Dispatches by Michael Herr

Written on the front lines in Vietnam, *Dispatches* became an immediate classic of war reportage when it was published in 1977. From its terrifying opening pages to its final eloquent words, *Dispatches* makes us see, in unforgettable and unflinching detail, the chaos and fervor of the war and the surreal insanity of life in that singular combat zone. Michael Herr’s unsparing, unorthodox retellings of the day-to-day events in Vietnam take on the force of poetry, rendering clarity from one of the most incomprehensible and nightmarish events of our time. *Dispatches* is among the most blistering and compassionate accounts of war in our literature.

Insightful, sometimes the writing is a bit unusual and I'm not sure why. If it was directly quoted from a journal it would make sense but the entire book is more of a look-back to his experiences at the time. I was listening to the audio so maybe there is a visual clue in visual text form that would explain this.The author's view of this war reminds me alot of [a:Mick Herron 1237964 Mick Herron https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1512920134p2/1237964.jpg] and [a:John le Carré 1411964 John le Carré https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1606816199p2/1411964.jpg]'s portrayals of the ‘Cold' war. More realistic and not so glamorous as ‘Cubby' Broccoli's interpretation of [a:Ian Fleming 2565 Ian Fleming https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364532740p2/2565.jpg]'s stories. I've not read the latter recently so not sure if Mr. Broccoli's movies are true to the portrayal of the war as the author's books or not.And I think this book is a great companion to [b:Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War 1575160 Vietnam The Ten Thousand Day War Michael Maclear https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344492149l/1575160.SY75.jpg 1567887]'s macro view, and a similar micro / personal viewpoint to [b:Vietnam Voices: Perspectives On the War Years, 1941-1982 4285144 Vietnam Voices Perspectives On the War Years, 1941-1982 John Clark Pratt https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1291787740l/4285144.SX50.jpg 4332697].