Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War FROM THE PUBLISHER
Covering more than four decades, this is the first full-scale, definitive account of Kerry's journey from war to peace. Brinkley has drawn on extensive interviews with virtually everyone who knew Kerry in Vietnam. Kerry also relegated to Brinkley his letters home from Vietnam, voluminous "war notes" journals and personal reminiscences written during and shortly after the war. This material was provided without restriction, to be used at Brinkley's discretion, and has never before been published. Throughout, Brinkley deftly deals with issues such as U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. Using information from the newly released Nixon tapes, Brinkley reveals how White House aides Charles Colson and H. R. Haldeman tried to discredit Kerry. Refusing to be intimidated, Kerry ran for public office, eventually becoming a senator from Massachusetts. But he never forgot his fallen comrades returning to Vietnam numerous times to look for MIAs and POWs. When President Clinton officially recognized Vietnam in 1995, at long last Kerry's thirty-year-long tour of duty ended.
FROM THE CRITICS
The Washington Post
The author is also smart enough to let his subject speak for himself, by quoting extensively from Kerry's journals and letters. And here is a revelation. The senator, so often criticized for being wooden and prolix in his campaign speeches, turns out to be a marvelously skilled writer. Time and again we encounter candid and moving passages, delivered with sparse clarity, many of them showing Kerry's growing disillusionment with the war in general and the river operations in particular.
— Fredrik Logevall
Publishers Weekly
Popular historian Brinkley's account of John Kerry's Vietnam experience could easily serve as the first part of a multivolume biography, examining the senator and presidential candidate's early life in rigorous detail. Entering the U.S. Navy soon after graduating from Yale in 1966, Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry commanded two Swift boat crews on river patrols in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. He kept "voluminous" notes during his service, maintained extensive correspondence with friends and family, and tape-recorded interviews with combat-seasoned comrades. With unrestricted access to this archival material and interviews with Kerry and surviving crewmates, Brinkley (coauthor with Stephen Ambrose of The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation) depicts war in riveting detail, down to what music the crew of PCF-94 listened to on patrol. Though clearly centering his attention on Kerry, Brinkley also stresses the navy's under-recognized role in Vietnam while emphasizing the "true battlefield heroism" of American forces. Kerry's combat experiences make for gripping reading, and later sections on his high-profile role in the antiwar movement are equally engrossing, including the Nixon White House's efforts (involving a young Armistead Maupin) to discredit veteran-turned-antiwar-activist Kerry as a "phony." Final chapters fully address Kerry's political failures in the early 1970s while quickly summarizing later successes and how these successes were shaped by his Vietnam experience and ongoing relationships with fellow veterans. Though never intended as a political biography, this book offers perhaps the most insightful examination available of the character of this or any other Democratic candidate. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Jan. 6) Forecast: The first printing of 100,000 seems about right for such a timely book by a popular author. First serial went to the Atlantic Monthly. January 6 is a one-day laydown; that day, Brinkley will appear on the Today Show and The O'Reilly Factor. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Prolific historian Brinkley (Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, 1903-2003; Rosa Parks) offers a gripping account of presidential candidate John Kerry's heroic service, his fight to end the Vietnam War, and his efforts to improve medical care for veterans. Kerry was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts as commander of a Swift Boat, which patrolled the dangerous enemy-controlled rivers and canals of coastal Vietnam. However, as Brinkley points out, unlike many servicemen who were gung-ho when they arrived in Vietnam, Kerry always doubted the war. Following his active duty (1966-70), he became the most visible leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War-and earned President Nixon's bile for speaking out against the conflict. Kerry was eventually elected to four consecutive terms as senator from Massachusetts. Brinkley concludes with the moving reconciliation between Kerry and John McCain-the two veterans and senators who led the struggle for full diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, realized in 1995. Kerry did not find closure for his tour of duty until that peace was accomplished. Highly recommended for all public libraries and academic Vietnam War collections.-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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