Description:
Called "everything a twentieth-century war memoir could possibly be" by the New York Times, this national bestseller by Colonel David H. Hackworth presents a vivid and powerful portrait of a life of patriotism.
From age fifteen to forty, David Hackworth devoted himself to the US Army and fast became a living legend. In 1971, however, he appeared on television to decry the doomed war effort in Vietnam. With About Face, he has written what many Vietnam veterans have called the most important book of their generation.
From Korea to Berlin, from the Cuban missile crisis to Vietnam, Hackworth's story is that of an exemplary patriot, played out against the backdrop of the changing fortunes of America and the American military. It is also a stunning indictment of the Pentagon's fundamental misunderstanding of the Vietnam conflict and of the bureaucracy of self-interest that fueled the war.
Brief description:
After a twenty-five-year military career and 110 medals, Colonel David H. Hackworth chose a life of self-imposed exile in Australia for eighteen years before returning to the United States in 1989. He is the author of three other books, Hazardous Duty, The Price of Honor, and Steel My Soldiers' Hearts. He died in 2005.
Review Quotes:
"Starling and important insights on American Values in war and peace."
-- "San Francisco Chronicle"