Long Range Patrol: A Novel of Vietnam [Paperback]

Dennis Foley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1992

"Thre are few novels about Vietnam, or any other war for that matter, that you can hand to someone and say, this is the way it was, this is what we were. Dennis Foley has written such a book."
CHRIS BUNCH AND ALLAN COLE
Authors of A RECKONING FOR KINGS
In 1965, Lieutenant Jim Hollister become one of the first platoon leaders helping to develop the support skills that would make LRRPs a legend of the war. Hollister quickly became an expert at judging the abilities and weaknesses of his men--men who became closer than brothers, men who fought for one another in a brutal, merciless jungle war where one small mistake could mean sudden death for everyone....


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strangely enough for a novel set in wartime Vietnam, this work is virtually free of conflict. Foley, who served in Vietnam himself, has created a series of episodes with no coherent theme or plot. Lt. Jim Hollister leads a platoon of men on dangerous missions. His team is suspected of having destroyed a South Vietnamese village, but after he is questioned once the matter is dropped. A buddy of Hollister's dies, and when he accompanies the body home, the lieutenant hears veiled references to the antiwar movement ("peace pussies") but never connects with anyone involved in it. While his fellow soldiers are carousing and visiting prostitutes, Hollister lies on his bunk writing letters to his fiancee, but the romance, with a publishing novicep. 15 , is unconvincing. The point of view of a Vietcong soldier (who destroyed the town Hollister had been accused of savaging) is introduced in the first chapter, but he dies soon after, having no extended impact. Authentic military lingo is so prevalent that the novel includes an abbreviated glossary, but overuse of acronyms distances the reader from the action, so that even the Long Range Patrol's death-defying missions fail to intrigue.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Sprawling tale of the Army's Ranger operations in the early days of the Vietnam War, by a screenwriter and Vietnam veteran. Foley fills his novel with both the history and lore of the LRRPs, or Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, which typically were composed of volunteers from regular Army units who were given more privileges in rear areas, but also were at higher risk. In groups of five or ten, they stayed in enemy territory for weeks at a time, undercover and silent. Their casualty rate was high, and the prolonged stress preyed on their mental health, but they were indisputably brave men, and much admired. Foley begins with a typical mission: Lieutenant Jim Hollister's platoon converges on a foggy morning to spring an ambush, in preparation for the full- scale assault by regulars. Foley does a credible job with the VC platoon leader's point of view, too, whose men level a village and plant evidence to make it seem like an American atrocity. This sets up the central dilemma of the novel, which throughout is well- handled and moderately suspenseful. But there is so much talk of ordnance and tactics that the story sometimes recedes from view. And Foley's characterizations are uneven: a first sergeant, with his brutality and insensitivity toward the Vietnamese, is still touching or even endearing, like a character out of James Jones. Other efforts seem incomplete or one-dimensional. Hollister himself, though we follow him throughout, remains remote. We do believe that he knows what he's talking about, however, when the novel ends and he has become a Ranger instructor. The combat scenes are so authentic that recruits could study them, but it's a clunky story. For the converted. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (June 9, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449907201
• ISBN-13: 978-0449907207
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,945,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better, June 24, 2003

By 

Del C Brown (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Range Patrol: A Novel of Vietnam (Paperback)

...

I found this book easy to read and an interesting novel on the Vietnam War. However, for a book set during the war in Vietnam, there is very little "war" in the book.

The book revolves around Lt. Jim Hollister and his experiences during his tour in Vietnam. Foley does a good job of humanizing Hollister's character and taking us into the mind of what a junior officer had to go through during the war. However, I was severely disappointed with the lack of "action" in the book. I was shocked that as a Ranger who served in Vietnam, Foley put very little action in his book.

The reason he might have left us desiring more action is that at the end of the book he hints that Hollister is going to go back to Vietnam for another tour ...I haven't read it yet, but apparently Foley's next book with this character, "Take Back the Night" has Hollister back in Vietnam and hopefully with a lot more action.

Foley's writing style is very easy to follow and he writes with such military detail that you know he must have served as a Ranger in Vietnam.

I believe this is Dennis Foley's first novel, and it's a pretty good one. Personally, I would have liked some more action but it's still a good book nonetheless.

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING, May 8, 2011

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bocoupDINKYdau - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Long Range Patrol (Mass Market Paperback)

i stumbled across this book in the library, sheer accident. I am glad i did. After reading it, I immediately bought the trilogy. cover to cover, it was read. Jim Hollister is currently my favorite literary character. Well written and plenty of action. I learned alot from these novels. Dennis Foley is a MASTERFUL STORYTELLER.

4.0 out of 5 stars First Book in a Great Foley Trilogy of Nam Novels, June 1, 2006

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Mouthpiece "ilike2fish" (upstate NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Long Range Patrol (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all 3 books in the trilogy and I found them all to be fascinating. This is Lt. Hollister's first tour in de Nam and the Rangers are just beginning to develop the LRP tactics they will use and refine as the war goes on for insertions, ambushes, prisoner snatches and extractions. The flavor of that early period of the war comes thru loud and clear: the winning attitude of our troops, the unreliability of the South Viets, the elation of having survived an insertion and extraction, the courage of the helo pilots (slicks & guns both), the loss of good men for a cause they don't really understand, etc. I would recommend that you read not only this book but his next two about Hollister's 2nd and 3rd tours as well. A lot of information on the work that goes behind staging an operation is contained in this book and the main characters are well developed. A good book on leadership training as well. Overall I highly recommend it.