Into the Green: A Reconnaissance by Fire [Mass Market Paperback]

Cherokee Paul McDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Into the Green is Cherokee Paul McDonald's stark and stirring account of his three years as an Artillery Forward Observer in Vietnam. Born out of memories and emotions, and the weight of conscience, it is an eloquent meditation on what it means to be a soldier.

McDonald tells his story "in the voice of memory; as a writer looking back." He wanted to capture the immediacy of war moment by moment-the tastes, the textures, the colors, smells, and emotions that have stayed with him forever. In a series of interlocking episodes he describes the daily grind of military life and the terror and brutality of active combat. He talks about the men who were his comrades and friends, and nights spent in the impenetrable darkness of steaming jungles beneath a triple canopy of green in the central highlands of Vietnam.

An indelible portrait of a soldier and of the physical and emotional destruction that is the legacy of all wars, Into the Green is a haunting chronicle of a place and a time that will never fade from memory.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To "recon by fire" is to let loose aggressively on suspected enemy positions. In this stylized Vietnam War memoir, McDonald (Blue Truth) lets loose with bursts of memories in the form of many short chapters, each of which deals with some aspect of the author's war experiences. McDonald went to Vietnam as a brand-new artillery second lieutenant in January 1968. He arrived after the Tet offensive and served for 11 months as a forward observer, moving throughout the Central Highlands in support of several American and South Vietnamese infantry units, including the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the Fourth Infantry Division and Green Beret teams. He worked in a three-man team and saw more than his share of action before leaving Vietnam on a medevac helicopter, the victim of a severe case of malaria. At his best, McDonald convincingly evokes the feel of the war from his ground-level perspective and his witnessing of much death and destruction. He describes the worst of it in an intense, in-your-face manner, sometimes using reconstructed dialogue and his imagination although McDonald says that everything in the book "is real." Other stories are told more straightforwardly. McDonald has bitterly harsh things to say about Robert McNamara, Jane Fonda, war correspondents and combat photographers. He staunchly defends his fellow troops, calling them "regular young guys trying to do the best they could under ill-defined and difficult circumstances, trying not to shame themselves, and trying to get home where they belonged." Most vets would agree.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An Artillery Forward Observer in Vietnam was responsible for directing large amounts of firepower over considerable distances to provide immediate support to infantry units under enemy attack. The junior officer charged with this duty had to oversee a number of artillery and air support functions while simultaneously operating as a combat leader in a ground unit. Reflecting on his service, McDonald (Under Contract: The True Account of a Cop Hired To Kill) speaks volumes about the stress and terror of war while also reminding the reader of the touching humanity of the erstwhile civilians called upon for military service. In place of an exhaustive, day-by-day account of the war, McDonald introduces Vietnam through a series of vignettes on life in and out of the firing line. This is Vietnam as it has rarely been described, and each short narrative offers an eloquent testimonial to the conflict. With these brilliantly written stories, McDonald has given students of war and of Vietnam a stunning view of the American experience. Recommended for academic and public library Vietnam collections. John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Plume (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452282527
• ISBN-13: 978-0452282520
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,129 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 READ THIS BOOK!!!!, August 13, 2001

By 

Gary A. Linderer (Festus, Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the Green: A Reconnaissance by Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

As an author and a Vietnam vet I've read more than 1,200 books on the Vietnam War. I can say without doubt that Into the Green by Cherokee Paul McDonald is one of the top five. If you're looking for the details, the emotions, the terror, the fears, the humor, and the nightmares, read Into the Green. It explains why, for many, there exists a brotherhood of warriors, and for others only an empty place in their souls. Share McDonald's experience, and discover the "why's" of warfare. I hope this is not his last book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One-of-a-kind and amazing, July 9, 2001

By 

"neverbluffs" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the Green: A Reconnaissance by Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

First, McDonald is a great writer. He tells his story in lean prose, with military precision. There's not a wasted word, and this memoir moves at the pace of a movie. INTO THE GREEN is told in short bursts, each one as powerful as a mortar blast. McDonald glosses over nothing. He describes what it was like to be shiny and new, to kill, to survive. There are heroes in this book, but there is very little glory. Mostly, it's about men who went, did their jobs, and tried to get home. Too many never made it back. I was born in 1973, and INTO THE GREEN makes me thankful that I am too young to have gone, and makes me appreciate those who did. This book is a must-read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with searing images, July 4, 2002

By 

Schmerguls "schmerguls" (Sioux City, Ia USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Into the Green: A Reconnaissance by Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

I think this book deserves to rank with Dispatches, by Michael Herr, and A Rumor of War, by Philip Caputo, (tho both are mentioned with some disparagement by the author) in the way of powerful Vietnam memoirs, tho I still think the greatest Vietnam books I have read are Fortunate Son, by Lewis B. Puller, Jr., and (the best of all) We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, by Harold G Moore and Joseph Galloway. The book is episodic, and thus has no narrative line, which I would have preferred, but the accumulation of accounts is searing. The account of his return home is horrific, and no matter what one thinks of the Vietnam War, for him to have had to undergo what he relates is shocking and extremely anger-inducing, and I wish he had told us that he did to the persons who encountered him what he must have felt like doing. A great book.