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The Foot Soldier
Right after college graduation, Costa, a lower-middle-class kid from Buffalo, New York, is drafted into the US army and plunged into the Vietnam War. The Foot Solder catapults the reader back to the conflict that changed America. This is a compelling novella of morality—right or wrong in a split second in the hell of the jungle—when it really matters, regardless of rank, military orders, or rule books. It asks how a soldier survives, how he deals with dislocation, and how he reacts when given an order that defies everything he’s ever believed about the human soul.
60 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2013
11 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Mark Rubinstein
37 books819 followersMark Rubinstein graduated from NYU with a degree in business. He then served in the army as a field medic tending to paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division. After discharge, he re-entered NYU as a premed student.
As a medical student at the State University of New York, he developed an interest in psychiatry, discovering in that specialty the same thing he realized in reading fiction: every patient has a compelling story to tell. He became a board-certified psychiatrist.
In addition to his private practice he became a forensic psychiatrist because of the drama and conflict in the courtroom. He also taught psychiatric residents, interns, psychologists, and social workers at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and became a clinical assistant professor at Cornell University’s medical school.
He is a contributor to Psychology Today and The Huffington Post.
Before turning to fiction, Rubinstein coauthored five medical self-help books: The First Encounter: The Beginnings in Psychotherapy (Jason Aronson); The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery (Simon and Schuster); New Choices: the Latest Options in Treating Breast Cancer (Dodd Mead); Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind (McGraw-Hill), and The Growing Years: A Guide to Your Child’s Emotional Development from Birth to Adolescence (Atheneum).
Rubinstein's high-octane thriller Mad Dog House was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award for suspense/thrillers. His 2nd thriller, Love Gone Mad, was published in September 2013 and his novella, The Foot Soldier (November 2013) won the Silver award in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Awards competition, in the Popular Fiction category. His novel Mad Dog Justice (September 2014), tagged as a "pulse-pounding tale of post-modern paranoia," is a finalist for the 2014 ForeWord Book of the Year Award. His novella, Return to Sandara, won the Gold Medal for suspense/thrillers in the 2015 IPPY Awards. The Lovers' Tango, is a medical and legal thriller about which Michael Connelly said, "The tension on these pages never lets you go. Rubinstein is a born storyteller." The Lovers' Tango has won the Gold Award in Popular Fiction for this year's 2016 IPPA Benjamin Franklin Award.
Bedlam's Door: True Tales of Madness and Hope, was published in September 2016. Beyond Bedlam's Door: True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom was published on May 15, 2017.
Rubinstein's book MAD DOG VENGEANCE, the 3rd in the Mad Dog Series, was published on October 15, 2017.
Rubinstein has since written Assassin's Lullaby and A Lethal Question.
As a medical student at the State University of New York, he developed an interest in psychiatry, discovering in that specialty the same thing he realized in reading fiction: every patient has a compelling story to tell. He became a board-certified psychiatrist.
In addition to his private practice he became a forensic psychiatrist because of the drama and conflict in the courtroom. He also taught psychiatric residents, interns, psychologists, and social workers at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and became a clinical assistant professor at Cornell University’s medical school.
He is a contributor to Psychology Today and The Huffington Post.
Before turning to fiction, Rubinstein coauthored five medical self-help books: The First Encounter: The Beginnings in Psychotherapy (Jason Aronson); The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery (Simon and Schuster); New Choices: the Latest Options in Treating Breast Cancer (Dodd Mead); Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind (McGraw-Hill), and The Growing Years: A Guide to Your Child’s Emotional Development from Birth to Adolescence (Atheneum).
