Customer Reviews

A Murder in Wartime: The Untold Spy Story That Changed the Course of the Vietnam War

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...A MURDER IN WARTIME is one of the best books to have emerged from the Vietnam debacle. Jeff Stein deserves full credit for the extensive research he did, and for tying together such a complicated story in such a readable way. All sides are fairly represented, and that indeed is something rare in a book about the Vietnam War.

The only problem I have with the book is that it sometimes has a bigger-than-life quality that makes one wonder if the author was willing to stretch the truth here and there for the sake of a good read. For example, Stein paints the book's central figure, Col. Robert B. Rheault, as a warrior-philosopher, both a thinking man and a highly-decorated combat leader revered by his men. To make the point, Stein writes that Rheault had earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star, valor awards rated only one and two steps behind the Medal of Honor. However, according to Rheault's entry in the United States Military Academy Register of Graduates, he actually had very limited combat service and had never been decorated for valor. Additionally, Rheault's name does not show up on an exhaustive list of Vietnam DSC winners compiled by the late Lt. Col. Albert F. Gleim, USA-Ret.

This is no small matter and makes me wonder about other passages in a book which was great enough to stand on its own without any exaggerations. I'd be curious as to where Stein got his information about Rheault being a highly-decorated war hero....

Jeff Stein's "A Murder in Wartime" bravely tackles all of the moral issues of wartime in general and the moral ambiguities attached to the Vietnam War, in particular. In 1969 eight Green Berets were accused of murdering a Vietnamese who may or may not have been a spy for North Vietnam. The case called into question the morality of waging a guerilla war, the role of the regular U.S. Army in such a context, the control of the CIA, and the politics of waging an unpopular war. Stein manages to weave all of these issues and dozens of key participants in the alleged murder and its aftermath without losing focus. Stein's narrative style flows easily through the perspective of all the key personnel and pulls the reader into the moral and ethical wilderness these people faced. Stein is careful not to pass judgement on the Green Berets charged with the crime, or on the regular Army establishment who may have seized on this incident just to put the Green Berets in their place. Instead he allows the reader to face the same dilemma all of these people did and make their own choices. An outstanding piece of historical writing.

The author did a superb job focusing on these events and the primary players. Wish however he'd included more about General Abrams' other crusades to destroy US Army Special Forces (SF). Too, aside from the reasons given for President Nixon having charges dropped against our commander, Colonel Rheault, there was an additional undertaking within SF to influence Nixon to make such a decision. Never did get any feedback as to whether or not word of our raid planning reached the top as intended. Also very glad our guys were freed before the raid was launched - could have been very messy. Otherwise the book illustrates perfectly why conventional Army brass of Abrams' variety have no business commanding SF programs; neutralizing enemy agents really gets their panties in a wad. De Oppresso Liber

Jeff Stein gets great kudos for excellent writing of a compelling story of a real face in a faceless war. Without taking sides or prejudging, the author provides a well researched account of a minor event with major ramifications.

After reading "A Muder In Wartime" I concluded that everyone had the best of intent, even when they were acting in complete opposition. Acting under the color of their government's authority, American Army officers killed one of their agents for, at best, inconclusive reasons. No big deal, he was Vietnamese. It was happening every day. They were charged with murder -- by their own Army. What insanity, they were doing a terrible job and now they were being persecuted by their own government. In secret to boot. This wasn't suppose to happen to Americans. At the core this case paints our dilemma of being in Vietnam -- complexities, involved motives, conflicting loyalities, and no clear picture of right and wrong. The case was our morality play. Everyone thinks they are acting in the best interest of their mission, their country. The victim and his family were left behind in Vietnam. It was a harbinger of darker things

Jeff Stein gets great kudos for excellent writing of a compelling story of a real face in a faceless war. Without taking sides or prejudging, the author provides a well researched account of a minor event with major ramifications.

Item arrived timely, well packaged and in great condition. The price was very good and the service was excellent. I have just started reading the book but so far, it is very interresting.

Intellectual infiltration of something gigantic like American policy in Vietnam can become complex when the tactics used to protect secret operations from becoming known are an accepted part of the epistemic modalities that cause the dynamic failures of the Phallic Function. The middle of the book has a conversation with Jack Harper, who has spent twenty years listening to radios. A radio frequency had been selected for an operation in Cambodia, but:

"I didn't figure it was on the level," Harper shrugged, "so I didn't listen all that much. I was short of people and too busy working." (p. 183).

The day before the investigators talked to Harper, he had further instructions:

But then just yesterday, he said, Crew came back and told him that if anybody asked him about it, he was to say that he hadn't picked up any signals. (pp. 182-183).

I was in Vietnam when winding down was such a mixed bag that those in the US Army who were trying to fight a war were digging in the wrong direction. I did not figure the military was on the level, and secret operations by CIA, Green Berets, criminal investigators, polygraph tests, were just show and tell for "hicks who didn't know a hell of a lot, who were kind of awed by the whole thing." (p. 182).

This work is shocking in that It shows us how twisted, complex and confusing the Vietnam war could be.
For those who remember those turbulent times I highly recommend it.

This is one of the best books I have read on the Vietnam war. Well written. If I could get the rights, I would turn it into a film. Well worth the read. Find it if you can.