Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Stolen Valor : How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History

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I purchased this book several years ago and enjoyed reading it

ByRoyon July 7, 2015

I purchased this book several years ago and enjoyed reading it. Burkett did a great job of gathering the informantion. He correctly states that after the show 'Rambo' everyone became a Special Forces soldier, even, and especially those who didn't serve. That was Vietnam, today, everyone is a SEAL or a Sniper, or both. I have a great respect for both, but only the real ones. I purchased the book for someone else who may actually believe that everyone at the golf course bar is a spec ops. I am sure some of the seals he may have met may have been seals, but only at Sea World, dressed as a seal, passing out directions to the restrooms. This is book is a eye opener.

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Excellent description of the trees, but misses the forest

ByKen godwinon August 27, 2015

The book documented the abuses of individuals, the media, and the VA in the handling of Vietnam Vets, particularly of those who claimed to have been in combat. The authors used the Freedom of Information Act to show the bias in many news accounts of returning vets, the bias in blockbuster movies, and the failure of the VA to check the stories of all the soldiers who claimed PTSD but were not in Vietnam or were not in combat roles. All of this was excellent. What the author did not include were the results from a large number of academic studies of Vietnam Vets with statistical comparisons of vets from other wars, soldiers who served during the same period but were not in Vietnam, and soldiers in Vietnam that saw combat and those who were in Vietnam but did not see combat. Had the authors included those studies, they could have shown us the forest as well as the individual trees. We would have seen the Vietnam veterans were no more likely to come back "damaged by war" than soldiers of other periods and that, on average, Vietnam vets have been more successful than persons of similar backgrounds and educations who did not serve.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 reviews(3 star, Verified Purchases). See all 307 reviews

Excellent description of the trees, but misses the forest

ByKen godwinon August 27, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

22 comments One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Misinformation regarding PTSD

ByA customeron March 12, 1999

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I read Mr. Burkett's book in one sitting and found that overall it was very informative. This book covers in detail not so rare cases of embellishment of veteran's service records by certain vietnam veterans. The problem I have with this book is the obvious misrepresentation of the suffering of combat veterans with PTSD. The simple fact is that there are many of us who served honorably in those many AO's who can speak of the horror and disillusionment that we carry to this very day because of exposure to the most unnatural of events that could possibly be visited upon a human being. Mr. Burkett invests an entire chapter on his own experiences and 'brushes' with combat... even going so far as to display,in a picture, a piece of metal that he claims came close to mangling him during a mortal attack. Big deal... he manages quite conveniently to steer past statements of vets who have been through mortar or rocket attacks that have left them quivering in their soiled utilities and covered with the blood of mangled and dismembered comrades in arms. Combat is horror and the more combat... the more horror. In his chapter regarding PTSD he also provides grist for anyone intent on disavowing the suffering of those vets with PTSD... claiming a large majority of those vets to be goldbricks or malingerers out to secure a 100% disability from the VA. I wonder if Mr. Burkett has considered the subject of North Vietnamese vets with PTSD or Russian veterans of Afghanistan and their traumatic memories and symptoms who have no sorts of compensatory system for vets, not to mention the suffering endured by survivors of rape or natural disasters. Mr. Burkett has an obvious chip on his shoulder and a very large ax to grind. My suspicion would be that he has an agenda that includes whitwashing of reality in favor of creating an illusion that the 'bad' vets have been weeded out so that we may clear way for 'legitimate' vets such as: Al Gore and John Kerry and other political animals whose primary goal is the procurement of votes.