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One Soldier
The author recounts his experiences in basic training, officer candidate school, and Vietnam, and shares his observations on the war
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 9, 2021
After being "replaced" as America's longest war, the Vietnam War came back into focus in August 2021 to score political points or social media currency. Surfacing among the outcry about ending the 20 year war in Afghanistan are discrepancies about deployments, tours, and time spent in country that differ greatly from what was the drafted man's plight during the Vietnam War; 365 and a wake up. Detailed, harrowing, and gritty, ONE SOLDIER is such a story, of one young man's hectic time in the chaos at the height of the Vietnam War.
July 3, 1968, day one of a year of free, continuous steam baths (in-country). Instead of dancing down the main street of life, tickling the taste buds with the golden nectar, going where the night lights shine, living on good times, and filling his soul with sweet memories, John Shook gives the reader a tour through the hell of the Vietnam War, going from Basic Training, to Advanced Infantry Training, OCS, and then the suck. ONE SOLDIER also chronicles the zeitgeist of a new generation exposed to the horrors of war--much different than the previous one that lived through WWII and believed that a man is honor-bound to shut up and serve his country and never mind the comments on the wisdom of his government's action. While it is patriotic positivism on the surface, it seems a very undemocratic view.
If you're up for ants, mosquitoes, vipers, scorpions, and Victor Charlie, go along with ONE SOLDIER. Get into the boonies--go by the sun, the watch, the compass, dead reckoning, and luck. Just keep going. Make it through the 337 pages and a wake up.
July 3, 1968, day one of a year of free, continuous steam baths (in-country). Instead of dancing down the main street of life, tickling the taste buds with the golden nectar, going where the night lights shine, living on good times, and filling his soul with sweet memories, John Shook gives the reader a tour through the hell of the Vietnam War, going from Basic Training, to Advanced Infantry Training, OCS, and then the suck. ONE SOLDIER also chronicles the zeitgeist of a new generation exposed to the horrors of war--much different than the previous one that lived through WWII and believed that a man is honor-bound to shut up and serve his country and never mind the comments on the wisdom of his government's action. While it is patriotic positivism on the surface, it seems a very undemocratic view.
If you're up for ants, mosquitoes, vipers, scorpions, and Victor Charlie, go along with ONE SOLDIER. Get into the boonies--go by the sun, the watch, the compass, dead reckoning, and luck. Just keep going. Make it through the 337 pages and a wake up.
June 29, 2025
Tremendous!
**** 4 Stars.
**** 4 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews