Search and Destroy

One description of war is mostly mundane boredom interrupted by moments of intense action. Dean Hughes' book subscribes to this premise. Rick is a teen, recent high school graduate, who volunteers to fight in the Vietnam War. Expect to read heavy handed dialogue about the struggle to maintain one's humanity while fulfilling one's duty as a soldier to kill. The author may have overdone this message at the expense of developing characters beyond superficial personalities, such as Rick's ex-girlfriend and Ken,his mentor in the bush. Hughes succeeds in showing war as less than romantic, while the common soldier is heroic in fighting for his country and protecting his comrades in the field. Expect graphic death scenes which hammer home Hughes' themes because they are brief moments in the book. This book makes for a great book study conversation. Consider it.

Although the book was presented as a book for adolescents, it was targeted more for early adult. It follows some of the more disturbing parts of the Vietnamese war through the eyes of a late teen who has little clue of what he wants out of life. He learns that war is indeed hell. I would recommend this as reading for any late teen considering joining the military.

Rick Ward, a confused boy from Long Beach just out of high school, drifts into the army. He may be running away from an overbearing father, a pointless existence of beach parties, or perhaps he just needs to do something meaningful. In that spirit he goes to Vietnam and volunteers for the Charlie Rangers, an elite group who infiltrate the jungle to beat the enemy at their own game. He wants to be tested, to experience life like his heroes, Ernest Hemingway and Joseph Conrad. Most of all, he longs to be a man. He discovers that nothing about war is what he or others had thought. He finds himself in a restricted world of just he and his team, trying to survive in a jungle hell, where the highest honor is not fighting for his country, or even just surviving, but helping a buddy to stay alive, to make it back to `the world.' This is a powerful story about how war profoundly changes a man. The ugliness of war screams off the pages--its horror, hypocrisy, and utter futility. The author does a marvelous job of blending this with the larger realities of the Vietnam era, not shrinking from the controversies but not taking a stand either. The truth is too complex, too overwhelming for any one individual to understand. In the end, it is the individual's humanity that counts. This skillfully written book is highly recommended for teens and adults.

One of the Greatest books I ever read. Has a big part in my heart.