A stunning book about the right stuff in the wrong war.
As a child, Robert Mason dreamed of levitating. As a young man, he dreamed of flying helicopters - and the U.S. Army gave him his chance. They sent him to Vietnam where, between August 1965 and July 1966, he flew more than 1,000 assault missions.
In Chickenhawk, Robert Mason gives us a devastating bird's eye-view of that war in all its horror, as he experiences the accelerating terror, the increasingly desperate courage of a man 'acting out the role of a hero long after he realises that the conduct of the war is insane,' says the New York Times, 'And we can't stop ourselves from identifying with it.'
"I read this as a young pilot about to embark on a career flying military helicopters. It should have put me off for life. Robert Mason tells a gripping account of the relentless courage and heroism amidst the insanity of the Vietnam war." - Tim Peake
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9780552124195
Number of pages: 400
Weight: 279 g
Dimensions: 197 x 130 x 25 mm
It will stun readers - Time
Compelling... A hypnotic narrative - The New York Times
Chickenhawk is one bloody, painfully honest and courageous book - Martin Cruz Smith, author
The best book to come out of Vietnam - John Del Vecchio, author of The 13th Valley
This isn't an easy read, at times it is quite harrowing but it is nevertheless very interesting. Mason vividly recalls his time as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war. Like countless others, he was not... More
Read this way back in 1984 when it was first published - it was so good that I can remembr it now 20 plus years later. If your interest is "US and "Nam" this is a book for you - well worth it.
It's been many years since I read this book by Robert Mason but it is so memorable.
From his dream of flying, particularly helicopters, through his training, Vietnam, and his dreadful life afterwards. I was...
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