoned by the romanticized view of war as a chivalrous and noble enterprise to the dehumanized and desensitized wreck that he becomes during his tour in Vietnam. The book is an amazing testimony about the true nature of war with all its atrocities and horrors. Caputo brilliantly captures the endless despair of being strained in the jungle with no clear reason for being there, the hopeless madness of chasing the guerillas and the agony of loosing friends. But the most important aspect of this book is that it shows how a normal mentally healthy person can be turned in the course of a few months into a thoughtless killing machine, fast on the trigger, without any remorse for his victims. Caputo exploits very strong and vivid images such as "pigs eating napalm-charred human corpses" to force the reader into his story and make the reader feel what Caputo has felt. Every single high school student, every single gung-ho young kid in boot camp must read this book -it is about real war, real corruption, real deaths, and real emotional scars left for life.

Very realistic book that cannot leave you indifferent, definitely up there with Remarque's "All quiet on the Western front." If you want to know what fighting the Vietnam War was really like, I can't imagine how any book can possibly be better than Rumor of War.

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Summary: I was there...it's true
Review: I landed in "Chu Lai" with the Marines on May 7, 1965. Do you want to know what it was like? Read this book. Caputo has written the most accurate account I have ever seen -- both of the action and the emotions.

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Summary: Should be a mandatory reading in every high school
Review: Caputo describes "the splendid little war" as his road from an enthusiastic idealist poisoned by the romanticized view of war as a chivalrous and noble enterprise to the dehumanized and desensitized wreck that he becomes during his tour in Vietnam. The book is an amazing testimony about the true nature of war with all its atrocities and horrors. Caputo brilliantly captures the endless despair of being strained in the jungle with no clear reason for being there, the hopeless madness of chasing the guerillas and the agony of loosing friends. But the most important aspect of this book is that it shows how a normal mentally healthy person can be turned into a thoughtless killing machine in the course of a few months, fast on the trigger, without any remorse for his victims. Caputo uses very strong and vivid images such as "pigs eating napalm-charred human corpses" to force the reader into his story and feel what Caputo has felt. Very realistic book that cannot leave you indifferent, definitely up there with Remarque's "All quiet on the Western front." If you want to know what fighting the Vietnam War was really like, I can't imagine how any book can possibly be better than Rumor of War.

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Summary: Great book
Review: It takes alot for me to rate anything a 5 but this book is amoung my favorite litature from the vietnam war. I read It about 5 years ago when I was still in High School before I joined the Army, And when ever someone I know is reading a book about vietnam I always recromend this one to them

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Summary: Gritty book about an even grittier war
Review: While reading A Rumor of War, you can get a pretty good description of what occurred during the Vietnam War. I thought it was a very believable fiction story. I thought that the overall mood of the book was very believable. As the story begins, the main character almost feels knightly going into war. He sees it as a glory event, in which he wants to take part of. But realistically, his mindset changes as the war goes on. I thought the human emotion showed was right on. The main character gets steadily more depressed, and eventually leads his men into slaughtering an entire village. I thought that was pretty depressing, especially his outlook on life.

Were I to be in the soldier's position, I would have similar outlooks on life, but he just seems so gloomy all the time. He started out vibrant, and ended up being calloused and tough. This isn't a very surprising change in a person during war, but it was a change nonetheless. The main character as a whole I liked though. He was young, in his 20's, and shared a few of the same viewpoints as me on life.

Most of the book was pretty exciting, as it had plenty of action and bad language, but it also had some drab conversations. It felt like reading a war movie, so either Hollywood or the authors, Caputo, do pretty good work in describing war. I haven't read any other war books, so I don't know how this one would compare to another. Worth reading if you enjoy war material.