A Rumor of War

Book Description

In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern historys ugliest wars, he returned homephysically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone. A Rumor of War is more than one soldiers story. Upon its publication in 1977, it shattered Americas indifference to the fate of the men sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years since then, it has become not only a basic text on the Vietnam War but also a renowned classic in the literature of wars throughout history and, as Caputo explains, of the things men do in war and the things war does to men.

Customer Reviews:

I absolutely recommend this book!.......2007-10-07

I've been wanting to read first-hand accounts of the Vietnam war for some time and have finally read several books within the last few months; "A Rumor of War", "Dispatches", "Vietnam/Perkasie" and "Letters from Vietnam." Standing above all is Philip Caputo's incredibly vivid "A Rumor of War." It's everything the other reviewers have said. But do try to read the other books too because it's facinating to read the differences and similarities between them and also gives a better, more rounded picture than any one work can paint. Right now I'm reading "Fields of Fire" which so far is terrific as well.

Tasting the War Inside Your Mouth.......2007-09-11

Caputo's first and most famous work "A Rumor of War" is a testimonial of his experiences as a 2nd lieutenant Marine serving in Vietnam in 1965.

On the surface, this book will remind you of so many other testimonials. War is hell, war is bad. Caputo's version of events are so descriptively described, you can taste the dirt of Vietnam in your mouth, feel the grime on your skin and see the fog of what was one of America's worst mistakes.

To get a good picture of what war is like and what it does to the human psyche, there is no better portrayal than what Caputo writes. You watch him turn from a gung-ho Marine being sent to protect a base from the VC, and maybe kill a few in the process, to a person so cynical, he orders his men to kill Vietnamese civilians and burn villages indiscriminately. The atrocities he and others committed were so great, you would expect him still serving a sentence in prison for his crimes. This is until you are reminded that this is a war, and that the hand of the US interests pushed him to insanity.

I thought this book was an incredible read for anyone who wants a discriptive, hands-on look on the effects of war. Captuo is not a hero in this book, and even more so, I can't help but think that he profits off the innocent he killed. It affects me so much, I don't feel that a perfect score on this novel does those who were characters any justice for their deaths. That is the underlying irony in a book about a "splendid little war" that was only considered an authorized use of force by an executive order.

This book plays so well into modern day politics and current events, there isn't any reason why "Rumor of War" should be tossed aside as irrelevant. So many similiarities in his tale sing to the tune of Americans serving in Iraq today. Anyone who is willing to delve into this novel will clearly see the picture, and taste the bitterness of it all.

Awesome.......2007-06-11

Probably the best book I've ever read. No political slant, no BS, no glorification of war, no war bashing. Just straight raw truth. So descriptive you would swear that you had just came out of the jungle after putting it down.

Excellent look into combat in Vietnam.......2007-06-04

I had to read this book for a history class and ended up with a better grasp of what groung cambat in Vietnam was like. It gives the reader a first hand account into the horrors of war.
This book gives you a good intro into what kind of person Caputo is and what type of background he comes from. I would recommend this book to those who are looking for a better understanding of what the combat soldier in Vietnam had to endure.

GREAT GREAT BOOK.......2007-01-23

A Conflict Can Change Any Child into an Adult

The Vietnam War is the only war in American history ever to be lost.
Thousands of millions of lives were taken in those eight terrible years.

Some say these soldiers had died for no reason because America eventually

would lose, but any Vietnam Vet would tell one that they fought for their

country to preserve freedom, end communism, and for the idea to spread

democracy. Philip Caputo felt he wanted to accomplish his thirst for

adventure, avoiding all these things a soldier should stand for. Soon this youthful

idealism would change over time.

Bored of sitting around in Japan, Caputo had finally received the message

that would change his life. A message that he had been waiting for ever since he

joined the Marines, and it was the reason why he joined the Marines. It was his

chance to quench his thirst for the adventure he had been longing for. The message

had claimed the United States was going to enter a war. This would

mark the beginning of his story to the end of a conflict, known
as the Vietnam War.
The Marine Corps, including himself, expected quick and total
victory over this Third World opponent. What they didn't expect was a ruthless,
determined foe who confronted them without remorse in that tropical hell,
mysterious enemies who were basically phantoms. He started out in charge of a
platoon in which he really couldn't lead and put on a mission to protect an airbase.
Later Caputo was ordered to switch from his platoon to keeping track of people
wounded and killed in war.
Over the next year or more, Caputo yet again reclaimed his leadership
position and had changed from an ordinary average Joe whose only desire was to
return home and be greeted to parades celebration to an all-out commando who
sharply barked the precise orders necessary to eliminate a communist foe. His point
of view of life was now completely changed. It was now that of a soldier who only
knew to annihilate his opponent. At this moment, he now only wanted to be back
home with his family, a family which he once hated for its repetitive boringness. He
no longer cared to return home as a hero or not but just to simply return. Thus he
would become an adult over a period of 16 months.