Rubinstein's high-octane thriller Mad Dog House was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award for suspense/thrillers. His 2nd thriller, Love Gone Mad, was published in September 2013 and his novella, The Foot Soldier (November 2013) won the Silver award in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Awards competition, in the Popular Fiction category. His novel Mad Dog Justice (September 2014), tagged as a "pulse-pounding tale of post-modern paranoia," is a finalist for the 2014 ForeWord Book of the Year Award. His novella, Return to Sandara, won the Gold Medal for suspense/thrillers in the 2015 IPPY Awards. The Lovers' Tango, is a medical and legal thriller about which Michael Connelly said, "The tension on these pages never lets you go. Rubinstein is a born storyteller." The Lovers' Tango has won the Gold Award in Popular Fiction for this year's 2016 IPPA Benjamin Franklin Award.
Bedlam's Door: True Tales of Madness and Hope, was published in September 2016. Beyond Bedlam's Door: True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom was published on May 15, 2017.
Rubinstein's book MAD DOG VENGEANCE, the 3rd in the Mad Dog Series, was published on October 15, 2017.
Rubinstein has since written Assassin's Lullaby and A Lethal Question.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 25, 2015
"The characters here are fictional."
There is the disclaimer at the beginning of many books about the story and characters being fictional. This novella had that disclaimer. Many of the books I have read about the American war in Vietnam have had that disclaimer. I have read all of the words in this book in other war books. We know fragging happened in Vietnam. We know soldiers are killed by friendly fire in war. Is it possible that this jury contains an essential truth? Someone who was actually in the war would be in a better position to say.
There is the disclaimer at the beginning of many books about the story and characters being fictional. This novella had that disclaimer. Many of the books I have read about the American war in Vietnam have had that disclaimer. I have read all of the words in this book in other war books. We know fragging happened in Vietnam. We know soldiers are killed by friendly fire in war. Is it possible that this jury contains an essential truth? Someone who was actually in the war would be in a better position to say.
November 8, 2013
The Foot Soldier
An addictive rush of emotion and angst.
"Platoon," "Apocalypse Now," "We Were Soldiers" and "Matterhorn" shaped the mold for novels about the Vietnam War. They exploited the war as seen by imbedded journalists and stateside news magazines, glossing over the blood and the gore to protect the virgin innocence of the American civilian reader. And then came Mark Rubinstein.
The best selling author of "Mad Dog House" and "Love Gone Mad" grabbed the sub genre, shook it by its worn out horns and took pity on the bland and the susceptible by shortening the psychological blow, crafting a novella rather than a full fledged novel. It was a good thing he did. A novella is the perfect size to explore a new approach: introspective war action. A lot of writers can get into the mind of the characters they engender, "Catch 22" comes to mind. Only a trained psychiatrist like Mark Rubinstein can turn their anguish into art.
Young Costa submits to the draft, pushing aside the temptation to escape to Canada. He submerges into the strange pond of the military crosscut of American society, finding to his dismay the same distasteful, disinterested and less than altruistic types that populated his economically depressed Buffalo, New York area. The son of a steel worker and a school cafeteria lady gets plunged into an unknown where he becomes a numbed observer.
Here's where Rubinstein breaks out of the mold: his visuals are of a new kind, tactile. So we get "Fear alone could make you sweat, and we dripped rivulets...It dripped from my eyebrows, my chin, even from my fingertips...My fatigues stuck to my skin and I itched so intensely, it seemed like insects had crawled beneath my clothes."
That was the author's jab at the reader. Then came the cross-punch: making the protagonist travel from the tactile to the innermost recesses of his psyche. "On any day our distance traveled varied from one click to a few, but it was always a hot, sweaty, tension-filled trek through the unknown...Falling sleep on watch would be the ultimate betrayal (of your brothers)."
Towards the surprising end of the novella Mark Rubinstein releases the reader slowly; lets him slide back into his normal environment. The returning reader is about to feel again the comfort of his easy chair when, wham, he refuses to leave Costa...he wants more!
Sorry, Mark Rubenstein, but you are just going to have to give more. The reader is a pitiless master who refuses to understand the emotional cost to the author, when the author is as gifted an artist as you are. Bravo!! Author! Author!
An addictive rush of emotion and angst.
