Review of Dispatches, Vietnam War - Book Report/Review Example

At the beginning of the war, France played a major role by helping the South Vietnam but due to the heavy loss suffered by it during the war, it withdrew its army from Vietnam. At this time, from 1960, American involvement in the war went up to a great extent. Michael Herr is one among the journalists who was covering the war story in Vietnam in a more realistic way. There are lots of books written about the Vietnam War which includes ‘A Rumour of War’ by Philip Caputo, ‘Dispatches’ by Michael Herr, ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O'Brien, We Were Soldiers Once.

and Young: la Drang – The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam by Harold G. Moore etc. These books are considered to be the best when it comes to understanding the Vietnam War. One book that is considered to be the most useful of all for better understanding of the Vietnam War was Dispatches by Michael Herr. Michael Herr was a former war correspondent and he was working as a correspondent for Esquire Magazine during Vietnam War. He covered the Vietnam War between 1967 and 1969 and during that time he became a renowned Journalist.

He was one among the few journalists who understood the real scenario and dared to take any risk to get the story. All his stories were published in the Esquire Magazine. Many war books published during that time mainly contained the accurate historical accounts about the war. Until that time, assessment about a war meant assessment about the outcome of every day’s battle. No one assessed about the soldiers’ position during those battle. Even books were written mainly based on the information provided by the high ranking Generals.

The books written based on these details can never be trustworthy as it may be concocted ones. Michael Herr’s ‘Dispatches’ is totally free from any intervention from any high ranking official or the government. The uncensored brutality of the Vietnam War was inscribed in this book. The book can be considered as the voice of the soldiers. This book mainly concentrates on the sufferings of the soldiers during the war periods and the turmoil underwent by them. Unlike other war books, which contain the details of the war which includes the details about the loss and victory, it is this book that reveals the mindset of the soldiers regardless of victory or loss.

Herr in his book writes his experience with the soldiers while travelling to all parts of Vietnam. Herr has been completely honest and the source of all his stories is directly from the soldiers themselves. The memoirs of the soldiers which were written in his book really helped people understand the condition of the soldiers during the war period. While this book scores in bringing out the real scenario that existed in the war, it was too raw and brutally truthful in certain areas. Certain stories in the book kindle the emotion of the readers and take them through a series of incomprehensible feelings.

During that time war veterans did not come forward to express their views about the war. Michael Herr who travelled with the solders interviewed them and posted them in the magazine. His quotes about the Vietnam War have attracted many. His quotes clearly showed that he was against war. One such quote is “.if that energy could have been channelled into anything more than noise, waste and pain it would have lighted up Indochina for a thousand years.” Though he hated war so much he also describes war as