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Nelson DeMille
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Word of Honor Kindle Edition

by Nelson DeMille (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,154 ratings
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Read the gripping story of a Vietnam vet whose secret past threatens his family, career, and honor, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide, and is "a true master" (Dan Brown).

He is a good man, a brilliant corporate executive, an honest, handsome family man admired by men and desired by women. But sixteen years ago Ben Tyson was a lieutenant in Vietnam.

There, in 1968, the men under his command committed a murderous atrocity-and together swore never to tell the world what they had done. Not the press, army justice, and the events he tried to forget have caught up with Ben Tyson. His family, his career, and his personal sense of honor hang in the balance. And only one woman can reveal the truth of his past--and set him free.
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  1. Print length
    884 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  5. Publication date
    April 1, 2001
  6. File size
    3046 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  1. He liked Robert Frost’s definition of home: the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If fiction can assuage the lingering moral pain of the Vietnam War, it's through the kind of driving honesty coupled with knowledgeability that DeMille (By the Rivers of Babylon) employs here, in a story which, as riveting as The Caine Mutiny but with wider implications, probes the conflicting concepts of honor, duty and loyalty as they relate to an event of the My Lai varietyand assesses blame. Prompted by a just-published book that holds ex-lieutenant Ben Tyson accountable for a hushed-up massacre committed by his platoon in a Hue hospital 18 years before, the army recalls Tyson to stand trial for murder. Tyson, confronted by an army authority anxious to save its own face, an embarrassed federal government (which has its own "deal" to propose) and a threatened marriage, and entangled, furthermore, in his own past lives and present sense of guilt, must call on all his lawyer's cleverness and his own inner toughness to fight his case. The flashbacks to Hue, the pre-trial investigation (involving an attractive female major), the court-martial proceedings, the emotions of the principal characters and the soul-sickness wrought by war (which is the story's effective subtext)all are depicted with marvelous vividness. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo. Foreign rights: Jack Ellison. November 11
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This huge and merciless account follows an ordinary corporate man, Ben Tyson, as his Army commission is reactivated so that he can be court-martialed on charges of murder. The events go back 15 years to a hospital in Vietnam where his platoon took heavy action and many civilians died. Did he wantonly kill enemy and civilian alike? The investigation, intended to restore military honor after My Lai, gives no quarter. All the hostile witnesses are called up while friendly witnesses are lost or silent. Tyson's own sense of honor lets him give only tiny scraps of information even to his attorney. The courtroom sequences are so powerful that most of the other action is like filler. The dialogue rings true and shows a gift for wit and timing. Apart from its unfortunate length and a slightly over-drawn hero, this succeeds as a mature and compassionate statement about Americans at war in Vietnam. Barbara Conaty, Medical Coll. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000Q9EWYU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (April 1, 2001)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2001
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3046 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 884 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,154 ratings

About the author

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Nelson DeMille

Nelson DeMille

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Nelson Richard DeMille was born in New York City on August 23, 1943 to Huron and Antonia (Panzera) DeMille, then moved with his parents to Long Island. He graduated from Elmont Memorial High School, where he played football and ran track.

DeMille spent three years at Hofstra University, then joined the Army where he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Lieutenant in the United States Army (1966-69). He saw action in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division and was decorated with the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

After his discharge, DeMille returned to Hofstra University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History. He has three children, Lauren, Alexander, and James, and resides on Long Island.

DeMille's first major novel was By the Rivers of Babylon, published in 1978, and is still in print as are all his succeeding novels. He is a member of American Mensa, The Authors Guild, and is past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also a member of International Thriller Writers and was chosen as ThrillerMaster of the Year 2015. He holds three honorary doctorates: Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, Doctor of Literature from Long Island University, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Dowling College.