"Platoon," "Apocalypse Now," "We Were Soldiers" and "Matterhorn" shaped the mold for novels about the Vietnam War. They exploited the war as seen by imbedded journalists and stateside news magazines, glossing over the blood and the gore to protect the virgin innocence of the American civilian reader. And then came Mark Rubinstein.
The best selling author of "Mad Dog House" and "Love Gone Mad" grabbed the sub genre, shook it by its worn out horns and took pity on the bland and the susceptible by shortening the psychological blow, crafting a novella rather than a full fledged novel. It was a good thing he did. A novella is the perfect size to explore a new approach: introspective war action. A lot of writers can get into the mind of the characters they engender, "Catch 22" comes to mind. Only a trained psychiatrist like Mark Rubinstein can turn their anguish into art.
Young Costa submits to the draft, pushing aside the temptation to escape to Canada. He submerges into the strange pond of the military crosscut of American society, finding to his dismay the same distasteful, disinterested and less than altruistic types that populated his economically depressed Buffalo, New York area. The son of a steel worker and a school cafeteria lady gets plunged into an unknown where he becomes a numbed observer.
Here's where Rubinstein breaks out of the mold: his visuals are of a new kind, tactile. So we get "Fear alone could make you sweat, and we dripped rivulets...It dripped from my eyebrows, my chin, even from my fingertips...My fatigues stuck to my skin and I itched so intensely, it seemed like insects had crawled beneath my clothes."
That was the author's jab at the reader. Then came the cross-punch: making the protagonist travel from the tactile to the innermost recesses of his psyche. "On any day our distance traveled varied from one click to a few, but it was always a hot, sweaty, tension-filled trek through the unknown...Falling sleep on watch would be the ultimate betrayal (of your brothers)."
Towards the surprising end of the novella Mark Rubinstein releases the reader slowly; lets him slide back into his normal environment. The returning reader is about to feel again the comfort of his easy chair when, wham, he refuses to leave Costa...he wants more!
Sorry, Mark Rubenstein, but you are just going to have to give more. The reader is a pitiless master who refuses to understand the emotional cost to the author, when the author is as gifted an artist as you are. Bravo!! Author! Author!
January 29, 2014
Short story...short tour...a compelling and riveting story! Author, Mark Rubinstein manages to capture the realism and fear experienced by many young soldiers, newly arrived to fight in the Vietnam War. As infantry soldiers, they are required to hump through jungles to find an elusive enemy, mindful that they may be hiding behind every bush and turn of a trail - and watching their every move. Tension is high...fear is paramount! Not only do these young men contend with this constant fear of ambush, each soldier also struggles under the weight of his supplies, high humidity, dense jungle, leaches, and thirst - all combining to sap their strength and will.
Then add a new, incompetent lieutenant, who has just graduated from OCS, leading this group. He is gung-ho, exaggerates body counts and is anxious for any excuse to burn down villages and kill every Vietnamese they encounter. His direct orders are morally wrong, but refusal to comply has severe consequences. What is one to do?
While reading through the 60 pages of this novella, I get visions of scenes from the movies "Platoon", when Charlie Sheen collapses on his first patrol, and later when Sgt. Barnes accuses villagers of supporting VC - those soldiers witnessing this interrogation are split in their support of the sergeants actions. The other movie, "We Were Soldiers once...", when after landing on the LZ, the one Lt. giving chase to a lone enemy soldier - the platoon is compelled to chase after him - and follow him right into an ambush.
The author nails it in this short story, leaving thoughts about the story well after closing the book! Highly recommended to all! Great job Mr. Rubinstein!
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
Then add a new, incompetent lieutenant, who has just graduated from OCS, leading this group. He is gung-ho, exaggerates body counts and is anxious for any excuse to burn down villages and kill every Vietnamese they encounter. His direct orders are morally wrong, but refusal to comply has severe consequences. What is one to do?
