Customer Reviews

Protected Will Never Know

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Leigh Wade was at the RECONDO School in 1966-67 at the same time I was. Later we served in the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand. Leigh is for real--he lived what he writes about and it really shows. Buy this book! LTC Jeff Berry (ex-SSG Berry of 66-68).

Leigh Wade's books are not an intellectual dissection of the Vietnam War. There is no attempt whatsoever at looking at this conflict from the top. There is no geopolitical analysis or Cold War Domino Theory speculations about the importance of this conflict, instead this book is a very visceral description of life for the combat soldier in this war. In my opinion this makes it a very important contribution to the literature on this conflict. This isn't a scholastic work at all, but it will give readers an insiders look at what war really is for those who actually participate in the fighting.

What this book does really well is to show the psychological realities of war. The reader gets to see the ebb and flow of conflict, and see what its affects are on the soldiers on the ground. This is very important for those people who look to understand war and its affects. His descriptions of extreme highs during combat followed by the compelling need to release that energy once being removed from the action is amazing in its psychological insights, and it works so well because the author isn't engaged in his own analysis, but is instead attempting to honestly recount his feelings and actions. What eventually became his catharsis is a wellspring of information for anyone looking to see the raw and honest affects of combat.

Beyond the psychological, this book does a great job detailing the life of a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam. Anyone interested in the history of this war will do well giving this short, entertaining work a read.

Reading a book by Leigh Wade is like listening to the man speak; it is a good writing style. Those who were not over there will feel like they were after reading this, or any other book, by Mr. Wade.

Whore houses,booze and killing fields. This book gives good insite to the failure of this war. The negative attitude reflected towards other arm forces (other than the Special Forces) shows are own internal conflicts. "Well Written."

Wade tells of his later tours in Vietnam in this second book by him. I haven't read the first b ut will asap. He seen alot of action while in country and shares his experiences in a wonderfully well written book.

the protected will never know because they will not be able to finish this book. I read half of this book but had to stop. I have read numerous books on Vietnam & I would not recommend this book to a friend.