Night Work [Mass Market Paperback]

Dennis Foley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1994

The Jungles of Vietnam, Where Nightmares Are Real And Daydreams Are Death

For Captain Jim Hollister, operations officer for Juliet Company LRPs, Vietnam presented endless opportunities to fail, screw up, or die a grisly death. His job was to provide training, organization, and leadership -- and if he didn't train his men right, he'd have to bury them.

The mission of Hollister's LRPs was to find, fix, and kill VC south of the Lao-Cambode-Viet border. But pulling off recon patrols, ambushes, and prisoner snatches in that flat and treeless southern part of Vietnam was a lot different -- and deadlier -- than operating in the dense jungles of the highlands.

Night inserts, terrifying landing zones, choppers under fire, and murderous VC ambushes were all part of combat patrolling for the LRPs. But for Hollister, the losses and the pain went hand in hand with the courage and selfless dedication to teammates under fire that were the heart and soul of being a LRP....

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Jungles of Vietnam, Where Nightmares Are Real And Daydreams Are Death

For Captain Jim Hollister, operations officer for Juliet Company LRPs, Vietnam presented endless opportunities to fail, screw up, or die a grisly death. His job was to provide training, organization, and leadership -- and if he didn't train his men right, he'd have to bury them.

The mission of Hollister's LRPs was to find, fix, and kill VC south of the Lao-Cambode-Viet border. But pulling off recon patrols, ambushes, and prisoner snatches in that flat and treeless southern part of Vietnam was a lot different -- and deadlier -- than operating in the dense jungles of the highlands.

Night inserts, terrifying landing zones, choppers under fire, and murderous VC ambushes were all part of combat patrolling for the LRPs. But for Hollister, the losses and the pain went hand in hand with the courage and selfless dedication to teammates under fire that were the heart and soul of being a LRP....

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804107246
• ISBN-13: 978-0804107242
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the story behind the action, April 5, 2000

By 

rickvid (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Work (Mass Market Paperback)

Denis Foley is a professional writer these days, and it shows in the vivid mental images his writing evokes, the clarity and depth of detail he pours out onto the page, and smell of jungle mold and mildew that seems to rise from the pages of this book. Although this is a work of fiction, much of it aligns with his own life history as written in "Special Men."

Foley's works are not for those who want The Formula Viet Nam book (I fired my belt-fed Stoner from the hip, killed a battalion of suicide VC, then went and had some beer). He includes not just spectacular battle stories, but also some detail on the processes and procedures of inserting a LRP team, calling in air and artillery support, getting a medevac, and the planning and logistics that go into the whole operation. It isn't just "fly out, kill the bad guys, fly back, have some more beer."

Foley's battle sequences are particularly striking in their analysis of what a platoon leader must understand and decide with no time, little information, and a lot of people trying to kill him, and worse, his men.

His contrast between the mission-focused jungle-fighter Maj. Sangean, and the REMF staff-rat Maj. Fowler may seem too stark, too bald-faced, but my understanding is that the truth was sometimes worse. Always too many Fowlers, and not enough Sangeans, in the military or the civilian world. Wonks over workers, but that can be remedied, as Capt. Hollister shows in a severe showdown with the insufferable Maj. Fowler.

This is not just a fictional documentary of events, but the story behind what makes them happen. And his story of the shoeshine boy rings true - I bet he did get two boots shined!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars [e-mail], February 10, 2000

By 

"roadrunner6" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Work (Mass Market Paperback)

As I said in my review of Take Back The Night. I wish I had, had this one to read first. Again I say Dennis make the words in his books sing. I really enjoyed this book. Having been a member A LRRP/RANGER unit 68 - 69 I feel that this is an authentic story of how things were in these units. Cpt Hollister I feel was an insperation to his men. I thought That Dennis had an outstanding way of telling this story. No BS just as it happened. Roadrunner6 Out

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The better book of the series., July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Work (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read a few of this authors books, largely because I found "Night Work" to be an exceptionally well written Vietnam Novel. The pace of the book is quick, accenting battles and other important incidents. If you like war stories, specifically "grunts", this book should be on your TO READ list!