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Rating: 
Summary: A banquet of emotions: I laughed, I cried, I mourned
Review: "The Proud Bastards" is not about war; it's about a man who went to war, a 20th century hero's journey told with gut-wrenching truth. Follow Mike as he leaves his ordinary world, still an idealistic boy. Laugh as he endures often hilarious and grueling days of Marine boot camp. Then follow him on to the dark, frightening culture shock of war-torn Vietnam. It is an odyssey that takes you from boyhood dreams to adulthood's most gruesome reality. Not for males only, it is an insightful look into the soul of a young man as he faces the challenges of battle and brings home the precious elixir--life.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Read!
Review: Helms' powerful writing style gripped me from the first page. A fast-paced, realistic account of what grunts went through during the war. I read the trade paperback version, and this one had the same emotional impact on me. I laughed about some of his experiences in boot camp, felt knotted inside through the Vietnam fighting, and am glad he survived and wrote his story. I've read many books about the Vietnam War, and this is by far the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother
Review: If you want to read some good books on the Viet Nam War, try Run between the Raindrops, The Battle of Hue, Operation Ripcord, or anything else. This book was not worth the money I wasted on it. It seems as if Mr. Helms gathered all his letters from his service and just included lines from them. There was very little dialog (memory may have failed him). I am not criticizing his service to this great nation, nor would I ever to presume to tell him how to write a book, but I would not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Account
Review: Never have I read a more gripping combat account. It's a wild, unfettered
ride. From the author's numbing, raunchy belittlement at Parris Island
Marine boot camp to fighting in a faraway country he found "luring, lovely,
and lethal," Helms pulls no punches. I especially like "Mikey's" biting,
insightful running dialogue with himself.Often as I read a book I will pause and thumb through a few pages to see how
soon the chapter will end; perhaps because I've lost focus and I'm ready for
it to end. I never did that while reading "The Proud Bastards" because Mr.
Helms spared me the bother. He has the blessed knack to know when his
readers are ready for a chapter to end and he writes accordingly. Helms is observant in other ways that made reading this book an adventure.
Seldom have I read a brutal war story graced with so many coloful
descriptive passages about the lay of the land: the trees, birds, mountains,
ocean, stars, and the weather. Such contrasting lends realism that "takes
the reader there." I think it both sets the stage for and respites the
gruesome battle scenes to follow. I owe E. Michael Helms. He took me to Vietnam, showed me around, then got me
out of there when he knew it was time for both of us to leave. He is an
especially gifted writer, which "The Proud Bastards" proves abundantly. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Book
Review: One of the best Marine Corp, and Vietnam related books that I have ever read. Really gives a sense of what the Marines and Vietnam were like. I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Book
Review: One of the best Marine Corp, and Vietnam related books that I have ever read. Really gives a sense of what the Marines and Vietnam were like. I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Simplistically Powerful - Inordinately Complex
Review: Rarely does a book foster and inspire an epiphany within me. Yet, "Proud Bastards" by E. Michael Helms - a raw-edged, revealing account of life as a Marine, and service in the Vietnam war, took me to the edge of civilization and back again. Mr. Helms' style of personal narrative reveals not only a soldier's courage, fears, and sense of duty; but his own personal courage in facing and recounting his experiences to the reader who is propelled along the tumultuous currents of Helms' fascinating and riveting journey. I laughed with him, cried with him, touched, tasted and smelled the horrors of war, as well as felt the triumphs and loss of camaraderie through his poignant words. Helms' exquisite sense of timing, and his balance of the good times as well as the bad, combine to make his book a masterpiece weaving of complexities, confusions, brutality and horror; his relentless assault on one's senses - all forgiven through the comprehension of humanity's fragility. From this book, I could finally understand the kind of pain that I saw reflected in my own Father's eyes when he thought of his service in Vietnam. "Proud Bastards" will touch the heart of all patriots, and the soul of all humans in its reflections of indomitable will and courage - and the simplicity of a sunrise in the heroic heart of a soldier far from home.
Rating:
Summary: Simplistically Powerful - Inordinately Complex
Review: Rarely does a book foster and inspire an epiphany within me. Yet, "Proud Bastards" by E. Michael Helms - a raw-edged, revealing account of life as a Marine, and service in the Vietnam war, took me to the edge of civilization and back again. Mr. Helms' style of personal narrative reveals not only a soldier's courage, fears, and sense of duty; but his own personal courage in facing and recounting his experiences to the reader who is propelled along the tumultuous currents of Helms' fascinating and riveting journey. I laughed with him, cried with him, touched, tasted and smelled the horrors of war, as well as felt the triumphs and loss of camaraderie through his poignant words. Helms' exquisite sense of timing, and his balance of the good times as well as the bad, combine to make his book a masterpiece weaving of complexities, confusions, brutality and horror; his relentless assault on one's senses - all forgiven through the comprehension of humanity's fragility. From this book, I could finally understand the kind of pain that I saw reflected in my own Father's eyes when he thought of his service in Vietnam. "Proud Bastards" will touch the heart of all patriots, and the soul of all humans in its reflections of indomitable will and courage - and the simplicity of a sunrise in the heroic heart of a soldier far from home.
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