Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Easily the best war novel I have ever read. I'd love to see HBO get a hold of it for a mini-series.

The story is told from the perspective of a glory-seeking second lieutenant straight out of West Pont. He's assigned a ground troop unit and soon experiences the hell these men are put through.

What impressed me the most was the realism complete with military tactics and the interaction between men sharing these awful experiences. My constant thoughtthrough the book was that military planners didn't value the lives of the ground troops as much today as they do know but a lot of this could be blamed on the technology available at the time. Want an airstrike but it's cloudy? Forget it...

I highly recommend this book. I left my copy with my dad - West Point grad and Vietnam Vet. He was lucky enough to fly in an A-6 az a navigator.



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