Rating: 
Summary: There But for the Grace of God, Go I ...
Review: "The Education of Lieutenant Kerry" is an eye-opening look at a singularly dark moment in Vietnam, and the resulting behavior of those involved. The former Senator and Governor from Nebraska, Robert Kerrey leads a team of highly trained Navy SEALS on two fantastic missions into backwaters of Vietnam in October of 1969. On one his team scales huge cliffs and battles heroically against fierce opposition. Kerrey suffers the loss of a leg, and is saved by a fellow SEAL. That mate, Gerhard Klann, a decorated veteran of Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq, now a steelmaker in Pennsylvania, reveals to writer Gregory Vistica a second, very different mission on which Kerrey led his SEAL team. That over two dozen women and children were cut to shreds by a hyper-aggressive team of US warriors at Thanh Phong is never disputed. What Vistica brings out though is the constantly wavering, growing-shadier-by-the-moment, inconsistent memories that Robert Kerrey provides of the tragedy. Were they fired at first? Where were participants standing? What was the mission? What orders did Kerrey give? Vistica explores in some depth, (much more is needed) each perspective. Klann never wavers in his story. Seemingly, Kerrey continually wavers. Furthermore, Vistica unveils a lifelong pattern of wavering on the part of the former Senator and Presidential aspirant. Should he accept a medal from Nixon? Is he a Democrat or Republican? Did he raise the endowment at a University or not? When is he telling the truth? Before I read this, my image of Kerrey was precisely what Vistica describes as the "idea of him rather than the reality: hero from the heartland, boyfriend of a movie star, governor, senator, and presidential candidate." Vistica's book is not the uncaring attack of an over-zealous journalist, but he attempts to debunk the golden-boy myth that surrounds Kerrey. In the end, the reader must judge how much is truth and how much is spin. "Quagmire" is a description frequently applied to the Vietnam conflict. Reading through these conflicting accounts of Thanh Phong, one realizes what an appropriate term that is. It is hard for any non-combatant to comprehend what that moment could possibly have been like. The result of a frightening, ill-advised, dangerous confrontation, far from home one evening long ago has had very long repercussions. It makes a civilian most appreciative of anyone serving his or her country, especially those on the front lines. A provocative read.
Rating: 
Summary: Vietnam: The Continuing Quagmire
Review: "The Education of Lieutenant Kerry" is an eye-opening look at a singularly dark moment in Vietnam, and the resulting behavior of those involved. The former Senator and Governor from Nebraska, Robert Kerrey leads a team of highly trained Navy SEALS on two fantastic missions into backwaters of Vietnam in October of 1969. On one his team scales huge cliffs and battles heroically against fierce opposition. Kerrey suffers the loss of a leg, and is saved by a fellow SEAL. That mate, Gerhard Klann, a decorated veteran of Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq, now a steelmaker in Pennsylvania, reveals to writer Gregory Vistica a second, very different mission on which Kerrey led his SEAL team. That over two dozen women and children were cut to shreds by a hyper-aggressive team of US warriors at Thanh Phong is never disputed. What Vistica brings out though is the constantly wavering, growing-shadier-by-the-moment, inconsistent memories that Robert Kerrey provides of the tragedy. Were they fired at first? Where were participants standing? What was the mission? What orders did Kerrey give? Vistica explores in some depth, (much more is needed) each perspective. Klann never wavers in his story. Seemingly, Kerrey continually wavers. Furthermore, Vistica unveils a lifelong pattern of wavering on the part of the former Senator and Presidential aspirant. Should he accept a medal from Nixon? Is he a Democrat or Republican? Did he raise the endowment at a University or not? When is he telling the truth? Before I read this, my image of Kerrey was precisely what Vistica describes as the "idea of him rather than the reality: hero from the heartland, boyfriend of a movie star, governor, senator, and presidential candidate." Vistica's book is not the uncaring attack of an over-zealous journalist, but he attempts to debunk the golden-boy myth that surrounds Kerrey. In the end, the reader must judge how much is truth and how much is spin. "Quagmire" is a description frequently applied to the Vietnam conflict. Reading through these conflicting accounts of Thanh Phong, one realizes what an appropriate term that is. It is hard for any non-combatant to comprehend what that moment could possibly have been like. The result of a frightening, ill-advised, dangerous confrontation, far from home one evening long ago has had very long repercussions. It makes a civilian most appreciative of anyone serving his or her country, especially those on the front lines. A provocative read.
Rating:
Summary: There But for the Grace of God, Go I ...
Review: ... My loyalty, unashamedly, will always be with the American Warrior, my band of brothers. But this allegiance, lest we become the enemy we scorn, is coupled to a Code, a universal discipline that does not tolerate or celebrate the slaughter of unarmed civilians, especially the uninvolved women and children we profess to be saving... I salute unsung hero, Gerhard Klann, for his bravery in Vietnam, his daring counterterrorism exploits in Iran and for his moral courage to set the record straight. Acknowledging the many legendary accomplishments of Senator Kerrey, his greatest contributions and his own salvation are yet to come. Seeking redemption, I believe that like many great men before him, he will eventually use his influence and personal experience to help prevent future Thanh Phongs. Proving that courage and patriotism takes many forms, Greg Vistica's, The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey, released after the events of September 11, is a ruthlessly honest book that helps answer one of the most important questions of our time ' 'Why do they hate us?'
Rating:
Summary: A tome for our times
Review: Contrary to a couple of the other "amateur" reviews already posted on this book, I say that, given the unfolding of events in Iraq, particularly the atrocities of the American military against prisoners and the shame of immorality that those atrocities carry, that are only just now beginning to surface and be investigated, this is perhaps the most timely book one could read today. Vistica uses the events of February, 1969, in Vietnam to examine America's collective self-image and the guilt of not living up to that image when engaged in battlefield realities. I say if you read no other book this year, this month, you must read this one. In it you will find grave lessons for those who are involved in fighting and policing overseas, as well as for politicians who are sending them as our agents. What will be said thirty years from now about what the United States is doing today?