Caputo was court-martialed and was sent back home to suburban Illinois,
like he wanted. He returned with a forever shattered self, which was his youthful
idealism of action, adventure and romance of war. He was physically whole, but
emotionally wasted. In general, the men of Vietnam returned home knowing that
they did not accomplish their mission of preserving freedom. Their only
accomplishment would be that they survived the chaotic blood fest of a war, and
that was all.

Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic

Average customer rating:

One of the best AEF in WW1 books... ever
Informative, Entertaining, Definitive
Given Voice
A truly epic struggle from beginning to end
Cutting through the myths and the malarkey

Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic
Robert Laplander
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

World War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1411676564

Book Description

In 'Finding the Lost Battalion' author Robert J. Laplander meticulously chronicles what would become one of the most famous events of American participation in World War One, discovering the truths behind the legend. Drawing on hundreds of sources - many never before seen - and spanning eight years of research, including four trips to the sight of the action in France, Mr. Laplander leads the reader through the events in the Charlevaux Ravine during early October 1918, and the circumstances leading up to it, virtually hour by hour. In this way the book does not merely tell the story itself, but explains why it all came about in the first place. The end result is the single most factual acounting of the Lost Battalion and their leader, Charles W. Whittlesey, to date, told in an entertaining, fast moving style. Never dry or boring, as some military tomes can be, this one is sure to quickly become a favorite on your shelf and the benchmark against which all further work on the Lost Battalion will be measured.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best AEF in WW1 books... ever .......2007-07-03

This is one of the finest books on the US Army in WW1 I have ever read, and I have read them all. It is well researched, well written and is not only the best work I have seen on the lost battalion in a scholarly way, but reads smoothly. The tale itself is a great one, but it often gets sensationalized. I don't know how Laplander did it, but he found a lot of material that others have missed and seems to have left no rock unturned in digging out the facts.

It's big, thick, and the text is a wee bit small - but I cannot see any even semi-serious library of WW1 AEF books with out this one. Seriously, I'm impressed and that does not happen often.

Informative, Entertaining, Definitive.......2007-06-09

World War I has become a minor passion of mine, so I read as many books on the topic as I can squeeze in. One of the first was the 1938 book, The Lost Battalion. I was hooked. Then along came the thin volume, Five Days in October. I loved it. Then I got this... WOW!
Robert Laplander has written the definitive work on the subject. It's extremely well researched. The writing is terrific, engaging and entertaining. He not only provides reams of detail, but he does it while keeping you interested and awake. He tells the story in a manner that is clearer and more accurate than any of the other books I've read on the topic. The author is very engaged with his subjects and his excitement gets transmitted right to the reader. I'm sorry the book is done.
Compared to the other small books on this topic, this one makes you feel like you're creeping through the woods, minute by minute, under fire, bullets and gas and shells. All this while communicating the history. It's just amazing. He gets a lot more of the German point of view across than I've read in most books on World War I.
I have to say one thing about the book that really irked me though. The maps in the paperback edition stunk. No other way to describe it. There was only one per chapter and it was confusing and difficult to read. Not only that, but the printing of the maps provided was in this large scale dots sort of thing like an old time comic book that made it even worse. It's a good thing the rest of the book was so utterly amazing or the maps might have dropped this down to a four or three star review.
If you're interested in World War I, this is a must read. If you need a good book, regardless of interest, this is a must read.

Given Voice.......2006-12-02

My wife used to tell of her grandfather relating the story of being a part of what was called the WW1 Lost Batallion. His children had heard the story and thought it was an old man talking. In her research into those tales, she came into contact with Robert Laplander and through his research has confirmed the story was true.

It is said that history is written by the survivors. The survivors were telling their story, but no one was listening. Robert Laplander has given a voice to those men and their history is preserved.

A very easy read, with the facts to back it up as true history.

