- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; (Reissue) edition (24 April 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0586087990
- ISBN-13: 978-0586087992
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 694,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘No one has written about the Vietnam War with the eloquence of Tim O’Brien. If I Die in a Combat Zone may be the single greatest piece of work to come out of Vietnam – on a level with World War II’s The Naked and the Dead and From Here to Eternity.’ Washington Star
‘A work of passion and protest … one of the few good things to come out of that desolating struggle.’ Guardian
‘A personal document of aching clarity … O’Brien brilliantly and quietly evokes the foot soldier’s daily life in the paddies and foxholes. A beautiful, painful book.’ New York Times Book Review
‘I wish O’Brien did not write so beautifully, for he makes it impossible to forget his book. Years from now it will still have that terrible power to make me remember and to make me weep.’ New York Times
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Review
'No one has written about the Vietnam War with the eloquence of Tim O'Brien. If I Die in a Combat Zone may be the single greatest piece of work to come out of Vietnam -- on a level with World War II's The Naked and the Dead and From Here to Eternity.' Washington Star 'A work of passion and protest ! one of the few good things to come out of that desolating struggle.' Guardian 'A personal document of aching clarity ! O'Brien brilliantly and quietly evokes the foot soldier's daily life in the paddies and foxholes. A beautiful, painful book.' New York Times Book Review 'I wish O'Brien did not write so beautifully, for he makes it impossible to forget his book. Years from now it will still have that terrible power to make me remember and to make me weep.' New York Times
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is not a book that glorifies war. It does on the other hand engage fully with the experience what it is to live through combat. O'Brien tells the story of his tour of duty in Vietnam, warts and all. He is clearly an intelligent man, haunted by his experiences, enough so to write a book about them, although not necessarily tortured by them. He is articulate, thoughtful and matter of fact in the way he tells his story. It is full of the ups and downs of a soldier's life, the boredom, the thrills, the day to day drill and the trauma of battle. A fascinating book.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
We all think we know about the Vietnam war. The brutality, the slaughter, the insanity - a very general view. This book takes the reader right into the thick of it. You're not viewing the war on the General's map, you're right there in the fox hole with your buddies. This is the tale of a normal man living through the war. It's not a political text. There's no "slant" put on the events. It's just a straight forward personal story. Like sitting down and listening to a veteran talk - that's O'Brien's style and it is captivating.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Whether you have an interest in the Vietnam war or not, you won't want to put it down.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is not a history book, tactics and plans are not discussed. This is a book of survival, survival of a naïve individual who quickly gets the fastest lesson in maturity required - infantry soldier war. O'Brien's book is riveting reading, it is basic and direct, it quickly knocks any glory to be had in being in Vietnam. This is a book of survival, one were friendships can end quickly. O'Brien does not ask for sympathy he only appears to want the reader to try and understand what it is was like for the common GI.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Mixed Bag...
I've always had a passing interest in the history of the Vietnam war but had only ever saw the "major" films about it (Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket etc) and as such,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by CitizenWolfie
"I want to go to Vietnam; Just to kill ol' Charlie Cong..."
This is O'Brien's first book, written as the Vietnam War (American version) still raged, and I consider it his best. Read more
Published 15 months ago by John P. Jones III
foot soldier history
an excellent account of the foot soldiers journey in Vietnam. having studied the area for my Master's programme, Tim O'Brien still offers me an insightful account. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Mr. R. A. Coombes
The Grunt's view
If I Die....is a worthwhile read if you have an interest in modern warfare and/or the Vietnam conflict. Read more
Published on 12 Sep 2009 by Fish Fish
A good book with some conscience issues
I found this book a very good read, an interesting one on the conscientious side compared to my previous readings, which were written by glory filled soldiers and/or soldiers who... Read more
Published on 5 May 2009 by Mr. J. W. Turner
Brief war story and little more
This is a brief but interesting war story of O'Brian's year as a rifleman in the infantry in Vietnam. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2008 by Overseas Reviewer
An OK account of the Vietnam experience - but it fails to convince
"Nobody has written about the Vietnam War with more eloquence than Tim O'Brien." So says the quote from the Washington Star on the book's cover, going on to add, "[this] may be the... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2006 by Nigel Collier
Madness, Insanity & Banality in the field
Interesting recollections of a year in Vietnam some 35 years ago. The emphasis is very much upon how many different weapons can kill you in how many different ways; but given the... Read more
Published on 25 May 2004 by Keith Appleyard
Apocalypse Wow!
The horror... the horror... it's Vietnam, the way it was, and perhaps also the way we imagine it to have been, through the lens of films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, only this... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2000
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