Really took me back when he mentioned places I was stationed, especially those of his "lieutenant." I wasn't in the bush with the grunts, but so much else he mentioned took me back to my time in Viet Nam and Okinawa.
This was a good look at what the Vietnam war was like ,made me glad I didn,t have to go !!
Jim Webb served his time in Vietnam during one of my nearly three years in Vietnam. I found this book just after the original publication in 1979. It was as if I was reading a biography of my own service with the grunts in the 1st Marine Division. In the years since I have always admired his work, first as a Platoon and Company Commander in 5th Marines and then as Secretary of the Navy and as an author.
Fields of Fire fully described the green hell that was Vietnam for every Marine infantryman who served there.
If you want to get a feel for what that war was like, read this book. If you think you might want to go fight in a war, read this book.
AMAZON.COM READER'S REVIEW
I have read just about every Nam novel I could get my hands on and nothing can compare to this one. The characters are awesome: Snake, Senator, Lt. Hodges, Cannonball, Bagger. A Marine squad gets into some awesome firefights with the gooks. Some of the night attacks are so realistic it will give you the sweats. Very realistic. Based upon the author's own first hand experiences as a young Marine sent over during the height of the jungle war. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