While reading through the 60 pages of this novella, I get visions of scenes from the movies "Platoon", when Charlie Sheen collapses on his first patrol, and later when Sgt. Barnes accuses villagers of supporting VC - those soldiers witnessing this interrogation are split in their support of the sergeants actions. The other movie, "We Were Soldiers once...", when after landing on the LZ, the one Lt. giving chase to a lone enemy soldier - the platoon is compelled to chase after him - and follow him right into an ambush.
The author nails it in this short story, leaving thoughts about the story well after closing the book! Highly recommended to all! Great job Mr. Rubinstein!
John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
February 6, 2014
I admit, I initially picked this book to read thinking it would serve as an "easy" read in-between all the non-fiction on my reading list. I'm a bit of a war fanatic in the sense that I appreciate reading war materials, come from a military family that has served in several wars, and have worked with veterans. Still, I've never been in a war. So when I come across something like Mark Rubinstein's "The Foot Soldier," where he is able to take the reader inside of a war, inside of a humid jungle full of mosquitoes and predators and booby traps and probably most of all fear, I'm beyond captivated. Though it was a short read--less than an hour--I felt the pain of young Costa every step of the way, especially to the heart-breaking decision at the end. There are choices we have to make in our lives that are so mind-blowing, we can't even comprehend them at that second. I think no one knows the meaning of that sentence better than the men serving in our forces, the ones who make hard choices every single day. So--was this the best book about war I've ever read? No. Was the ending the best it could have been? Not really. But did it grip me emotionally? Absolutely. I nearly choked trying to hold back tears while reading certain passages. My body tensed up subconsciously as I read with a fast pace about Costa's journey serving "point." I'm done with the book and my nerves are frayed, my thoughts are scattered, and I'm anything but calm. That's what makes a good story.
November 13, 2013
Costas is a newbie in the Platoon in Nam. He is slowly getting acclimatized to being in country. Nothing ever really prepares a soldier about what he will see or be made to do. Faced with a Captain who is a sadistic whack job who insists on putting him in the line of fire just because he can, Costas will never know when his number will be up due to either the Viet Cong or Johnsons cruel whims.
Rubenstein who once served as a medic in Viet Nam has probably seen a lot of what he describes as humping the bush and search and destroy missions. Who better than him to write a fictional account of a foot soldiers life in the jungles and the horrors of war? Mr. Rubenstein spares nothing in his descriptions of what the men had to endure at the hands of the enemy and mother nature. I found it to be a disturbingly accurate account of war does to the body and the mind. There must have been a lot of Platoon leaders like Johnson and the men who served under them.
The novella was gritty, nasty and well written. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted a look at what it was like in a platoon of men in Viet Nam. Another 5 star read.
Rubenstein who once served as a medic in Viet Nam has probably seen a lot of what he describes as humping the bush and search and destroy missions. Who better than him to write a fictional account of a foot soldiers life in the jungles and the horrors of war? Mr. Rubenstein spares nothing in his descriptions of what the men had to endure at the hands of the enemy and mother nature. I found it to be a disturbingly accurate account of war does to the body and the mind. There must have been a lot of Platoon leaders like Johnson and the men who served under them.
The novella was gritty, nasty and well written. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted a look at what it was like in a platoon of men in Viet Nam. Another 5 star read.
July 26, 2016
War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
These words from the song by Witfield/Holland ring true to my ears, and they also ring true as a sub-text to this novella.
Costa, a freshly drafted soldier, is sent to Vietnam to fight in a war he doesn't understand against an enemy he hardly ever sees under a Lieutenant who is barking mad.
All this is described vividly when Costa first sets foot in the thickest of jungle. You almost feel like you're there with him while at the same time you're glad you're not.
Don't expect to smile or even laugh, because this is a serious book about a serious topic, and it deserves many readers.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
These words from the song by Witfield/Holland ring true to my ears, and they also ring true as a sub-text to this novella.
Costa, a freshly drafted soldier, is sent to Vietnam to fight in a war he doesn't understand against an enemy he hardly ever sees under a Lieutenant who is barking mad.
All this is described vividly when Costa first sets foot in the thickest of jungle. You almost feel like you're there with him while at the same time you're glad you're not.
