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Swift Boats at War in Vietnam  By  cover art

Swift Boats at War in Vietnam

By: Guy Gugliotta, John Yeoman, Neva Sullaway
Narrated by: David Colacci, Susan Ericksen
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Publisher's summary

Developed specifically for the Vietnam War (and made famous by the 2004 presidential campaign), Swift Boats were versatile craft "big enough to outrun anything they couldn't outfight" but too small to handle even a moderate ocean chop, too loud to sneak up on anyone, and too flimsy to withstand the mildest of rocket attacks. This made more difficult an already tough mission: navigating coastal waters for ships and sampans smuggling contraband to the Viet Cong, disrupting enemy supply lines on the rivers and canals of the Mekong Delta, and inserting SEALs behind enemy lines.

The stories in this book cover the Swift Boats' early years, which saw search-and-inspect operations in Vietnam's coastal waters, and their later years, when the Swift Boats' mission shifted to the Mekong Delta's labyrinth of 3,000 miles of rivers, streams, and canals. This is an intimate, exciting oral history of Swift Boats at war in Vietnam.

©2017 Guy Gugliotta, John Yeoman, and Neva Sullaway (P)2018 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Swift Boats at War in Vietnam

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Ride with the Swift Boats

Personal accounts of life on a Swift Boat in Vietnam that immerse the reader with the entire range of human emotion. The reader feels as if he is onboard living the experience in each of these stories. An excellent book.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Character voices

A good book but the narrator’s attempt at Impersonating the different characters left much to be desired.

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1 person found this helpful

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Great collection of stories

I knew little about swift boats, great stories from different perspectives. worth the listen.

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1 person found this helpful

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Well worth listening to.

I had heard about the Swift Boat Navy, but never knew their stories. I am glad that I listened, as it was informative and entertaining. I loved the reader's voice, as it is low key and seemed to portray the matter of fact attitude of a soldier/sailor who questions why his superiors make such dumb decisions that can get them killed.
I also liked that it tells stories of dozens of people, and gives some background on them, instead of just telling the Vietnam part.
I actually found myself finding time to listen, and finished it in four days. That confirms that I liked it a lot.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A slow boat to Vietnam

A collection of anecdotes rather than a story. The short choppy lack of continuity made it difficult to engage. Combined with the expressionless reading, I could not finish this one.

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A must read

Tremdous book thank you for publishing the best written account of Swift Boat missions I have read. It brings back memory’s and emotions from my time on the rivers. OinC PCF 98 CST Lo 1969

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Great listen.

There are many great individual stories in this book.It is well worth the time to listen to it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A glimpse into the past. Without bias and bravado.

Got me right in the feels. My family tree is filled with veterans. I loved how this brought all their stories together and gave them life again.

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Great book

Narration was fantastic and the content, pulled from various swift boat veterans, was incredible. Thank you to everyone involved!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing listen!

New authors and narrators for me. Wow!! Loved this! All the different experiences create a myriad portrait of struggles, hardships overcame, pain, and everything that will stay with an individual. It's so interesting to hear/read/see how service members deal with being in a war, their views, and what comes after. Each war has treated our brave men and differently, especially when they come home. My heart breaks for those who came back to a home that turned its back on them. War is hell, but mostly for those fighting in it and they don't deserve hate for doing what most can't.

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