Ripcord

Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970

By: Keith W. Nolan

Narrated by: George Spelvin

Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

On April 10, 1970, Hill 927 was occupied by troopers of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division. By July, the activities of the artillery and infantry of Ripcord had caught the attention of the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) and a long and deadly siege ensued. Ripcord was the Screaming Eagles's last chance to do significant damage to the NVA in the A Shau Valley before the division was withdrawn from Vietnam and returned to the United States.

At Ripcord, the enemy counterattacked with ferocity, using mortar and antiaircraft fire to inflict heavy causalities on the units operating there. The battle lasted four and a half months and exemplified the ultimate frustration of the Vietnam War: the inability of the American military to bring to bear its enormous resources to win on the battlefield. In the end, the 101st evacuated Ripcord, leaving the NVA in control of the battlefield. Contrary to the mantra "We won every battle but lost the war", the United States was defeated at Ripcord. Now, at last, the full story of this terrible battle can be told.

©2000 Keith William Nolan (P)2021 Tantor

Unbelievable

“Ripcord” is a stunning work of a battle/battles that could have been won had American troops been actually supported. It’s maddening and frightening. Keith Nolan takes the reader into the heart of the conflict and makes the reader feel all emotions. It’s a roller coaster and how anyone got through it is a wonder. Brilliant retelling and narration.

Action packed

I am amazed at how the author describes the amazing courage of the soldiers who fought and died in Vietnam. A must listen

0UTSTANDING

I'M GLAD TO HAVE LISTENED TO THE BOOK. I liked it very much. But it seemed sad also; the lives lost. They were brave.

day to day activities

The day to activities civilians don't know about. It seems even in the military you have those want promotions regardless of the human cost.

Fantastic detailed account

I highly recommend getting the audio and Kindle/hardcopy due to all of the specialized military terms. The audiobook performance was excellent and really added to the enjoyment of the book.
The drama and heroism going on in and around Ripcord doesn't take a back seat to any battle in any war. If you are like me and haven't yet read any detailed accounts of Vietnam battles, do yourself a favor and take a look at this book.

Great book ok narrator

I love books by Keith Nolan. Ripcord is one of his best. The narrator did a great job until Part 7. For some reason he became very dramatic to the point it was hard to listen to. It's still worth the purchase though. Nolan's writing outweighs the performance of the narrator.

The 101st at the end of the Vietnam War

This is one of the best books I have heard. The bloody battle to hold firebase Ripcord was highly detailed and well-researched. You got the well-documented feelings of the men that were used as bait, the company commanders that had to rally their men, and what the battalion commanders thought at a time when America was leaving Vietnam.

Great.

An excellent look into one of the last major actions of the war for the US

Fantastic

The bravery these men showed in the face of almost certain death astonishes me. The fact that most were forced to be there at the behest of a backward thinking government only adds to the admiration I have for these men.

A brutal account

Always interested about what went on in Vietnam. My father put in 9 years in that war. It would been helpful to provide maps to visually see the terrain our soldiers were in. But, the information and the accounts were graphic and emotional. A good account of what occurs in a battle.