No Bugles, No Drums

I first read this novel in the late seventies. Since then I have been able to see elements of Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and even Forrest Gump in it. It shows the war through the eyes of a citizen soldier who filters for the reader the horror and the madness of much of what he encounters. Buy this book.

This book is to Vietnam War novels what "Catch-22" is to World War II novels: bitter, surreal, absurd, entertaining, and a valuable commentary on that specific war. Charles Durden was a freelance correspondent in Vietnam, and he has an ear for the language and an understanding of the attitudes of the combat soldiers. He pinpoints the horror of killing, which is for many worse than the fear of death, and he sketches the frustrations of a pointless war in which the unwilling were often led by the incompetent -- or worse. The grunts of Kilo Company arrive in Vietnam and are soon faced with the absurdity of the war; they respond in an interesting variety of ways from that of the skilled and capable lieutenant, "The Boy Ranger," to the deserter and traitor, "Jinx." Do not read this book as a true story of what happened in Vietnam but rather as a realistic picture of what war was like there.

Durden's work "No Bugles, No Drums" was impressive for many reasons. It had plenty of action, but with the action, there was realism. It did not possess the fake "blood n guts" action of most Vietnam novels, but it gave a realistic picture of the kind of combat that went on there. Durden dealt with many facets of the Vietnam experience, including the emotions felt by the lead character, Hawkins, and some of the other characters. It even dealt with this issue of desertion, which is something I've not found in ANY Vietnam novel that I've read thus far. For a true picture of what Vietnam was like, read this book.