Why am I passionate about this?

I served as an infantry platoon leader, reconnaissance platoon leader, and rifle company commander in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. I was an instructor in the Florida Phase of the U.S. Army Ranger School for two years.


I wrote

Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam

By Michael Lee Lanning,

Book cover of Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam

What is my book about?

Vietnam was a different kind of war, calling for a different kind of soldier. The LRRPs--Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols--were that…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Tiger the LURP Dog

Michael Lee Lanning Why did I love this book?

By far the best novel on LRRPs in Vietnam, and perhaps the best fiction to come out of the war. Highly decorated Miller extended his tour three times with F Company 58th Infantry (LRP) and L Company Rangers in order to “out guerrilla the guerilla.” Book awarded the Bernal Diaz Prize for military fiction.

By Kenn Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tiger the LURP Dog as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A landmark novel of the Vietnam War

The men of the Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol - Stagg, Wolverine, Mopar, Marvel Kim, and Gonzales - are commando-style soldiers, called “Lurps” for short. Five men, completely dependent on one another. Proud to the point of arrogance. They’re joined by Tiger, their mascot: a flea-bitten scavenging stray or “dust dog,” a sneak and a coward, lazy and haughty. But, like his masters in this dirtiest of all wars, a survivor.

When their buddies on Team Two-One disappear, the Lurp team members have to fight their own brass to go on a mission to find…


Book cover of LRRP Company Command: The Cav's LRP/Rangers in Vietnam, 1968-1969

Michael Lee Lanning Why did I love this book?

How an LRP company commander (1st Cavalry Division) produced one of the most outstanding reconnaissance units of the Vietnam War. Captain George Paccerelli was tough on his men but their Area of Operations composed of triple canopy jungle along the Cambodian border defended by four enemy divisions called for only the best. The book contains nearly unbelievable accounts of reconnaissance, ambushes, and running firefights.

By Kregg P. Jorgenson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked LRRP Company Command as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A gripping account of ordinary men with extraordinary courage and heroism who had one last chance to make good—and one helluva war zone to do it in.
 
The new commander of the Company E, 52d Infantry LRRPs, Capt. George Paccerelli, was tough, but the men’s new AO was brutal. It was bad enough that the provinces of Binh Long, Phuoc Long, and Tay Ninh bordered enemy-friendly Cambodia, but their vast stretches of double- and triple-canopy jungle were also home to four crack enemy divisions, including the Viet Cong’s notorious 95C Regiment.

Only the long-range patrols could deliver the critical strategic…


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Book cover of After Me

After Me By J. Shep,

"an intense narrative of family and intangible inheritance. . .this novel unfolds like a fragrant, steeped tea." -Chanticleer Book Reviews, 5 Stars

"like a glorious sunrise, we are gifted the 'après,' the hope and goodness of 'after me.'" -Maria Giuseppa, author of R&R:  A Feast of Words

A man in…

Book cover of Death in the A Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-70

Michael Lee Lanning Why did I love this book?

An excellent first-person account of being an LRRP in a unit that acted as the eyes and ears of the 101st Airborne Division. Most of his patrols were in the NVA ruled A Shau Valley. Usually outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, Chambers and his LRRP team performed hundreds of courageous missions. This is a “boots on the ground” story by a real warrior.

By Larry Chambers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death in the A Shau Valley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates.”

Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit’s mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley—where the NVA ruled.

Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the…


Book cover of Charlie Mike

Michael Lee Lanning Why did I love this book?

A novel about LRRPs by an officer who served in a Ranger unit in Vietnam. Rivals Tiger the LURP Dog as best fiction to come out of the war. Often difficult to determine the line between fiction and real actions. Scott knows about what he writes from on-the-ground experience. The Washington Post declared Charlie Mike to be “one of the finest novels yet written about the war in Vietnam.”

By Leonard B. Scott,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Charlie Mike as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If war may be said to bring out the worst in governments, it frequently brings out the best in people. This is a novel about some of the very best. Some led. Some followed. Some died.

“One of the finest novels yet written about the war in Vietnam.”—The Washington Post

Sergeant David Grady: Leader of Ranger Team 2-2, the Double Deuce, he was a perfectionist who loved his men, his team, and his Army. For a long time they had been his whole world.

Sarah Boyce: Cold. Beautiful. For all her life, she'd been her whole world. She thought she…


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Book cover of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Me and The Times By Robert W. Stock,

Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.

His memoir is…

Book cover of Rangers at War: LRRPs in Vietnam

Michael Lee Lanning Why did I love this book?

Stanton, one of the earliest and most prolific writers on the Vietnam War, details LRRP/Ranger operations primarily through unit Quarterly After Action Reports from the National Archives. Although mostly numbers and places with few actual combat stories, the book nonetheless offers an accurate assessment of the actions of LRRPs/Rangers in the war.

By Shelby L. Stanton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rangers at War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Shelby Stanton has emerged as the leading military historian on the war in Southest Asia."
COL. CHARLES B. MacDONALD
Author of COMPANY COMMANDER and A TIME FOR TRUMPETS
One of the toughest and most challenging jobs in Vietnam was to be a U.S. Army Ranger running Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. The LRRPs took volunteers only, and training was designed to weed out all but the best. What emerged was an elite outfit of warriors in the finest sense of the word. Now Shelby Stanton, renowned military authority on the war in Southeast Asia, presents the first and only definitive history…


Explore my book 😀

Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam

By Michael Lee Lanning,

Book cover of Inside the LRRPs: Rangers in Vietnam

What is my book about?

Vietnam was a different kind of war, calling for a different kind of soldier. The LRRPs--Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols--were that new breed of fighting man. They operated in six-man teams deep within enemy territory, and were the eyes and ears of the units they served. This is their story--of perseverence under extreme hardship and uncommon bravery--and how they carried out the war's most hazardous missions.

Book cover of Tiger the LURP Dog
Book cover of LRRP Company Command: The Cav's LRP/Rangers in Vietnam, 1968-1969
Book cover of Death in the A Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-70

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Interested in the Vietnam War, commandos, and Vietnam?

The Vietnam War 245 books
Commandos 15 books
Vietnam 170 books