A truly epic struggle from beginning to end.......2006-06-12

Finding The Lost Battalion: Beyond The Rumors, Myths And Legends Of America's Famous WWI Epic by Robert J. Laplander is the extraordinary World War I story of a group of allied soldiers who found themselves cut off by German forces and had to hold one against over whelming odds until they could be rescued. The troops were never really "lost" in the sense that no one knew where they were, but they were without communications and their superiors did not know if they were alive or dead. Deftly compiling previous studies and in-depth documentation of the "Lost Battalion", author Robert J. Laplander comprehensively explores the recorded stories in a truly epic struggle from beginning to end. An invaluable and appreciated contribution to the growing library of World War I military histories, Finding The Lost Battalion is very highly recommended reading for military buffs wanting a factual understanding and true appreciation of the incident that made the men of the Lost Battalion legendary in military annals.

Cutting through the myths and the malarkey.......2006-05-18

Robert Laplander has the gift of narrative, with the well-honed senses of a keen researcher. I know from personal experience the profound sensation that comes from standing on the battlefields of the Great War and visiting with the ghosts of the past as you follow in the very footsteps of our brave men, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for democracy so long ago. From meticulous work and repeated visits to France, Laplander brings back to us the anonymous faces of the boys come men who left their homes and daily lives to experience the adventures of war. What these troopers found waiting for them was the horror of slaughter and the bitter decision of duty.

Laplander gives you the feeling of the trenches with an extraordinary series of character sketches that make you feel like the men of the Lost Battalion are your own friends, your own comrades in arms. Finding the Lost Battalion is a very readable meld of big-picture unit action with a focus on the situations of individual Doughboys. It puts the reader there among the troops in trees of the Argonne, under the rain of artillery and the clatter of the Maxim guns. You'll enjoy this read for many hours and revisit their story many, many times. Well done.

Byron Scarbrough, Author, They Called Us Devil Dogs

Rumors of War (Children of the Promise, Vol 1)

Average customer rating:

I couldn't put it down
LDS Genre needs a real writer.
Ambrose did a better job in Band of Brothers
The First in a Wonderful Series
Book Review on Rumors of War by Dean Hughes

Rumors of War (Children of the Promise, Vol 1)
Dean Hughes
Manufacturer: Deseret Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Domestic Life | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1573451991

Customer Reviews:

I couldn't put it down.......2006-02-04

My only warning for this book is that you won't be able to do anything else - you'll just want to keep reading. This book is especially great for anyone who likes WWII history. I liked it!

LDS Genre needs a real writer........2005-10-25

Dean Hughes is an OK writer - not a person with literary talent. I find this to be typical of the LDS genre. Just as in the Work and The Glory series by Gerald Lund I found this to be shallow, simple, and full of stereotypes. Where are the original characters - ones that we cheer for, or hate, or even cry for? They are non-existent in LDS literature, and the same can be said for this book.

These authors of LDS fiction obviously know their market and their work will be sold because of the Deseret Book faithful. If they were to try and branch out more of thier work, it would not be picked up by a main stream publisher. We can only hope one day that a great author will start to write some truly great LDS fiction.

Ambrose did a better job in Band of Brothers.......2005-06-05

I am going to buck the system and not give any of the "Children of the Promise" books more than 2 stars.

I had just finished reading, and watching, Stephen A. Ambrose's "Band of Brothers" when I picked up the Children of the Promise series and started reading it. I didn't care for it, but I kept reading it. I found the novels had a lot in common with Band of Brothers.

Latter Day Saints (and I am one of them) seem to have a real issue with originality. Unfortunately we seem to have a hard time finding our nitch and what we should be producing artistically. "Children of the Promise" doesn't flip the bill.

Much of the conflict in the stories seems forced, most of the characters in the story aren't characters most of us would care about, and the family patriarch needs a perscription of Zoloft.

Just because Dean Hughes is LDS, it doesn't mean the rest of us LDS folks need to automatically assign him 5 stars for a work that is not to original.

The First in a Wonderful Series.......2005-02-13

Dean Hughes is an excellent writer, able to pull the reader into the lives, troubles, loves and tragedies faced by a fictional family at the dawn of America's entrance into WWII. Hughes is skillful at helping the reader understand the choices faced by that generation, for it is never easy for a devoted Christian to face killing his enemy, even in a war situation. The Children of Promise will take you places you have never been and help you understand things you never understood. Your heart will be touched, your mind expanded and you will fall in love with the Thomas family. This is a series of books which the reader will love and want as permanent additions to his or her personal library.

