Close Quarters [Paperback]

Larry Heinemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1983

From the moment his first novel was published, Larry Heinemann joined the ranks of the great chroniclers of the Vietnam conflict--Philip Caputo, Tim O’Brien, and Gustav Hasford.

In the stripped-down, unsullied patois of an ordinary soldier, draftee Philip Dosier tells the story of his war. Straight from high school, too young to vote or buy himself a drink, he enters a world of mud and heat, blood and body counts, ambushes and firefights. It is here that he embarks on the brutal downward path to wisdom that awaits every soldier. In the tradition of Naked and the Dead and The Thin Red Line, Close Quarters is the harrowing story of how a decent kid from Chicago endures an extraordinary trial-- and returns profoundly altered to a world on the threshold of change.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An unremittingly honest look into the black pit of war....Larry Heinemann's voice is clear and true." -The New York Time

"The best work of fiction to come out of the Vietnam War." -The Houston Chronicle

"Close Quarters can stand with the finest Vietnam writing, fact or fiction." --Chicago Tribune

“The most ambitious and substantial novel about the war in Vietnam . . . . the first one that people can read 75 years from now and gain an insight into how the war was truly fought . . . following the talk of the soldiers, you feel more like an eavesdropper than a reader.” —Kansas City Star


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Publisher

10 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books, Incorporated (August 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446311960
• ISBN-13: 978-0446311960
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,501,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close Quarters... One of the 10 great books about Vietnam..., April 9, 2000

By 

Kevin J. Giltrud - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Quarters (Contemporary American fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read Mr. Heinemann's 'Close Quarters' in 1975, while on active duty with the USAF. It grabbed me by the throat with its first paragraph and didn't let go until the last sentence. The language, mood, and sense of no time but the present are dead on. From the hero's entrance as a 'Cherry' or 'FNG' to the time he's 'Short'. The story rolls like a tank and doesn't slow down. The one chapter dedicated to the New Year's Eve attack on Deadeye's firebase is one of the finest, most descriptive and detailed ever put to paper. Keeping up tension with each frightful second. Few writers have this ability. And though I've never experienced one, I experienced viscerally the chaos, tension, and stink of fear that a 'No S**t Firefight' encomapsses. I've many friends who went to South East Asia and can easily understand their reluctance to speak about their time there. I am forever grateful that Mr. Heinemann did. The stink, the heat and humidity, the fear and helplessness are all there. Wrapped in the confines of a fire base or M-113 APC. Martin Scorcese should do this as a film, since the screenplay would be the book and reader would become one of the the team. With Deadeye, Dewey, Whiskey J, Quinn, and the Lt. A voyeur, overhearing flawless, raw, pure from the gut dialog. Few books have such power. John Del Vecchio's '13th Valley', Dale A. Dye's 'Run Between the Raindrops', James Webb's 'Fields of Fire', and Gus Hasford's "Short Timers' are close. This is the real deal! Science fiction writer David Drake could take lessons from Mr. Heinemann, since they shared the same MOS. Infinitely readable. And re-readable. If you know anyone who experienced the war in Vietnam, or any war; buy and read this book! It might give you an idea of where that person is coming from.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Writing Effort, August 27, 2000

By 

brazos49 "brazos49" (Sugar Land, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Close Quarters (Contemporary American fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

In my opinion, this is simply a first class story written by an extremely gifted writer. If you have any interest in reading about Vietnam, about war in general, about men in extraordinary conditions you should enjoy this novel. I was sorry to finish it and look forward to reading more work by the author.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest war novel ever, March 4, 2005

By 

Patience H. C. Mason (High Springs, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Quarters (Contemporary American fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

Larry Heinemann is one of our greatest writers and this book is an intense and painful trip into the hell of war. I could not put it down. Heinemann made me feel fear, anger and desperation at the insanity of war. He uses words like paint, piling detail upon detail until you are inside the story with him feeling rage at the waste of people's lives. Read it and weep. But read it if you love good writing.