Death in the A Shau Valley

L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-1970

By: Larry Chambers

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Featuring a new introduction by the author about his return to Vietnam, his reflections on the war, and his humanitarian work in Cambodia.

"The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates."

Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit's mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley - where the NVA ruled.

Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war's most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden - and certain-death...

©1998 Larry Chambers (P)2020 Tantor

Engaging Listen

I love reading Viet Nam war books, and this is one not to be missed. The author was thorough in his descriptions of what was happening. At times you feel like you were right there in the story. Joe Barrett does an admirable job of narrating. Highly recommend.

Very well written

This was my first book that spoke about the role of LRRP in Vietnam. I never knew how dangerous of situations these guys put themselves in. Unbelievable. Great read.

Great book

Very well written, keeps my interest and hold many interesting stories of battles, missions and men who were forgotten.

Thank you Mr. Chambers

I’m an Army vet (Gulf War & Bosnia) that is very interested in knowing what it was like in Vietnam during the war from those who will tell it. To all veterans and especially Vietnam Veterans, I say Thank you. And thanks to you Mr. Chambers for sharing your story with us.

One giant run on sentence

I'm not sure if it's the author or the narrator but this one was hard to follow. The story is ok but I couldn't finish it due to the terrible narration

Stories you may not have heard. A Shau Valley⁷

Loved it. The LRRPS and the Battles they endured. Read and learn about the best of the Army Rangers.

Not great

This story is fragmented, non linear. Feel like it’s just a bits and pieces jumbled up.

Now a non-fiction convert! This is a great book!

Okay so I loved this book! Which is weird because I don’t normally enjoy non-fiction lols, but Chambers turns what would be a cold textbook read about another war story into an interesting first hand account of his and his fellow crewman’s time in the Rangers.
I also felt like he did a good job at not demonizing the Vietnamese-- which I feel like is probably hard for a lot of veterans to overcome when people shot at you(to be fair it’s mutual), but Chambers still kept the story historically accurate without prejudice. In fact in the beginning he writes about how he went back to Vietnam, learned a lot about their side of the story, and learned about the war and why we were there-- and changed his opinion on it, which is amazing. This story is not about that however, it is about the LRRP’s and their experiences.
It was a very interesting perspective to read about the war. It had a lot of grim realities to it, a sentence I never want to hear again: “Weird sucking chest wound” or anything that details the “killing tree”, but I really felt like that's part of what made it so gripping! Like when I was reading it I couldn’t forget that it was about war and something bad could happen at any moment, but at the same time It kept me on the edge of my seat. Obviously, I knew Chambers survived to tell the tail, but even in parts like the ‘Ammo Bunker Blowup’ and when the guys were right up against the enemy it was still very suspenseful because I couldn’t tell how they got out of the situation.

Also there weren't all bad times! I felt like Chambers had a really good balance of hardship and the day to day, I especially enjoyed the chapter with(Spoiler) the idea to scare the Vietnamese with Bigfoot and the one where the guys went to go see some… erm “ladies”. Lols, they were fun and contrasted very well so it never felt too dark at any one time. The overall tone was more like an old action movie instead of a gritty gory war movie, which I really liked.

OH! And just a little personal favorite, it was great how the Author referred to some people as “Sergeant guy/Captain guy”. Made me laugh every time. It was better than looking up every damn joe-schmo's names. It really gave it that extra little nougat of personality because in reality we don't remember every person's name anyways.

This is getting long, but anyhow. Good book. 10/10 Would recommend to anyone!

great

I enjoyed this. felt like i was there with the rangers . highly recommend

Hours Less Padding Between Missions

What sets this apart from most other books by Vietnam Vets, is the shorter length. This is achieved by avoiding talk about life before and during training, instead it begins very quickly with that rotted jungle odour mixed with burning diesel fuel.
While there's no less action overall (in some cases, there's more combat story here, than other books over twice as long). The author goes very sparse on the emotional side, which I find is often the difference between a gripping recollection of a combat situation, Vs a catalogue of chronological descriptors. Fears before, sadness on losing a friend etc. Some might argue this cold lack of feeling is special forces for you, and that's of course a possible, either way I prefer books that take me through the highs and lows.
Unfortunately the narrator's performance does zero to help matters, and once again, one of those voices & styles that can work well for a million things, but simply not at all suitable for life and death combat. Overall it's worth a listen as an included title, not the best, nor worst, and I'll rate it a solid Average.

A detailed and interesting listen

I got the paperback by the author quite a few years ago and have now listened to audio book and would recommend😃

Good personal experience rather than LRRP history

If you are looking to this to further your knowledge of the operations of the LRRP, perhaps this is not for you. The author does provide good information on personal experiences, however details on how the LRRP operated in Vietnam is a little thin on the ground. This feels more like a non-connected series of personal anecdotes rather than a history of LRRP.
The stories bring forth the human element of war in Vietnam, but for me, I could not finish this book. I appreciate the personal stories, however as one with a keen interest in history, this did not further my knowledge in any way.
Sorry to be a little negative – just not for me.