The Price of Honor

David Hackworth is not just another retired Army Colonel writing a book. His credentials in writing this novel are displayed on every page. I have read his previous books and just finished reading The Price of Honor immediately after reading Grisham's The Bretheren. Both were good books but Hackworth's was better. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I liked everything about it including the brief entry and reference to real life personalities. It is truly a fast paced, action packed novel that has a ring of credibility on every page. I notice a previous review stated that the ending was not believable. I beg to differ, for a novel, in my opinion the ending was more believable than Grisham's The Bretheren (although I would give that book a high rating also). In this book Hackworth deals with the Vietnam War,the country's wars since that time, soldiers and officers and the military/industrial complex. The latter is particular noteworthy when considering the recent crash of the V-22 Osprey. Colonel Hackworth does a masterful job and I would recommend this book everyone I know.

Every military officer who is stationed at the Pentagon or going to be stationed at the Pentagon must read this book. David Hackworth presents the reader with an exciting and sobering view of the weapons acquisition process "inside the Beltway." Hack is able to blend his considerable military experience, forged through three wars, with his incredible feats as a "front-line journalist" to give the reader a realistic view of how America fights its wars and the power struggles behind the weapon systems America uses. Hack takes the reader on a journey to the places he himself has been and allows the reader to feel the raw terror of being at a Special Forces Firebase being overrun by North Vietnamese; being on the ground, outgunned and out-generaled in Somalia; trying to figure out who is the worst of two evils in Bosnia; and fighting the funding battles inside the Pentagon. Hack is able to do this with incredible realism, because he has been to all those places and done all those things. Hack makes the reader part of the plot. He draws you in and makes you love and/or hate the principal characters. This is one of those books, you do not want to end. If you want to find out what life is like behind the scenes in the weapons systems acquisition business, read this book. If you want a snapshot of what Vietnam was like, read this book. If you want see what Somalia and Bosnia looked like during the latter part of the last Century, read this book. If you are a military officer, fighting the endless budgetary wars within the Pentagon, read this book.This book has it all...action, sex, politics and mystery. Well written and accurately presented. This is a good book. Read It.Sandy Mangold Colonel, USAF (Retired)

As a former Special Forces senior NCO and a fan of David Hackworth personally and his writings, I was intrigued about what he could do with fiction. Colonel, ya did good! Some say the ending is not believable. I say, so what? It is a work of fiction, after all. It isn't supposed to be believable. It is pure escapism and a darn good read. I really could not put the book down until I was finished in two days. Hack's characters were believable as were their actions of men molded in combat and bound together like brothers. Men who would back each other up no matter the cost. Hack's descriptions of the movers and shakers operating in our government today is more than plausable, given the snakes crawling around in D.C. these days. You have a winner, Colonel. A sequel, perhaps?

Colonel David Hackworth has been there. Vietnam, Korea, etc. Because of the knowledge he has endured, if you will, his first fiction novel, The Price of Honor has an electricity to it that is all enveloping. The details are sharply defined. The issues, both from a military standpoint and a personal standpoint stand in sharp focus. There is no sparing of the language, the blood and emotion. The gritty realism, tempered with liberal editorializing on the plight of the Armed Forces is a revelation for those who just get their news from CNN. I know, it's fiction, but it is often only through fiction that the truth can truly be uttered, even though it may be said with sadness. And just to keep us in the emotional loop a bit longer, the develping relationship between Sandy and Abbie has sparks of its own. A great cast of characters, well fleshed out. A bit of humor, a bit of technology, clandestine operations, political skeletons, lust for power, lust for it's own sake, unsparing combat realism, and just enough mushy stuff to keep me riveted. With the book's generous length, I really felt I acquired more than a passing fancy or momentary hatred for the characters. I got into it, I got involved. I'm glad I did.

The weekend was a pleasant disaster. I made only one mistake. I took "The Price of Honor" with me and my wife on an out-of-towner, and for once in my life, she came in second. I simply could not put it down. Col. Hackworth is the heir apparent to Tom Clancy, the mantle fitting so much better because of Hack's credibility as a warrior. Only a man who has walked on the thin edge of life and death, known the love of soldiers, and who has ultimately received from his experiences "beauty for ashes" could write such a tale. Captain Sandy Caine leads the ghost of his warrior father from the ignominy of official disgrace to the honor of moral victory, on the way paying a price that allowed not only the martial spirit of the Caine generations to rest, but his human spirit to be healed by the love of a woman. Once started, you won't be able to put it down.