• The Killing Zone

  • My Life in the Vietnam War
  • By: Frederick Downs
  • Narrated by: Barry Press
  • Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (850 ratings)

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The Killing Zone  By  cover art

The Killing Zone

By: Frederick Downs
Narrated by: Barry Press
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Publisher's summary

Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home.

©2007 Frederick Downs (P)2017 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"The best damned book from the point of view of the infantrymen who fought there." ( Army Times)

What listeners say about The Killing Zone

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It dont mean nuthin.

As a Marine Corps infantryman who served in Vietnam as a machine gunner, this author brings home to the uninitiated the horrors of combat. I highly recommend this book if you want a full understanding of what the Grunts endured in a war that our government had no intention of ever winning due to political unwillingness. There was no plan to win, when you fight for the same real estate time and time again, all our government did was lead patriotic young men to the slaughter and kept the fat cat businessmen wealthy. The Brave soldiers in this book are my Brothers, I know first hand what they went thru. We were mistreated by our countrymen when we returned home and blamed for this Foley and total waste of lives for nothing. Worse yet, our own government who sent us turned their backs on us , but had no problem sending us. I feel a bond with these men, I salute them and think of all the killed in action and the maimed for life and pray for them and their families. God Bless them all. Semper Fidelis.

Jack O'Brien
Charlie Company 1st bn 3rd Marines
March 1968- Feb 1969
Dai Do Survivor.

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58 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Vietnam experience

H
adn't read a Vietnam era book in ages and this one will take you for a brutal and unrelenting ride. brutality of war abounds in this book and demonstrates the bravery of the Americans who served and died in that conflict. Highly recommended

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Maybe good story, but horrible narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Either give the narrator some coffee, or make him listen to how professionals do this. I'm having to return this though only in Chapter 3. The bizarre enunciation of every, single, word, regardless of whether it is a firefight or filling a canteen is insane. It is so distracting that the story cannot compete. I sampled later chapters to see if the pace picked up as the author's experience increased during his tour, but it's the same plodding narration throughout.

What other book might you compare The Killing Zone to and why?

n/a

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Barry Press?

Anyone else who can read and speak English in a conversational or storytelling manner.

What else would you have wanted to know about Frederick Downs’s life?

Could not finish the book.

Any additional comments?

From the review I have read here and for printed version it sounds like an excellent piece, but desperately needs a new narrator.

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13 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ugh

The narrator's insistence on over pronouncing every hard consonant it so annoying, I stopped after a few chapters. Unlistenable, which is unfortunate.

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11 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unlistenable - The author speaks too slowly

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The author speaks unreasonably slowly, choppy, and deliberately. It is very unnatural, and is so distracting that I can't get through this book.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of a kind story.

A remarkable book, and author. A true story of selflessness, realism, and bravery. No facts of the difficult lives these men faced were spared.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great record of "Nam"

Lt Downs leads us down the jungle trail to manhood. From the wide eyed sweat soaked FNG to seemingly invulnerable platoon leader, to international emissary, he takes us along. This is a must read for warriors, past, present and future; as well as those hoping to avoid war at all costs.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story but poor Performance

The narrator performance detracted from a very well written story. I would recommend reading this book instead.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Unlistenable

I’m sure this is a great story but the narrator is the worst I’ve ever heard, definitely should have sampled this one first.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Uncle Randy served in Vietnam that's why I read it

My whole family said uncle Randy never spoke about Vietnam.
One drunken night after the bar, he told me a horrific story, with tears filling his eyes that never dripped out onto his face.
I never spoke of it either. This book is just 1 mans life. There were thousands. They took turns in the battlefields.
At the end . Meeting the enemy after the war.

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1 person found this helpful