Don't expect to smile or even laugh, because this is a serious book about a serious topic, and it deserves many readers.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
March 26, 2015
The Foot Soldier by Mark Rubinstein brought me back some. To where? Not to 'Nam' but to my morning paper route and that picture of the Gulf of Tonkin under a heading about LBJ. I was nine years old, but the photo of some dead or wounded people splayed over a Sampam marked me to this day.
Mark Rubinstein's book opened the visceral feelings I had at that time. Somehow fears about the realities of war always go back to that image for me. In this short, powerful book Vietnam's anarchy and gripping daily struggle for foot soldiers gets up close and personal.
I laced up the main character's boots and felt the sweat rolling off him and the leeches sinking into his skin. Great writing that feels like the Apocalypse Now of the foot soldier. Great work.
Mark Rubinstein's book opened the visceral feelings I had at that time. Somehow fears about the realities of war always go back to that image for me. In this short, powerful book Vietnam's anarchy and gripping daily struggle for foot soldiers gets up close and personal.
I laced up the main character's boots and felt the sweat rolling off him and the leeches sinking into his skin. Great writing that feels like the Apocalypse Now of the foot soldier. Great work.
December 10, 2013
Awesome short story. Puts you right IN Viet Nam as a fresh grunt, drafted out of normality and thrown into a hell that never should've happened to anyone.
A bit choppy in some of the early parts and three typos, but neither of these things slow down the suspense or take away from the experience.
People who were in wars write the best war stories. Rubinstein takes you there and makes you feel what it was like; how awful it was - for us and for the Viet Namese.
Highly recommended, but not for the weak-hearted. I'm still feeling the rush...
A bit choppy in some of the early parts and three typos, but neither of these things slow down the suspense or take away from the experience.
People who were in wars write the best war stories. Rubinstein takes you there and makes you feel what it was like; how awful it was - for us and for the Viet Namese.
Highly recommended, but not for the weak-hearted. I'm still feeling the rush...
February 21, 2014
It's been a while since I read a good Vietnam War story, but I was glad to find one in The Foot Soldier. It's well-told and never boring; vivid in description and clear in action. Highly recommended!
May 15, 2020
I love stumbling across new-to-me authors and I’m really glad to have found Mark Rubinstein (I’m pretty sure I found him on Twitter). Despite my love of Military fiction & non-fiction, I haven’t really read or listened to much set in Vietnam. It hasn’t been an intentional avoidance on my part, just where following various bunny trails has led me.
I was literally dumped, right along with Costa, into Da Nang. Rubinstein’s writing gave no quarter when it comes to expecting the reader to catch up with what is happening, which is why I felt so immersed in Costa’s confusion, thoughts, and feelings. The raw impotence from lacking any control of the elements, direction, or actions was overwhelming at times – but in that way that shows you’ve been thoroughly drawn in by the writing.
It’s not often that I love a novella. They usually feel either underdeveloped or require other larger books to scaffold them. This however, stood flawlessly on it’s own.
I was literally dumped, right along with Costa, into Da Nang. Rubinstein’s writing gave no quarter when it comes to expecting the reader to catch up with what is happening, which is why I felt so immersed in Costa’s confusion, thoughts, and feelings. The raw impotence from lacking any control of the elements, direction, or actions was overwhelming at times – but in that way that shows you’ve been thoroughly drawn in by the writing.
It’s not often that I love a novella. They usually feel either underdeveloped or require other larger books to scaffold them. This however, stood flawlessly on it’s own.
March 22, 2014
Mark Rubinstein does a masterful job of drawing the reader into the mind and body of Costa, the draftee protagonist of The Foot Soldier. As I read this powerful novella I felt something of the oppressive heat of the jungle, the suffocating stress of walking point, and dozens of other sensations our Vietnam vets had to endure.
The author skillfully hints at and develops the story's ultimate crisis in such a fashion that it lurks in the back of your mind, gnawing at you even in the face of the host of gut-wrenching trials and terrors Costa must face beforehand. You fear the crisis coming. You hope against hope it's won't happen after all. You accept it as all but inevitable. And then you agonize over how it may all play out.
