A classic that exceeds the hype.

By the first few pages you'll recognize the same phantasmagorical voice from the voice-overs in Apocalypse Now—and the same sardonic anecdotes peppered throughout that film and Full Metal Jacket. Some sections are more traditional war reportage, but still with this bubbling anxiety and exhaustion just below the surface, as much as threat as any VC artillery barrage or spray of bullets.

Absolutely not the first book on Vietnam you should read, since he tends to pepper the prose with references without explaining them, but absolutely one of the best.