Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of A Rumor of War

A Rumor of War
A Rumor of War
Author: Philip Caputo
Book Type: Paperback
hardtack avatar reviewed on + 2569 more book reviews


One of the best books I've ever read about the experiences of a U.S.M.C. lieutenant in Viet Nam. Like Caputo, I too was a young Marine lieutenant who served in Viet Nam. Unlike him, I ran convoys to combat bases throughout northern South Viet Nam and didn't tramp the 'boonies' in search of the foe. In fact, my mission was to hope to never see combat, as truck convoys were sitting targets on the roads built above the rice paddies.

Still, I too remember the initial enthusiasm of serving my country when arriving 'in country,' and, like him, undergoing gradual disenchantment of war and the fighting in Viet Nam, until I realized that my primary mission was to get me and my men back home in one piece.

If you want to know what it was like to be a Marine in Viet Nam, read "A Rumor of War."