Customer Reviews

The Fire Dream

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book when it was published in 1989, and was so moved by it I am compelled to write a review 8 years later. An outstanding story about duty and honor that will be a real treat to anyone who was part of the war or is interested in military fiction. Navy Lt. Stuart, on assignment with the Army as a land-based "spotter" for Naval gunfire, is a rich character through whose eyes one sees the drama, intrigue, and emotional anguish experienced by those who served with honor and dinstinction in this unpopular conflict. This is remarkable and serious book -- not simply an "action" novel -- a book that will fill the reader with many of the same emotions as experienced by Lt. Stewert. Although the novel apparently was not commercially successful, Mr. Leib has done a great service to those who served by writing this book. I have not been as moved by anything I have read in the past decade, and regard my mint condition, hard-cover copy as a prize possession.

Like the protagonist, I was a Naval line officer who served first on a ship off the Vietnam coast, then attended Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training, and then served an extended tour in-country, all at almost the same time as Lieb's LT Stuart. I was completely absorbed in this book, and it brought back a hundred memories.

I thought I was part of a very narrow audience who would appreciate it. I see that all 15 prior reviewers gave it the full five stars. I salute those who got so much satisfaction out of it, and I have no quarrel with their high rating.

The reason I give it only four stars is that I don't think the literary quality quite lives up that of classics like "Fields of Fire", "The Things They Carried" and "Dispatches". The plotting is a little too formulaic and the writing is all on the nose.

But for anyone on the fence, do by all means read it. Entirely worthwhile.

This book focuses on the bonds between men during times of stress and peril. It helps the reader understand and appreciate the changes war creates in men and the deep relationships developed under those conditions. It is truly one of the finest and most moving books I have read.

This is the finest novel about the Vietnam War I have read. I wonder why Mr Leib stopped writing. I found this book in a box of give away paperbacks in a funky little store on the Sacramento River Delta. I have been hooked ever since. With some books I look back in laborious effort to keep track of characters and actions. With this book, I eagerly review sections for character connections and to review the "lay of the land".

Mr. Leib provides us a compelling view of Vietnam, how the conflict ebbs and flows and the believable and extremely insightful story of the lives of the men. He gave me a perspective I never had even though I lived through this time in our history. This should have been a NY Times bestseller.

One of the best war books ever written. The insight to the characters makes you feel like you were there. Having read quite a few Vietnam war books, this one rates as the most memorable. I highly recommend this book!

I, too, read this book several years ago and have been looking for another copy. This one gets locked up and never lent again. The final episode when Lt. Stuart is flying back to the U.S. and talking to one of his fellow passengers moved me to tears.

WOW!!!!! Not since James Webb's "Fields of Fire" have I read a Nam novel of this caliber. It was fantastic. One of those books that just keep you up late at night reading it. The story of Ensign William Stuart, USNR, a ROTC officer who starts out on an old converted aircraft carrier off the coast of Nam and then eventually becomes the leader of a naval gunfire spotting team. They have some incredible firefights with the VC and NVA. The guys on the team are well developed characters: Bobby, an angry black athlete drafted by the NY Giants AND the US Army so he enlists in the Marines; Moser, a big dumb gunner's mate who carries an old Browning .50 caliber machine gun with him in the bush; Hunter, who burns with revenge after his Vietnamese girlfriend is murdered. Leading them all is Stuart, a very gifted officer whose wife writes him a Dear John letter while he is in de Nam which just tears him apart. He is so cool under fire he earns the nickname "Ice." The book concludes with a visit back to The World where protesters meet Stuart at the airport and spatter him with red paint to symbolize blood and call him a baby killer. Brought back some really bad memories of that time in our country's history for this old vet. Great dialogue between the members of the fire team as they discuss the meaning of the war, racial differences, etc. I guess I just cannot say enough good things about this book. I loved it. You should read it.

I have read this book over 5 times and each time it moves me even more. Being a US Navy vet, I found it also to be factual, and also intense. Read this book, and you will then understand what I feel.

Lt.Stuart, SSgt Coles, Sgt Hunter, and GM3 Moser are amazing individuals, who are brought together under horrible circumstances and bonded by fate. These seemingly ordinary soldiers show how compassion, devotion to duty, and the love/hate conflict of war, can bring out the very best in all good men. The love they shared for each other, and the honorable way they performed in battle, is what soldiers should all strive for. Truly outstanding! FredLom@aol.com

Whenever I need a book to stir inside me the essence of what it means to be a soldier, man, and human being, I read this book. The battles are detail oriented, and the character development is top notch. One of the finest books I have ever read.