Echoes of Combat [Hardcover]

Fred Turner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Exploring the parallels between the healing of Vietnam veterans and America's cultural recovery from the war, an analysis of the link between private trauma and public memory connects individual and social suffering and explains how our understanding of Vietnam has been transformed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since the end of the Vietnam War, freelance reporter and critic Turner posits, Americans have been torn between two compelling desires: they want to put the war behind them; yet they also want to relive it in detail through magazines, books and movies. Arguing that this conflict is a symptom of psychological distress, Turner uses the framework of the trauma recovery movement to analyze our national post-Vietnam psyche, and to determine a course of healing. Reading at times like excerpts from a psychiatrist's notebook, this work is both provocative and entertaining. The men's movement, for instance, is couched as an attempt to recoup cultural masculinity that was damaged, if not destroyed, by Vietnam. Turner's conclusion on this topic?that our collective attitude toward Robert McNamara is the key to resolving our national "father longing"?may strike many as a stretch. But the material leading up to this conclusion successfully juxtaposes its anecdotes with analyses, drawing readers into the psychological examination. Throughout the book, Turner raises and takes sides on many controversial issues likely to stir old passions. Yet his presentation is nonconfrontational, resulting in a carefully considered and intelligent attempt to interpret the war's aftermath.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Turner, a contributor to Progressive magazine and an educator, offers a provocative assessment of the impact of the North Vietnamese victory on American culture. While the analogy he draws between personal combat trauma and the culture as a whole may be difficult for many to support totally, this psychological perspective on a frequently debated topic adds to the discussion. This new work should be of value to scholars, who are invariably interested in the means by which a nation copes with military defeat in the postwar era. Lay readers and students generally prefer reading about the battles, political decisions, and civil and military personalities of the war itself, but public libraries with strong Vietnam War collections should also consider.?John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st Anchor Books ed edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385475632
• ISBN-13: 978-0385475631
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,091,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An innovative and powerful analysis of this complex subject., May 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Echoes of Combat (Hardcover)

This is one of the most powerful books on the legacy of Vietnam I've ever read. It does for Vietnam what Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory did for World War I: It takes the experiences of combat vetrans, many of whom Turner has interviewed, and shows how the fighting they engaged in changed the culture they came from. Turner has done extensive research, but what I liked best about the book wasn't its comprehensiveness. It was the way Turner brought all his material together under the metaphorical umbrella of post-traumatic stress disorder. Where other writers sometimes seem to still be caught up in the old left vs. right, hawk vs. dove arguments of the war era, Turner has found a way to show how the actions of individual soldiers and of the nation as a whole have been completely intertwined. This book would be perfect for a college history class on the war and its effects, but it's also a good read. I recommend it highly

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Trivial, inaccurate and biased, December 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Echoes of Combat (Hardcover)

If you want to read a book about Vietnam veterans by a man who doesn't know any, has never been to Vietnam, hasn't done his homework but has been to the movies and hung around the facultry lounge and believes that that qualifies him to write a book on the subject, run right out and buy this turkey. Inaccurate, biased and insulting to everyone proud of his service (80%+ of all Vietnam veterans). Skip this childish rubbish and buy The Nightengale's Song instead; it's a much better book in every way