Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Cat From Hue

 



A kind reader of this inconsequential mind blog sent me a book, The Cat From Hue. He was, forgive me if I'm wrong, trying to make sense of the Vietnam conflict as was the author himself, a CBS journalist who got right in the thick of things. Like no fooling.

And what things they were. The book starts off in 1965 and moves from there to Tet and I'm struck by the no-nonsense of the prose, the bravery of the reporters and the men they cover. Also, and this stands out, the number of WWII and Korean vets in the story.

There they were, on their third war, yes, people who'd seen action at Bastogne and Imjin equivalents. I don't dare comment except to say that this is an outstanding book written by a good man. Read it, you won't be disappointedThe Cat From Hue.

Semper,

LSP

4 comments:

LL said...

Written in The Year of the Cat?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqZc7ZQURMs

Wild, wild west said...

More like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJVpihgwE18

A fair description would be, it's Dispatches by Michael Herr on steroids.

The cat was very much like what I'd imagine a pissed-off LL would be like, only full time - this meant complimentarily to both parties, of course!

LSP said...

Oh my, LL, a comment with Year of the Cat? Hey, it was all going on. But I think the book was published under the Horse. I think.

LSP said...

Wild, the Animals! And yes, I get the reference.

What a great book, better, I think, than Dispatches, which I loved at a ridiculously early age. Laurence is more... serious(?) I think. Of course I wasn't there. So.

Now, LL, as war correspondent. Perhaps you mean focal point of a ruthless Dzerzhinsky network or... hmmmm... maybe both? Terrifying either way.