I this book because...
A searing, brutally honest, brilliantly written depiction of the war that defined an era in American history and a period in my life and in the lives of millions of young men (and women) in the 1960s.
Dozens of portraits of compelling characters caught in hellish conditions and carrying out seemingly impossible missions against impossible odds.
It is a celebration of incredible bravery by Marines as well as a lament over the appalling waste of human lives and national wealth. A condemnation of myopic and criminal foreign policies, of politicians for their cynical self-interest and ignorance, and of some senior military officers for their egotism and blindness. But also simultaneously a celebration of other commanders for their humanity and wisdom. A portrait of tragic race relations that would spill over into civilian life.
It is a novel about love, ambition, tragic failure, and personal transformation.
5 authors picked Matterhorn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Fire Support Base Matterhorn: a fortress carved out of the grey-green mountain jungle. Cold monsoon clouds wreath its mile-high summit, concealing a battery of 105-mm howitzers surrounded by deep bunkers, carefully constructed fields of fire and the 180 marines of Bravo Company. Just three kilometres from Laos and two from North Vietnam, there is no more isolated outpost of America's increasingly desperate war in Vietnam.
Second Lieutenant Waino Mellas, 21 years old and just a few days into his 13-month tour, has barely arrived at Matterhorn before Bravo Company is ordered to abandon their mountain and sent deep in-country in…