Just Another Day in Vietnam

by Nightingale, Keith
4.6 out of 5 Customer Rating
ISBN: 9781612007854
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Overview

Keith Nightingale's accomplishments in both military and civilian life largely contribute to the excellence of Living and Breathing as a memoir of unusual depth as well as breadth.

Uniquely adopting a third-person omniscient point of view, Nightingale eschews the "I" of memoir in favor of multiple perspectives and a larger historical vision that afford equal time and weight to ally and enemy alike. Examples of the many perspectives based on real-life characters include: Hu, a VC "informant" whose false information led the Rangers straight into the jaws of a ferocious ambush; General Tanh, the COSVN commander; Major Nguyen Hiep, the 52d Ranger Commander; and Ranger POWs later returned by the North.

Nightingale moreover offers the point of view of an American advisor to elite Vietnamese troops, a vital perspective regrettably underrepresented in the literature of Vietnam, including Burns' documentary. Added to this are well-informed conjecture of enemy psychology; insight into the dedication and often misunderstood role of the elite Vietnamese Ranger forces; the intelligence acquired from debriefing captured Rangers, whose captors had told them that the entire battle had been a carefully staged attack planned by COSVN as part of a larger Total War strategy developed by the leadership of the North Vietnamese Army; and an eyewitness account by a gifted author who is a rare survivor of one of the most vicious--and heretofore forgotten--battles of the war.
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Author: Nightingale, Keith
  • ISBN: 9781612007854
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 9.10 x 1.10
  • Number Of Pages: 264
  • Publication Year: 2019

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