Nelson DeMille is the author of: By the Rivers of Babylon, Cathedral, The Talbot Odyssey, Word of Honor, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, The General's Daughter, Spencerville, Plum Island, The Lion's Game, Up Country, Night Fall, Wild Fire, The Gate House, The Lion, The Panther, The Quest, Radiant Angel, The Cuban Affair and The Deserter. He also co-authored Mayday with Thomas Block and has contributed short stories to anthologies, and book reviews and articles to magazines and newspapers.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
4,154 global ratings
An authentic tale
5 Stars
An authentic tale
Written by an officer who fought in Viet nam. AuthenticBelievable
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Top reviews from the United States

Carol Burns
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining as well as informative
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2024
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Well written, good story of a war nobody wanted or won. Too many died needlessly. The powers that be should have left well enough alone.
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James L Hooley
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite novels ever.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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Great drama is never outdated, and I love legal stories and trial battles. Plus DeMille is one of the best writers on dialgue and humor.
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michaelb1968
4.0 out of 5 stars A prelude for things to come
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2007
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I would have liked this book more if I read it before the invention of John and Susan Sutter and, even more obviously, Paul Brenner and John Corey. It is clear that Ben Tyson was the seed for each of the male characters and he is like a wild cross of all three. His blood was as blue as Sutter's, his wit and honor are all Brenner, and the rest is all Corey. Marcy is certainly the first stab as Susan Sutter, who I regard as the finest character Demille ever wrote.

That said, it should not detract from a unique and disturbing story. Like many early Demille works, it takes its time painting detailed character portraits and it allows the scenery to breathe. Unfortunately for me, I read the first 200 pages in the winter before finally finishing the last 500+ in the summer. Like some other readers, I had a hard time staying with this one, but was thrilled when I did pick it back up. I back-read a lot and it wasn't tough to remember who was who.

Some parts of the book were long-winded and maybe unnecessary, but it all worked in the end. Ditto some characters like Chet Brown, Col Levin, even Sister Teresa. Lots of loose ends, imo. As a person born in the year this took place, I won't pretend to understand a Vietnam vet's mind. I do challenge some of the reaches Demille took as far as Tyson's unwillingness to open up to his family about his role in the massacre. I also wonder why he'd want to bring that upon himself when he was given an out by Major Harper. A lot of it seemed contrived, but it made for a good character and story, hence the "fiction" tag that accompanies the book. ;-)

If there was a disappointment, it was that it took its time for 737 pages only to end in an instant inside of a couple paragraphs. I almost think Demille was up against a deadline and was told to end it already. The end was frantic, especially with regard to his family situation, and then the screen goes to black. I'd have liked a few more pages to see some things out. The storytelling was uneven in spots, especially when it involved him and his wife. One minute they are close and sticking together, the next they are apart, then together, etc... not a lot of explanation around the changes, either. Still, there was enough to keep you occupied.

A very good effort with an intriguing premise, but not Demille's best, imo. The Gold Coast remains his Gold Standard for me, followed by the underrated Up Country. MOH is definitely a step above the corny John Corey action novels and is probably on par with Charm School. It is a worthwhile read that holds up 20 years after its first print.
9 people found this helpful
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Frank B. Croson
5.0 out of 5 stars very good novel. Despite it's somber tone
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2014
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Nelson DeMille once again shows his versatility in the art of story-telling in this very, very good novel. Despite it's somber tone, DeMille's occasional light touches of humor enliven the story in ways that will be familiar to his followers. Believe me, this is one you won't want to put down, folks.

Other reviewers have described the story line very well, so I have little to add about that. Suffice to say that it is engaging to the point of obsessive fascination, especially to those readers who lived through the Vietnam years - whether at home or in "The Land of Bad Things" - and who recall the sturm und drang of the My Lai massacre sensation that so dominated the news during that time.

To me, the best parts of the story revolve not around the well developed characters, their personal issues, or even the oddities of the military justice system, but rather concern the inherent tensions built into the officers' code of the Army. An officer is required to control his men under any and all circumstances, even at the risk of his own life. But in a milieu where his men are exhausted, hardened to the realities of war as it really is, with morale virtually non-existent, how can an officer overcome outright mutiny, however brief?

