A Rumor of War

I must say this is even a stronger book than Dispatches by Michael Herr, which I must have read last year or so. Herr's perspective is that of what we nowadays probably would call an embedded journalist. He accompanied the Vietnam war as a journalist for the Esquire, and while his account is disturbing in it's own way A Rumor Of War is even harder on the reader in that respect, as Caputo signed up for the USMC and was amongst the first US troops to be deployed. So you're not only confronted with the sheer brutality of war itself, but you get an account of someone who not was in place, but actively engaged in doing morally ambiguous and I'd argue even outright wrong actions.

Recommended for: Everyone who needs a brief reminder why you shouldn't go to war.

This is quite possibly the best VN memoir I've ever read, partly because of Caputo's keen observations, but partly too because the writing itself is simply beautiful. Parts of it rival 'In the Woods' for sheer poetry, which is not really what I expect to find in a book on this topic.