Death Valley [Mass Market Paperback]

Keith W. Nolan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1988

Author of the well received Battle for Hue and Into Laos, Nolan once again captures the stark reality of combat in Vietnam.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Keith William Nolan is one of the foremost historians on the Vietnam War and the author of the highly-regarded Battle for Hue, The Magnificent Bastards, Into Cambodia and, with Dwight W. Birdwell, A Hundred Miles of Bad Road. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (August 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440201470
• ISBN-13: 978-0440201472
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent grunt's eye-view of Vietnam, Summer 1969, June 15, 2004

By 

Anthony J Goodrich (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Valley: The Summer Offensive, I Corps, August 1969 (Paperback)

First, this book was published in 1987, not 1984 as one of the other reviewers mentioned. Second, the Marine units (5th and 7th Marine Regiments) in this book were part of the 1st Marine Division not the 3rd Marine Division. Third, this is Nolan's third book, not his first ("Battle for Hue" and "Into Laos, Operation Dewey Canyon II/Lamson 719" were his first two books). I enjoyed this book immensely primarily because I was serving as an 0331 machine gunner with Mike 3/5 during the summer of 1969 and I vividly recall our company actions in Arizona Territory, Que Sons Mountains, Go Noi Island, Liberty Bridge, and Hills 10, 22, 65 . Nolan's description of "The Arizona Territory" in 1969 as the "war's bloodiest arena" is apt as my unit spent many long weeks humping that hideous area and lost many Marines to snipers, booby-traps, incoming, ambushes, and sapper attacks. I appreciate Nolan writing about combat during the Vietnam War that occurred after Tet '68 as many books and media accounts apparently thought the war ceased to exist after 1968. Nolan's motivation to write "about the war as the soldier saw it" and what the "average grunt experienced in Vietnam" is clearly expressed in his writing and I, as one of those summer of '69 "grunts," appreciate his efforts to show us as good Marines and soldiers caught up in a crappy situation who performed as well as any American "grunt" from past wars. I highly recommend this book and all of Nolan's subsequent books about the Vietnam War. Nolan books honor those of us who served as infantrymen in Vietnam at a time when so many others reviled our sacrifices and attempted to dishonor our service through exagerration, hyperbole, and tired cliche.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The 1969 battle in Que Son Valley, November 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Valley: The Summer Offensive, I Corps, August 1969 (Paperback)

Keith Nolan documents and highlights the events that occured during August, 1969 in the area of Hiep Duc District of Quan Tin Province, commonly referred to by the American forces there as the Que Son Valley. The major US Army unit involved was 4/31st Inf., 196 Light Infrantry Brigade of the Americal Div. The book details the battle with a regiment or larger sized NVA force that moved into the area south of LZ West, 4/31st battalion firebase. The book maintains a more or less "traditional" military history format, unfolding in chronological order, with side trips to recap previous events and personal anecdotes leading up to the conflict. This book is very specific to this action, and will be of greatest interest to those who were there or had connections to the units involved. It is quite exhaustively researched and written. Maps and photos are included. Provides some history about American units that received little publicity during the war.(Review by 4/31st member DEROS July 1969)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Factual record of a historical time in the Vietnam war., January 18, 1999

By 

J. R. Ross (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death Valley: The Summer Offensive, I Corps, August 1969 (Paperback)

Research is accurate and detailed. I was a member of one of the participating units; and it happened as written. Intense and spellbounding book covering a dramatic fight for their lives of Army and Marine Corps units. Marine Corps Vietnam vets will think it should be mandatory reading. Semper Fi