Swift Boats at War in Vietnam

By: Guy Gugliotta, John Yeoman, Neva Sullaway

Narrated by: David Colacci, Susan Ericksen

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

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

Great collection of stories

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

good book

was a good book basically a bunch of different stories from through out the war.

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.

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.

Brown Water Sailor Stories

Excellent compilation of stories sequencing the creation and development of the Vietnam War Brown Water Navy.

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.

Good 1st hand stories from those that were there

this is a very insightful book w many 1st hand accounts of experiences on the Swift Boats, the time, and the return from Vietnam.

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.

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

Another nice job by narrator David Colacci.

Great read, a deeply researched and well-documented look at a small but important slice of the American experince in Viet Nam.