The next time I see a vehicle with a Vietnam veteran bumper sticker on it, I have no doubt I'll wonder whether that driver had to see and do what Rubinstein's Costa had to. And I'll likely respect the driver more for having served and endured.
The author skillfully hints at and develops the story's ultimate crisis in such a fashion that it lurks in the back of your mind, gnawing at you even in the face of the host of gut-wrenching trials and terrors Costa must face beforehand. You fear the crisis coming. You hope against hope it's won't happen after all. You accept it as all but inevitable. And then you agonize over how it may all play out.
The next time I see a vehicle with a Vietnam veteran bumper sticker on it, I have no doubt I'll wonder whether that driver had to see and do what Rubinstein's Costa had to. And I'll likely respect the driver more for having served and endured.
May 26, 2014
“The Foot Soldier” is a well written novella. In my opinion, scenes and events from the first half of the story too closely resemble those from the film, “Platoon”, as do the three main characters. With that said, as I have not served in the military nor been in a combat situation - thank God - I won’t go so far to say this is bad. Both the film and this novella portray what seems to be a realistic and horrific account of what life was like for a foot soldier in the Vietnam “conflict”.
The second half of the novella seems more fresh and original, with a surprising and…shudder…fortunate(?) conclusion for our hero.
A good read on this Memorial Day - a day to remember and thank those who have served in our armed forces. God bless them and their families. We must ensure that they are well taken care of. They have endured so much.
In closing - buy this book. Read this book. Let it move and inspire you.
The second half of the novella seems more fresh and original, with a surprising and…shudder…fortunate(?) conclusion for our hero.
A good read on this Memorial Day - a day to remember and thank those who have served in our armed forces. God bless them and their families. We must ensure that they are well taken care of. They have endured so much.
In closing - buy this book. Read this book. Let it move and inspire you.
February 27, 2014
With raw immediacy, THE FOOT SOLDIER captures the mind-, body-, and soul-crushing experience of being on the frontlines of the Vietnam War. From the sweat, stench, and exhaustion of "humping the bush" to the icy fear of stepping on a "toe popper" to the tense, harrowing showdown that marks the story's climax, I deeply felt for the protagonist, Costa, a "cherry" shipped off to hell in the jungles of Nam fresh out of college in Buffalo, NY. Sealed with a startling, satisfying ending, THE FOOT SOLDIER is a powerful little book. I'd recommend it to fans of Tim O'Brien's THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, as well as to fans of Mark Rubinstein's two gripping mysteries, MAD DOG HOUSE and LOVE GONE MAD.
January 26, 2014
Costa, a recent college graduate is drafted and sent to the jungles of Vietnam where he becomes a replacement soldier. He goes there knowing he is replacing a fallen comrade.
Author Mark Rubinstein takes us from Costa's arrival in Vietnam, through all of the horrific reality he experiences, a surreal atmosphere of mindless hatred and how easily the military, with all they witness and undertake, can teeter on the threshold of insanity.
Extremely well written with an intense ending that is brilliant.
Gut-Wrenching, Fascinating and Heartbreaking this is a must read to truly understand the sacrifice made by the men and women that fight for our country.
Author Mark Rubinstein takes us from Costa's arrival in Vietnam, through all of the horrific reality he experiences, a surreal atmosphere of mindless hatred and how easily the military, with all they witness and undertake, can teeter on the threshold of insanity.
Extremely well written with an intense ending that is brilliant.
Gut-Wrenching, Fascinating and Heartbreaking this is a must read to truly understand the sacrifice made by the men and women that fight for our country.
April 5, 2014
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
As a person who came of age during the 60s and 70s, having close friends serve in VietNam and having been married to a Seabee who did 2 tours (63-67), I am very familiar with the topic and looked forward to reading this novella.
