A Rumor of War

A personal memoir of the war in Vietnam, in which the author first served as a Marine and which he later covered as a reporter

-A singular and marvelous work.---The New York Times

-A Rumor of War is the troubled conscience of America speaking passionately, truthfully, and finally.---Theodore Solotaroff, The New York Times Book Review

-To call it the best book about Vietnam is to trivialize it....A Rumor of War is a dangerous and even subversive book, the first to insist--and the insistence is all the more powerful because it is implicit--that the reader ask himself these questions: How would I have acted? To what lengths would I have gone to survive? The sense of self is assaulted, overcome, subverted, leaving the reader to contemplate the deadening possibility that his own moral safety net might have a hole in it. It is a terrifying thought, and A Rumor of War is a terrifying book.---John Gregory Dunne, Los Angeles Times Book Review

-There is a persuasive legitimacy in this hatred of war when it is evoked by a man who has suffered its most horrible debauchments. But perhaps that is why we are equally persuaded by Caputo's insistence on a recognition that for many men, himself included, war and the confrontation with death can produce an emotion--acommingled exultation and anguish--that verges on rapture. It is like a mighty drug, certainly it approaches the transcendental....In this book, Philip Caputo writes so beautifully and honestly about both fear and courage, writes with such knowing certitude about death and men's confrontation with the abyss, that we cannot doubt for an instant that he is a brave man who fought well long after that 'splendid little war' became an obscene nightmare in which he nearly drowned.---William Styron, The New York Review of Books

-Caputo's searing account of life for an American at the end of a barrel of a gun is a classic.---The Guardian (London)

-I hope many people in aposition to affect future diplomatic and military moves will keep Caputo's book by their bedside. It is tough and honest; it is so honest it makes the attraction of combat understandable. This is not a simple book. It may even be profound.---Margaret Manning, The Boston Globe

-Only a warrior could have written A Rumor of War; warrior, honest man, powerful writer. His book is a grim triumph, and will live.---Stephen Becker, Chicago Daily News

-In this powerful book, Caputo does what most of us have yet to do: face the enemy within and overcome the wounds.---Peter J. Ognibene, The Washington Post Book World

-A book that must be read and reread--if for no other reason than as an eloquent statement against war. It is a superb book.---Terry Anderson, The Denver Post

-This is news that goes beyond what the journalists brought us, news from the heart of darkness. It was long overdue.---Newsweek

-A superb macabre evocation of those aimlesssearches and the destruction not only of property but of men's bodies and minds as well....At times, it is hard to remember that this is not a novel.---William Shawcross, New Statesman

-This is a story of courage, comradeship, horror, and corruption, and at the same time a moving and bitter testimony...Vivid, real, searchingly honest, it's war writing of ahigh order.---Publishers Weekly

-A Rumor of War is not only precious for its moral depth and gravity, it is also a battle narrative of the first rank.---Geoffrey Wolff, New Times

-Every war seems to find its own voice: Caputo, it seems to me, is an eloquent spokesman for all we lost in Vietnam.---C. D. B. Bryan, Saturday Review

-This is the hardest review I have ever had to write. I can tell you that A Rumor of War is the most daunting and significant personal account yet generated by our great dishonor, Vietnam....Yes, but would you read it? Oh, I'd like to have authority over your life. For just this moment. To hit you across the mouth, take your first-born child, invalidate your credit cards, whatever, if you don't read A Rumor of War. I am that sick with passion for this book.---D. Keith Mano, National Review

-Not since Siegfried Sassoon's classic of World War I, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, has there been a war memoir so obviously true, and so disturbingly honest.---William Broyles, Texas Monthly

"Caputo's troubled, searching meditations on the love and hate of war . . . are among the most eloquent I have read in modern literature." --William Styron, The New York Review of Books

"[A Rumor of War] is unparalleled in its honesty, unapologetic in its candor, and singular in its insights into the minds and hearts of men in combat. . . . As powerful to read today as the day it was published." --Kevin Powers, author of Yellow Birds, from the Foreword

"A singular and marvelous work." --Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

"To call it the best book about Vietnam is to trivialize it. Heartbreaking, terrifying, and enraging, it belongs to the literature of men at arms." --John Gregory Dunne, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A Rumor of War is the troubled conscience of America speaking passionately, truthfully, and finally." --Theodore Solotaroff, The New York Times Book Review

"Caputo's searing account of life for an American at the end of a barrel of a gun is a classic." --The Guardian (London)

"I hope many people in aposition to affect future diplomatic and military moves will keep Caputo's book by their bedside. It is tough and honest; it is so honest it makes the attraction of combat understandable. This is not a simple book. It may even be profound." --Margaret Manning, The Boston Globe

"Only a warrior could have written A Rumor of War; warrior, honest man, powerful writer. His book is a grim triumph, and will live." --Stephen Becker, Chicago Daily News

"In this powerful book, Caputo does what most of us have yet to do: face the enemy within and overcome the wounds." --Peter J. Ognibene, The Washington Post Book World

"A book that must be read and reread--if for no other reason than as an eloquent statement against war. It is a superb book." --Terry Anderson, The Denver Post

"This is news that goes beyond what the journalists brought us, news from the heart of darkness. It was long overdue." --Newsweek

"A superb macabre evocation of those aimless searches and the destruction not only of property but of men's bodies and minds as well. . . . At times, it is hard to remember that this is not a novel." --William Shawcross, New Statesman

"This is a story of courage, comradeship, horror, and corruption, and at the same time a moving and bitter testimony. . . . Vivid, real, searchingly honest, it's war writing of a high order." --Publishers Weekly

"A Rumor of War is not only precious for its moral depth and gravity, it is also a battle narrative of the first rank." --Geoffrey Wolff, New Times

"Every war seems to find its own voice: Caputo, it seems to me, is an eloquent spokesman for all we lost in Vietnam." --C. D. B. Bryan, Saturday Review

"This is the hardest review I have ever had to write. I can tell you that A Rumor of War is the most daunting and significant personal account yet generated by our great dishonor, Vietnam. . . . Yes, but would you read it? Oh, I'd like to have authority over your life. For just this moment. To hit you across the mouth, take your first-born child, invalidate your credit cards, whatever, if you don't read A Rumor of War. I am that sick with passion for this book." --D. Keith Mano, National Review

"Not since Siegfried Sassoon's classic of World War I, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, has there been a war memoir so obviously true, and so disturbingly honest." --William Broyles, Texas Monthly