A Rumor of War

By: Philip Caputo

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

When it first appeared, A Rumor of War brought home to American readers, with terrifying vividness and honesty, the devastating effects of the Vietnam War on the soldiers who fought there. And while it is a memoir of one young man's experiences and therefore deeply personal, it is also a book that speaks powerfully to today's students about the larger themes of human conscience, good and evil, and the desperate extremes men are forced to confront in any war.

A platoon commander in the first combat unit sent to fight in Vietnam, Lieutenant Caputo landed at Danang on March 8, 1965, convinced that American forces would win a quick and decisive victory over the Communists. Sixteen months later, and without ceremony, Caputo left Vietnam a shell-shocked veteran whose youthful idealism and faith in the rightness of the war had been utterly shattered. A Rumor of War tells the story of that trajectory and allows us to see and feel the reality of the conflict as the author himself experienced it, from the weeks of tedium hacking through scorching jungles, to the sudden violence of ambushes and firefights, to the unbreakable bonds of friendship forged between soldiers, and finally to a sense of the war as having no purpose other than the fight for survival.

Most troubling, Caputo gives us an unflinching view not only of remarkable bravery and heroism but also of the atrocities committed in Vietnam by ordinary men so numbed by fear and desperate to survive that their moral distinctions had collapsed.

More than a statement against war, Caputo's memoir offers readers today a profoundly visceral sense of what war is and, as the author says, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men".

©1996 Philip Caputo (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Excellent

A riveting story masterfully told with raw yet beautiful prose. One of the best written books I’ve read! Great read.

Thanks for insight

As a female who lived during the period covered by this book & having lost many friends to the war, I appreciate a realistic picture of what our Marines, first into battle, had to face. It was horrible how those who did come home were treated by the public. This book tells of the horrors they went through for their country. Unimaginable conditions. These men are all heros. Thank you to all who lived or died in that awful war.

Want Vietnam? You got it

The events within this book will stay with you for quite a long time. Vivid descriptions of jungle life and what the soldiers felt are told in easy to understand ways. However, I cannot say that this beats "Dispatches." Yes, you do get a first hand account of how hard soldiers had it, BUT, I have to say I felt more "emotion" with Dispatches. A Rumor of War is a good book, although not my favorite Vietnam book. It's definitely worth a try if you're searching around for a good wartime novel. I swear I've heard the narrator on some voice over on goofy blooper shows and commercials. I just didn't feel he "fit" the overall message the story was trying to portray.

Dispels any romanticism when it comes to combat

This is probably one of the most honest accounts of war from a front line combat veteran that I have listened to. What struck me over and over again was the magnitude of responsibility placed on men who were so young. Vietnam is a fascinating conflict and this memoir takes into account the political dichotomy soldiers were expected to execute despite their yearning for a war with a righteous cause.

This is one of those books, which once complete, makes you realise it will be quite a while before you listen to anything else of equal calibre.

Everyone should read this

A clear and present view of the truth of the Vietnam War. It should be required reading in American history classes.

Confronting A New Reality

Brought home the reality that this war wasn't going to be like the others. You just volunteered for thirteen months in hell with no clear objectives and no blood payed position worth holding.
A solid book, well worth reading. Even though this lesson is well known now, it doesn't seem to have generalized to all of our following wars. That points out the difference between knowing and learning; which is yet to be accomplished.

Awesome and fifteen over words to cover the roles

Great voice and twelve .more words to keep everyone happy about this awesome book from my childhood

Very Powerful and Humbling

I've been studying the Vietnam War to understand my father better. He flat out refused to talk about this war. He would only tell me that he was a grunt. He just shut it up inside of himself. Reading books like these helps me to understand why. The memoirs of Vietnam vets will tear your heart out, but these stories need to be told, read, and studied.

Shout out to the narrator, who has the appropriate brassy voice for a story told by a Marine. He read this story well and with a good deal of animation.

Excellent First Person Narrative

Wonderfully read first person account of a young Marine officer in the early days of the Vietnam War. For us history/military fans, it is a nice break from the dry Generals perspective, to what it is like to be a grunt in the field. Worth the buy.

Possibley the best book written about the war.

I read this book many ears ago and revisited it as an audiobook. It is well narrated and magnificently written.