The answer, of course, is that he can't. He could die trying, but that would be a pointless sacrifice. The UCMJ doesn't specifically recognize being held hostage during a mutiny as an "extenuating or mitigating" circumstance, but covers itself by requiring that the officer report the mutiny - and all that occurred during it - after the fact. Even that is an object of tension within the Code. Reporting such an incident raises the charge of "failure to control your men", which translates to absolute failure as an officer. So the officer may thereby escape a court martial, but he would be held in egregious contempt by others in the officer corps, to say nothing of his career being at an end. Added to that would be the element of disloyalty to his own men: men who were required to be loyal to him under the rules of military discipline.

Many of those who were "there" understand how the natural barbarism of war was terribly exacerbated by the nature of the Vietnam War... a civil war into which we threw our young men in great numbers and with little to no understanding of what they were fighting for. In the view of many of those men - mostly teenagers in the later stages of the war - they were surrounded on all sides: by the NVA, by the Viet Cong guerillas who were merely cold if not friendly during the day but vicious enemies by night, and even by their own officers. Mr. DeMille makes it clear that the only thing which distinguished the hospital massacre from scores, perhaps hundreds, of similar breakdowns in discipline throughout the war was the raw number of civilian killings in one place at one time, and that some of the victims were Europeans.

This is a somber and disturbing novel, but "the ring of truth" prevails throughout. We may not want to think about what our young men are expected to endure and what they might be reduced to doing under the extreme stresses of war, but Mr. DeMille requires that of us, like it or not. But his great skill as a story-teller and writer leavens that burden in ways that sensational documentaries cannot, making this novel a must-read.
10 people found this helpful
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Blu
5.0 out of 5 stars FACETS OF JUSTICE.
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2024
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A sweeping stirring suspenseful drama concerning protagonist ex-Army Lieutenant Benjamin Tyson and the disconcerting published discovery of his participation in an unauthorized hospital war massacre. The impact of such an astonishing revelation twenty years after the unpopular Vietnam War affects he/wife/son which results in harrowing military proceedings charged with murder. Poignant gritty combat flashbacks. A compelling engrossing tale of military justice, including a long-simmering vendetta finally revenged. Powerful, provocative, enthralling.
2 people found this helpful
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Blackhat
5.0 out of 5 stars His past experience in Vietnam durring the 68 TET offensive sure helped write this book.
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
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There was a lot of truth in this story, more than most readers will ever know. Nelson DeMille does have a way with a pen and paper. One of the best books I have ever read.
Don Johnson stared in the movie made about this book and it was a stellar performance. His best ever! He did justice to Nelson"s book.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tucker
5.0 out of 5 stars Most of his books are very well written....
Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2021
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The story telling
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Gianluca Carpiceci
4.0 out of 5 stars A procedural thriller which is an excuse to offer a passionate view on the Vietnam war
Reviewed in Italy on November 18, 2017
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The story is engrossing, it grabbed my attention from the very beginning and , despite the length of the book (nearly 900pages) remains high until the end.
The characters are well developed - not meaning that they are all pleasant: in particular, the protagonist looks like an unbearable smartass, looking down everybody else with an air of superiority from his high moral ground.
Anyway, the procedural thriller is an excuse for the author to offer another of his perspectives on the Vietnam war which is again quite passionate and personal.
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afwyd
5.0 out of 5 stars unlike his later stories but still a jolly good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2014
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not much humour, unlike his later stories but still a jolly good read
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RossJeffery
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Canada on October 22, 2018
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I am a fan of Nelson Demille,s book . I have enjoyed every one i have read and I drink This des one of thé best ones
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Jilla Lonsdale
4.0 out of 5 stars A perennial favorite, I tore through this book in one rainy ...
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2015
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A perennial favorite, I tore through this book in one rainy afternoon -- the main character is a bit too egocentric (and at times unlikable) for my taste, but the story moved along with a number of compelling themes and wrapped up very well. I'm a history buff so anything about the Vietnam War is of interest and the main premise of "war is hell" is well played out here. It would be impossible to judge a man in peace times for what he did during the hell that was the Vietnam War. Great characters and a fast moving plot -- the courtroom scenes didn't drag the book down and I was very happy with the ending -- not sure if justice was served, but it was entirely believable!
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