Rating: 
Summary: Needs better editing, very badly
Review: I am not through reading this book. However, I may never read it completely. I'm about fifty pages through the story, and I find myself wondering with increasing frequency whether the manuscript was subjected to a rigorous editing by someone for clarity and then by someone who is very familiar with the military (preferably a SEAL) to make sure the author doesn't make silly little mistakes that set the antenna of a fussy reader with a significant military ackground like me twitching with annoyance (for example calling the uniform worn by SEALs in Vietnam "jungle fatigues" when what they actually wore and which one of the photographs in the book clearly shows are "tiger stripes"), In addition to these little errors, there are a number of passages where I found myself wondering what the [heck] the author meant. For example, he describes something Kerrey did as a hilarious practical joke and does not give the reader any idea of why it is so funny. In another passage, he speculates that Kerrey briefly worked as a pharmacist out of a possible desire to have stability, but then suggests the complete opposite in a following paragraph. Then there is the book's organization. The narrative jumps around too much. First, we're in Vietnam, then we're somewhere else at a different time, then we go somewhere else, etcetera etcetera. There is something to be said for a simple linear narrative with maybe one flashback. On another note, I think the fact that the elderly Vietnamese woman who may have seen the massacre take place allegedly recanted is dismissed too quickly by the author. I would like to know if he interviewed her after this alleged recantation. Similarly, I would like to know if he did an interview with the Vietnamese woman who claimed to see the killing as a little girl. On a final note, I felt I detected a fair amount of disdain in the author's tone when he talked about America's military establishment being a new kind of Sparta. Given the reputation that one of his employers, "Sixty Minutes(II)" has of loving to pin scandals on the military (often using shoddy material in the process), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at that.
Rating:
Summary: Book shows truth of Kerrey's lies
Review: I used to really like and respect Bob Kerrey and would have gladly voted for him for president. But after reading this book and knowing what I know from news accounts from 2001, I believe he is a war criminal and so are his men under him. They murdered those women and kids because they could and no one could do anything about it, and because they were, like many US troops in Nam, callous to the suffering of mere "dinks." On top of the massacre, Kerrey also lied to protect his name and then made the whole issue out to be about him and his own "suffering." As usual, Americans for the most part couldnt have cared less about the revelations since any real soul searching about Nam would ruin their own precious image of themselves and their country. The book proves how brutalized our nation had become by the late 60s. If the men who did it had been German or Japanese or God forbid, Iraqis, most people in this country would have said, "Ah, see how bad those people are and how good we are." But when its our guys, there are always excuses. A good read for people who seek the truth instead of what they want to believe.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK
Review: IT WAS VERY RESEARCHED AND AN INTERESTING TOPIC
I HIGHLY RECOMEND IT TO OTHER READERS
I REALLY ENJOY IT
IT DESERVES 10 STARS
Rating:
Summary: Senators as war criminals
Review: It's the rare book that exposes clear wrongdoing but does so in a way that stirs sympathy for those involved. Though this important book by the respected journalist Gregory Vistica uncovers a horrendous war-time atrocity, it has no anti-military theme to it. It's an engaging and thoughtful story of how members of a Navy SEAL unit have lived with the horrible memory of massacring some two-dozen women and children in a tiny Vietnamese village.
Even when Vistica methodically builds a case against Bob Kerrey, the commander of the SEAL unit who later became a popular U.S. senator and presidential candidate, he does so with great fairness. He relies on Kerrey's own words and actions to show how he dissembled and changed his story numerous times about his role in the killings. By Kerrey's own acknowledgement that he committed an "atrocity," one senses that he is slowly coming to terms with what the real truth of that brutal night is. Vistica convincingly shows how Kerrey fights within his own mind and rationalizes that this atrocity is different than a war crime.
There is more than ample evidence in this well written and authoritative book, including vivid passages about how the SEALs slit the throats of their victims, to warrant a government investigation. Yet, to his credit, Vistica's goal is not to prosecute Kerrey. If anything, as this country prepares for war with Iraq, he has written a cautionary tale of how good men can do bad things in combat. A superb read that deserves wide-spread attention -- especially among those who want to hold our military to high ethical standards.
Rating:
Summary: Just one question
Review: Solid, well written book and worth the money. I reccomend it. but aside from all the other disturbing issues this book raises about Kerrey and his men, I have one question for kerrey and anyone who defends him or "feels sorry for him:" how could anyone take a knife and cut a child's throat with it and still be called a hero? please, someone explain this to me.
Rating:
Summary: A Cautionary Tale
Review: This book is must reading for any policymaker, or citizen, as this country moves inexorably toward war. Whatever your view of our iraq policy, "The Education of Lt. Kerrey" will make you give some real thought about the impact of war on the young men and women we put in harm's way. I was capitivated by the narrative and appalled at the position we put our soldiers in in Vietnam. The question of individual guilt is a difficult one. Each of us will have to decide for ourselves the individual culpability of Bob Kerrey, although it certainly seems that he, himself, feels the guilt deeply. As a nation, however, Vistica's book leaves no doubt in my mind that we carry a signficant burden of guilt with regards to the war in Vietnam. This riveting tale has to give us some pause before sending our troops on another foreign adventure. The education of Lt. Kerrey can serve as a cautionary tale to the rest of America. Let us hope we can benefit, through this terrific book, from his education without having to relearn old lessons with the blood of our children.
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