This not really a memoir of the Vietnam War , rather, it is the second memoir of Tobais Wolff who just happened to end up in the Vietnam War. Well , he ended up there because he volunteered but in the late 60's you weren't going anywhere else than Asia.
It is short and written 30 odd years after his service and it is great.
He has the knack of being extremely funny in the most gruelling circumstances.
A highlight is going to the trouble, with his sergeant, to steal a 25 inch colour television so they can watch..............a two hour Bonanza special.
But then after all this trouble he does something incredibly human and gives it away to a local who doesn't have TV and they have to watch Bonanza on a black and white set.
There is actually very little about fighting or war stuff like that in the book. There are only a couple of incidents re countered where he nearly lost his life but basically it concentrates on the boredom and futility of the whole thing.
He is proud to be there but he soon sees he's surrounded by idiots - mainly fellow officers. This is a constant in any book about the military, - the officers are fools- there must be something in this.
There is also a lot about his relationship with his father, who is a con man ex-convict. He spends a lot of time with him after his discharge from the army, and this is quit warming as the relationship has not been good due the fathers life style and what he has done to the family.
Lastly I wonder if Mr. Wolff has ever been able to buy another puppy.
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