It was simply too short, and did not add to either the knowledge of what it is like to serve in war time nor did it add to my understanding of the conflict. The author did a nice job of setting the scene, but did not take it forward. I would like to see more of this work, explored in more depth.
As a person who came of age during the 60s and 70s, having close friends serve in VietNam and having been married to a Seabee who did 2 tours (63-67), I am very familiar with the topic and looked forward to reading this novella.
It was simply too short, and did not add to either the knowledge of what it is like to serve in war time nor did it add to my understanding of the conflict. The author did a nice job of setting the scene, but did not take it forward. I would like to see more of this work, explored in more depth.
May 3, 2014
A soldier's nightmare.
A short story that's long on description about a war that was fought in one of the most brutal climates and jungles, against one of the toughest enemies of all time. I can only imagine what these soldiers witnessed and survived. As the story unfolds, I can sense the fear, smell the stench of death, and visualize a jungle of horrors that these young men faced in Vietnam. Good bless our veterans and those soldiers that sacrifice their lives so that mine may be safe and free from such atrocities.
A short story that's long on description about a war that was fought in one of the most brutal climates and jungles, against one of the toughest enemies of all time. I can only imagine what these soldiers witnessed and survived. As the story unfolds, I can sense the fear, smell the stench of death, and visualize a jungle of horrors that these young men faced in Vietnam. Good bless our veterans and those soldiers that sacrifice their lives so that mine may be safe and free from such atrocities.
March 5, 2014
it was fine. i don't think it deserves all these people wetting themselves over it though. i have read much better vietnam GI stories. this was almost superficial--maybe one notch better than superficial? i'm not sure what i'm trying to say. i think all the people giving it 5 star reviews and saying it really made them *feel* what it was like to be a grunt in vietnam have never read a really good vietnam book or even watched one of the serious episodes of M*A*S*H.
July 29, 2014
This is a short book, as short as the firefights that Rubinstein describes, but with almost as much punch as a Bouncing Betty. It's a gritty, sweaty, slog through the steamy jungles of Southeast Asia, and a hard-hitting view of the sufferings of war, any war. If you don't have time for a long read about Vietnam, this is the book for you. It's got everything, boiled down to its essence. Very good book.
March 15, 2014
An excellent novella. Well written and very well paced. It showed the bewilderment of being a draftee in the Vietnam war without all of the bitterness that is suggested in popular drama and fiction. The best compliment I can give to a fictional story... It rang true. Well done Mr. Rubinstein and thank you for your service!
April 22, 2014
Good Vietnam War Story
Really liked this one. The author obviously knows what it's like to have served in the jungles of Vietnam.
Kept me bit me interested in the story and actually wanted more.
Really liked this one. The author obviously knows what it's like to have served in the jungles of Vietnam.
Kept me bit me interested in the story and actually wanted more.
Read
January 21, 2014Enjoyed!!
This was a true to life and experience that was not full of heroic, beyond belief non since _ definitely a keeper
This was a true to life and experience that was not full of heroic, beyond belief non since _ definitely a keeper
April 5, 2014
Powerful.
June 29, 2014
I got this for free from Netgalley. It was a well written novella about Vietnam. I enjoyed how the ending and the title come together.
January 4, 2015
The author wasn't an 11B
Don't waste your money. Not very realistic. The kind of stuff you hear in bars being told by someone who was never there.
Don't waste your money. Not very realistic. The kind of stuff you hear in bars being told by someone who was never there.
February 10, 2015
A good story but a number of plot points were disturbingly similar to Dale Dye's Platoon, making me wonder just how original this story is.
July 9, 2014
Short
the material it self, is by far one the the most accurate articles I've ever read. The issue I have it's being sold as book and I have read longer articles in ESPN...... Short of that I would have given it high stars..... Getting really tired of this false or misleading leading reviews.
the material it self, is by far one the the most accurate articles I've ever read. The issue I have it's being sold as book and I have read longer articles in ESPN...... Short of that I would have given it high stars..... Getting really tired of this false or misleading leading reviews.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews