Customer Reviews

Into the Green: A Reconnaissance by Fire

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Being the "girl he left behind", I admit this is a completely biased review. I remember many of the peripheral events Paul describes in this book, but I never knew that my mother wrote him a Dear John letter on my behalf. I have not seen Paul in over 30 years, so you can imagine my surprise when I learned he stood at the top of a mountain and yelled out his pain to the Vietnam skies. (Even though I rated right up there with the Opan Cadet and the ex-girlfriend). He was my first true love and I will always remember him well.

I found this book heartbreaking to read. Being divorced from a Viet Nam Vet, Special Forces, I wished that I knew then what I know now. My EX could never speak about the subject. It was like watching a giant of a man come completely unglued. After reading Cherokee Paul's version, I now understand why. The disrespect that the Americans showed these men upon returning to their country is a disgrace. Although, I am from the same generation, I am proud to say that I never took part in any of the demonstrations. Getting into this book brings you closer to understanding the horror that they were faced with. I believe the writer describes the events as he actually remembers them. I would highly recommend reading this book, its what I call "Heavy" and must be read slowly to appreciate!!

This looks like a book for a military reader because in fact it is a Vietnam memoir. However, after the first few pages it becomes clear that this book can be enjoyed and appreciated by any reader. It is a coming of age story - literary & profain, unapologetic and insightful. As a wife, mother and daughter - this book captured me and took me places I could never have imagined. The authors words are so real that you become totally consumed by his experiences. I highly recommend this book.

I never thought that I would read a military book, but on the suggestion of my fathr I picked up a copy of INTO THE GREEN and was blown away! The honest details about Cherokee McDonald's experience in Vietnam, while gory, helped me understand what a generation of men dealt with and what I will clearly never fully understand. Short and concise, this book is a must read for all young Americans who want to really know what fighting a war is all about.

Cherokee Paul McDonald reached his hand into my gut with this incredible book. I was hesitant to buy it since the publisher is not known for publishing military history. And the cover art and design doesn't bespeak the contents of your typical Vietnam War memoir, as I'm used to seeing with publishers such as Ivy and Presidio. Was this another guilt-ridden confession of dark deeds committed during wartime? A Philip Caputo clone? Another "Suicide Charlie?" Future script material for Oliver Stone? Something the college pukes of the 60's could read and feel good about? Shame on me for waiting so long to get into it.

As I slipped into the green with McDonald, I found this memoir to be one of the most compelling Vietnam War books I've ever read, and I've read more than a few. Stange to say, it's not a page turner, unless you're turning back to re-read the vignette you've just finished. When you finish most of these stories, you don't immediately jump to the next. At least I didn't. I found myself sitting there semi-stunned, ruminating over what I had just been hit over the head with, savoring the imagery, turning back to sift through the author's finely wrought prose again.

The writing style and diction are superb. Reading this collection of stories is like being inserted into the green itself. You smell the smells, hear the sounds, see the sights. But beware! It can break your heart. I am not ashamed of the tears that flowed after having finished the final chapter. Man, it blew me away. I love how McDonald confronts the war journalist. In my view they were all rotten bastards. I love how he uncovers the vile self-righteousness of the anti-war maggots, like opening the lid of a trashcan to let the sun shine on a bevy of writhing fly larvae. I love how he rebukes the lying and duplicitous Wunderkind, MacNamara, a man who can never wash the blood from his hands no matter how many books he writes.

Buy this book and descend into the green with Cherokee Paul McDonald. It's a beautiful, hard-hitting read.

A beautifully written book ... however. Mr. McDonald does a disservice to the book when he states that all these events he either experienced, witnessed, or knew the individuals involved. It would have been better if he had stated that he listened to veterans tell their war stories over the past thirty years, put his own spin on them and then recorded them as fiction based on fact. He does, in fact, write something close to that but a more precise disclaimer would have been welcome. Still a good read with wonderful insights of a generation of young men that serviced with pride and honor.

If you have ever spent any time with old fisherman or long time hunters, you know they tell tall tales. Unbelieveable stories of enormous bass or incredible hunts that one is not really expected to believe. The stories are often just cliche ridden recitations of old jokes or anectdones out of Reader's Digest. What these old story tellers did for fishing and hunting, Paul McDonald has done for the Viet Nam war. The book is not a continuous narrative, but a series of vignettes of the Viet Name experience. Name any of what have now become cliches of the Viet Nam war, and it is in this book. VC and NVA prisoners being thrown from choppers - It's in there. Beautiful prostitute that turns out to be VC - It's in there. Clueless new officers who do not know there job - It's in there. The dialogue between the author and his father that occurs when he tells his father that he has enlisted is laughably artifical. No Hollywood screenwriter could have come up with a more predictably scripted exchange. If you have ever seen one Viet Nam war movie or read anything at all about the Viet Nam war, then skip this book. It has nothing to add. Like someone who has just listened to a fish story, I do not what to believe. The author either went to Viet Nam and lived every single situation that is now a predictable part of every Viet Nam war story without having a single unique experience to tell, or he has distilled the stories and experiences of others into the Reader's Digest condensed version of fighting the Viet Nam war.