I have long been a fan of books about history and military conflicts. I like to listen to audiobooks in the car while shuttling the kids around to and from school, so I was pretty pleased when I found an audio version of Recondo for cheap.
The content of the book is not a surprise. Recondo is the authors account of serving with a Long Range Recon unit during the Vietnam War. The book covers his experiences in the military from enlisting to going his experiences after the war. For others that have read other books about LRRPs, Recondo starts roughly about the same time as Eyes of the Eagle by Gary Linderer ends. Both authors served in the same unit, so if you have read Gary Linderers books, there may be a bit of overlap.
What I did find surprising in this book is the authors ability to tell a story. In my opinion, Mr. Chambers is an extremely talented storyteller. Throughout the entire book, I felt as if I were there. His writings made me feel the excitement of battle, the fear of being the new guy and doing nothing right, and the dejection that came with no one seeming to care about the fact he made it home. Throughout the entire book, I felt as if I were sitting in the backyard with a beer, taking face to face with the author, watching the sunset with some steaks searing away on the grill.
I particularly enjoyed the ending of the book. I like to read about the military and war. I am fascinated with the stories of the people who have served our fine nation, not really the blood and guts aspect. At the end of the book, the author discusses his return home. I found a scene that he described at a party particular disturbing, as it seemed no one cared about the fact this fine young man just came back from serving his country. It offered a glimpse of an aspect of war not covered by many books.
The narrator of the audiobook, Brian Hallas, was an excellent choice. This deep, gravelly voice gave the feel of a story being told by an old, battle seasoned Sergeant. Personally, I would have paid twice as much for an unabridged version of this story.
Overall, this is one of the two best books I have heard/read on the Vietnam War. The author is a talented writer. Id highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the life of a soldier in combat, has an interest in the Vietnam War, or LRRPs.
The content of the book is not a surprise. Recondo is the authors account of serving with a Long Range Recon unit during the Vietnam War. The book covers his experiences in the military from enlisting to going his experiences after the war. For others that have read other books about LRRPs, Recondo starts roughly about the same time as Eyes of the Eagle by Gary Linderer ends. Both authors served in the same unit, so if you have read Gary Linderers books, there may be a bit of overlap.
What I did find surprising in this book is the authors ability to tell a story. In my opinion, Mr. Chambers is an extremely talented storyteller. Throughout the entire book, I felt as if I were there. His writings made me feel the excitement of battle, the fear of being the new guy and doing nothing right, and the dejection that came with no one seeming to care about the fact he made it home. Throughout the entire book, I felt as if I were sitting in the backyard with a beer, taking face to face with the author, watching the sunset with some steaks searing away on the grill.
I particularly enjoyed the ending of the book. I like to read about the military and war. I am fascinated with the stories of the people who have served our fine nation, not really the blood and guts aspect. At the end of the book, the author discusses his return home. I found a scene that he described at a party particular disturbing, as it seemed no one cared about the fact this fine young man just came back from serving his country. It offered a glimpse of an aspect of war not covered by many books.
The narrator of the audiobook, Brian Hallas, was an excellent choice. This deep, gravelly voice gave the feel of a story being told by an old, battle seasoned Sergeant. Personally, I would have paid twice as much for an unabridged version of this story.
Overall, this is one of the two best books I have heard/read on the Vietnam War. The author is a talented writer. Id highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the life of a soldier in combat, has an interest in the Vietnam War, or LRRPs.