Book Review on Rumors of War by Dean Hughes.......2004-11-13

Book Review on Rumors of War, by Dean Hughes

Rumors of War by Dean Hughes is a very good book. This book is the first of the series called Children of The Promise. It has five hundred pages and every chapter keeps you reading. It is so interesting you do not want to put the book down.
The book takes place around the time of World War II. The writer carefully looked at dates and put them in the book. This book is fiction but uses real dates and events. The author spent hundreds of hours in the libraries trying to get information to start the books.
This book is about the Thomas family during the war and the struggles they face. They are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint or LDS. Their oldest son Alex is serving a mission in Germany when the war starts to break out. There daughter Bobbi is going to school and dating this guy. They are close to becoming engaged, but she does not know if she is really in love with him. They have two more daughters and two more sons. The parents are trying to raise them good and in the church. The dad is the stake president and the family tries to support him in that calling.
The author described the events so you could see in your own mind what was going on. You could feel what the German people felt like and how they reacted with the war. You can see Germans betrayed their country because they did not agree with Hitler and what happened to them.
I really enjoyed Rumors of War; it was very interesting and entertaining. I enjoyed how the author described the events that really happened in the war. When you are reading you feel like you are there and what the people felt. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books on World War II. I enjoyed this book and hope that if you read it you will too.

Rumors of Indiscretion: The University of Missouri "Sex Questionnaire" Scandal in the Jazz Age

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Rumors of Indiscretion: The University of Missouri "Sex Questionnaire" Scandal in the Jazz Age
Lawrence J. Nelson
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0826214495

Book Description

"Nelson tells his story very well. His writing is clear, interesting, thoughtful and often quite lively."-Richard S. Kirkendall

In March 1929 hundreds of students at the University of Missouri received a questionnaire that asked their opinions of marriage, family, and sexual issues. Several questions were regarded as too intimate for university students, especially females. The so-called Sex Questionnaire, the product of a sociology class project, soon fell into the hands of the university's president, dean of women, and the local press, which deemed it "A Filthy Questionnaire." Nelson places the episode within the history and development of the University of Missouri as well as the "culture war" in America during the Jazz Age. He argues that the decade was marked by both change and the persistence of tradition.

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Rumors of War (Children of the Promise - Vol 1) (1)

Manufacturer: Deseret Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1573453846

Product Description

CD set of 5 CDs.

The Night the Martians Landed: Just the Facts (Plus the Rumors) About Invaders from Mars

Average customer rating:

A Very Fun, True History

The Night the Martians Landed: Just the Facts (Plus the Rumors) About Invaders from Mars
Kathleen Krull
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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What Really Happened in Roswell?: Just the Facts (Plus the Rumors) About UFOs and Aliens

ASIN: 0688172474
Release Date: 2003-08-05

Book Description

On the night before Halloween, 1938, that's what people all over the country heard coming over their radios -- an announcement that a glowing yellow spacecraft had crashed in New Jersey. When the announcer went on to describe an alien covered in tentacles that came wiggling out of it, the entire country panicked!

What most Americans didn't know was that this emergency broadcast wasn't real -- it was a radio play, performed by actors, based on the H. G. Wells science-fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Aliens hadn't landed in New Jersey that night. There was no spacecraft.

Customer Reviews:

A Very Fun, True History.......2004-10-07

This is an excellent portrait of a moment in history, rightly known as "the world's greatest practical joke," the radio broadcast of WAR OF THE WORLDS. It describes not only what the radio audience heard, but the results: panic, lawsuits, and psychological studies of why people panicked in the first place. There are numerous amusing sidebars describing the key players, including novelist H. G. Wells, actor Orson Welles (no relation to the novelist), and Howard Koch, who did the (unauthorized) adaptation of the novel into a radio play.

This is a work with special meaning for those who remember the actual broadcast, as well as families who love SF and want to introduce young relatives to the sometimes-whacky history of the genre.

