A Rumor of War
by Philip Caputo
List Price:
Our Price: $8.60
You Save: $8.40 (49%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.38 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Philip CaputoEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-11-15
ISBN: 080504695x
Number of pages: 356
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of A Rumor of War
Book Review: A Rumor of War...
Summary: 5 Stars
Caputo's book chronicles the sixteen months of the war, or at least what Caputo saw of it. A Rumor of War is about the things men do in war and the things war does to them. Caputo had one of the most one of a kind perspectives on the Vietnam War possible from his first hand experiences in Vietnam. A Rumor of War is about the dangers in Vietnam, the casualties, the frame of mind, and the endless monotony to moments of sheer terror of the American soldier in Vietnam. Throughout A Rumor of War, one can sense the soldier's enormous desire to go home and to abandon the foolishness of a war that soon after arriving in Vietnam most soldiers did not believe in. Caputo's character was the factor that moved the Marine's in his platoon and their desire to survive. Caputo is one of the first Marines ashore in Danang Vietnam on March 8th, 1965 convinced that American forces will win a quick victory in Vietnam. "I guess we believed in our own publicity, Asian guerrillas did not stand a chance against United States Marines". Caputo and his platoon are part of the initial process of escalation under the Johnson administration that led to our massive commitment to fight the war in Vietnam. Caputo's platoon in Vietnam first guards an airbase, and then makes limited patrols into the surrounding Vietnamese countryside to route out snipers. Eventually Caputo is part of the first massive search and destroy operations of the war trying to find an enemy that cannot usually be found for large-scale "American" style engagements. The Vietnamese are the "phantom" enemy as Caputo describes them because the Vietcong had a division of troops around the airbase his platoon was helping to protect yet the Americans had yet to see one enemy soldier.
Eventually Caputo is transferred to a staff position as "Officer in Charge of the Dead" and as one of his duties posts every day the number of American's lost and Vietcong killed on the regimental headquarters blackboard so his colonel could keep track of the battalions and companies under his command and rattle off impressive Vietcong kills to visiting dignitaries. Sometimes Caputo had to verify Vietcong body counts at headquarters, which was not pleasant since at the climate of Vietnam the bodies were already decomposing. This shows the United States emphasis on body counts.
Caputo is then voluntary transferred back to an infantry company to serve once again as a platoon leader. Caputo serves in this capacity until stress and lack of judgment lead him to order his men on an anti-insurgent mission that results in the death of two South Vietnamese civilians that were incorrectly identified as members of the Vietcong. Caputo's men tell him one of them men had to be killed because the "Cong" sat up with his forty-five and ran outside yelling "Oh God" and the other "Cong" flung a tree branch at the Marines and tried to escape. Caputo is found not guilty on all counts, all charges were dropped against him and a letter of reprimand was put in his military jacket. Caputo was again a free man and he is sent home from Vietnam less then ten days after his acquittal. Ten years later, Caputo was one of the reporters that reported on the fall of Saigon to Communist North Vietnamese forces for the Chicago Tribune.
I personally do not feel that this memoir enhanced my understanding of the conflict in Vietnam. I do not feel that I learned too much by reading this particular book. Since my dad was in Vietnam, I already knew most of the bloody details about the war from his first-hand experiences there as an F-4 Phantom pilot. Moreover, with my personal passions having to do with modern military history in general I already knew that most of the troops did not want to be in Vietnam and did not believe in the cause that they were sent to Vietnam to fight for. However, Rumor of War shows the transformation of the American military into the dejected organization that had come to symbolize American forces in Vietnam. It became popular after the war to suggest what America should have done differently to win the war. From Caputo's book, it becomes clear that America could not have won the war in South Vietnam. America just pursued an ever-rising body count. "Since the landing, we had acquired the conviction that we could win this brushfire war, and win it quickly, if only we were turned loose to fight." In fact we never even knew what "winning" would entail Caputo says.
Caputo's perspective about the Vietnam War is very important for people who know little about the bloody, gory, and discouraging details regarding the Vietnam War. Caputo's book is very informative and an entertaining read for people who have trouble reading an entire book. The reader in a sense can connect with Caputo's first hand story telling in this book, which is brutally honest I must say. Caputo describes his youthful, naive longing for adventure, his subsequent suffering and that of his fellow soldiers, and what he believes is his ultimate betrayal by his own country regarding his court-martial.
I personally thought it was a very good book. Rumor of War is definitely the book students should read if they like action packed books with blood and gore to keep them entertained though the entire book.
Summary of A Rumor of War
The classic Vietnam memoir, as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago.
In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history's ugliest wars, he returned home--physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone.
A Rumor of War is more than one soldier's story. Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered America's indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years since then, it has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history and, as Caputo explains, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men."
"A singular and marvelous work." --The New York Times
In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history's ugliest wars, he returned home--physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone.
A Rumor of War is more than one soldier's story. Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered America's indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years since then, it has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history and, as Caputo explains, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men."
"A singular and marvelous work." --The New York Times
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Alexander Hamiltonby Ron Chernow
Penguin Audio; Published: 2004-04-26; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $141.72
America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction (Penguin Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Sailing Alone around the World (Penguin Classics)by Joshua Slocum
Penguin Classics; Published: 1999-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sistersby Charlotte Mosley
Harper; Published: 2007-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.17
Price in other shops:
Profiles in Courage (slipcased edition): Decisive Moments in the Lives of Celebrated Americansby John F. Kennedy
Harper; Published: 2006-10-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Lost Years: A Memoir 1945 - 1951by Christopher Isherwood
HarperCollins; Published: 2000-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops:
Thomas Jefferson: A Lifeby Willard Sterne Randall
Harper Perennial; Published: 1994-06-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.16
Price in other shops:
The Professor and the Madmanby Simon Winchester
Harper; Published: 1998-08-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops:
Patton: A Genius for Warby Carlo D'Este, este, Carlo D'
Harpercollins; Published: 1995-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $49.94
Stonewall Jacksonby James Robertson
Macmillan Pub.; Published: 1997-02-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $48.00
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Black Like Meby John Howard Griffin
NAL Trade; Published: 2003-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.05
Price in other shops:
Growing Up (Signet)by Russell Baker
Signet; Published: 1992-06-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Triangle: The Fire That Changed Americaby David von Drehle
Grove Press; Published: 2004-08-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.33
Price in other shops:
Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900by William Ivy Hair
Louisiana State University Press; Published: 2008-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.72
Price in other shops:
Bread Givers: A Novelby Anzia Yezierska
Persea; Published: 2003-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.04
Price in other shops:
Documents for America's History, Volume 2: Since 1865by James A. Henretta, Kevin J. Fernlund
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2011-01-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.35
Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten ManThe University of North Carolina Press; Published: 2008-02-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.71
Price in other shops:
Coming of Age in Mississippiby Anne Moody
Delta; Published: 2004-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.72
Price in other shops:
The Good Old Days: They Were Terrible!by Otto Bettmann
Random House; Published: 1974-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops:
The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Series in History & Culture)by Jo Ann Argersinger
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2009-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00