Children of the Promise, Vol. 1: Rumors of War

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Children of the Promise, Vol. 1: Rumors of War
Dean Hughes
Manufacturer: Deseret Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590384458
Release Date: 2005-05-01

Product Description

The elders could see nothing but smoke until they turned the corner onto the street where the fire was. And then, both of them stopped. The synagogue! Elder Thomas said. It had never occurred to him that anyone even the Nazis would do such a thing. Elder Thomas got his camera out. He snapped the shot but then heard someone say, in German, What are you doing there? He tucked the camera inside his coat, under his arm. He tried to appear normal, but his heart was suddenly beating hard. A man was crossing the narrow street and coming toward them. Making pictures? the man asked as he walked closer. Elder Thomas took a better look. He saw what he feared: the black uniform with silver trim and braided hat. Gestapo. Elder Alex Thomas wants only to teach the gospel to the people of Germany. But it soon becomes obvious that he will never complete his mission. War is coming, and that will affect not only Elder Thomas but also his family back home in Salt Lake City. In the family is Wally, Elder Thomass younger brother, who usually just wants ot have a good time, but lately doesnt seem to care much about anything. Theres his sister Bobbi, who is supposed to marry Phil Clark, the most eligible bachelor in the Salt Lake Valley. The problem is, she cant ignore her attraction to Dr. Stinson, a University of Utah professor whos not a member of the Church. And there are Elder Thomass parents, D. Alexander Thomas, stake president and his wife, Bea, who want their children to be true to the values and ideals theyve taught them. But President and Sister Thomas are finding they cant just tell their children what to do anymore, and theyre worried about what will happen when the United States enters a war that no one seems able to stop. In Rumors of War, the first volume of the series Children of the Promise, author Dean Hughes recreates the era of World War II in stunning detail. But more than that, he shows how the war affects an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints. If youre interested in Church or world history, or if youre simply looking for a powerful LDS novel, you wont want to miss Rumors of War.

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A Rumor of War
Philip Caputo
Manufacturer: Ballantine, 1977, History, His-1
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LEPYWE

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Rumor of War, A
Philip Caputo
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O6FQJ0

Average customer rating:

Rumor of War, A
Philip Caputo
Manufacturer: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O6DVJ2

Customer Reviews:

Killer Calories.......2007-10-01

This series set in Southern California with a down home Georgia protagonist just keeps getting better. The ensemble crew, all flawed and interesting, keeps the action going and the solutions complex. Bravo.

Fun stuff..........2004-05-20

No, not a diet book... Another Savannah Reid mystery.... Killer Calories by G. A. McKevett. This is one of the earlier ones in the series (the 3rd), and it is definitely a fun read.

A disco movie star (who happens to run a "health spa") is found dead in a mud bath. All indications point to an accidental death involving too much heat and too much alcohol. But Savannah gets an anonymous note with a load of money asking her to investigate the death. The letter seems to point to either suicide or murder. Savannah, who loves her food and her size, checks into the spa to do some undercover work. But between the horrible food and the excessive exercise, she wants to wrap it up as soon as possible.

Everyone seems to have loved the dead star, but there are an abundance of suspects who would benefit from her death. The harder Savannah pushes, the more her own life seems to be in danger. Plenty of twists, and you don't find out the killer until the very end.

A shorter novel, a quick read, and excellent humorous writing and character development. I'm really going to hate finishing up this series...

Forget the frog joke.......2001-09-26

This is third in the series with Savannah Reid the overweight female ex-cop. I haven't quite figured out the sex angle. She shares a bedroom with a gorgeous young female assistant and has three close male friends, two of whom are gay and one of whom she finds physically unattractive. I came to it after "Cooked Goose" which is more of a thriller. This is more of a classical whodunnit although no real clues to the killer are planted, and after I had finished I decided the murder method made no sense. It has the British cosy set-up of a closed community (a health spa) containing the detective and the likely suspects, but I don't think Miss Marples would have told the frog joke.

Another great adventure with Savannah Reid........1998-10-30

This was my favorite book of the three Savannah novels. She is a great character. I can hardly wait for the next one !

Delightful !.......1998-10-25

G.A.McKevett does it again. Savannah is a delight! This was my favorite book in the series. This series gets better with each book . I can hardly wait for the next one to come out.

Savannah Reid Series: Just Desserts, Bitter Sweets, Killer Calories, Cooked Goose, Sugar and Spite, Sour Grapes, Peaches and Screams, Death by Chocolate, Cereal Killer, Murder a la Mode, Corpse Suzette, (Set of 11 Mystery Novels)

Average customer rating:

Savannah Reid Series: Just Desserts, Bitter Sweets, Killer Calories, Cooked Goose, Sugar and Spite, Sour Grapes, Peaches and Screams, Death by Chocolate, Cereal Killer, Murder a la Mode, Corpse Suzette, (Set of 11 Mystery Novels)
G.A. McKevett
Manufacturer: Kengsington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000UOD33W

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