Loon

I'll be honest, when I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program, I couldn't remember why I requested it. It's a book about Viet Nam, and I am not a reader of war stories. My grandfathers were both war veterans, but neither my parents nor any of my sisters were in the military. I have no real interest in the military or reading about war. I actually dreaded reading the book.

Until I opened it and read the first few pages.

I couldn't put it down. I started it last night before bed and finished it about a half an hour ago. I haven't sped through a book that fast in recent memory. The book isn't too long, about 250 pages, but it is intense, and it will keep you turning the pages. I was enthralled. It's a fictionalized show more memoir, I guess you could call it. The events are true, but some of the dialogue was created by the author, since it would have been all but impossible to recall the exact details of conversations held 40 years ago.

The book tells the story of McLean's enlistment in the Marines and his subsequent tour of duty in Viet Nam. McLean came from a place of privilege, private school and money. The kids in his graduating class went to college to avoid the draft, but McLean actually signed up for service. The story details his basic training, his first assignment in supply school, learning computerized inventory systems, and his eventual shipping off to Viet Nam to see action "in the shit."

I'll say it again, I was enthralled. Not being a reader of war stories, I haven't read anything about the Viet Nam war. My senior year English teacher in high school lived through Viet Nam and read us snippets of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, but that was the extent of my knowledge of the war. I don't even remember learning that much about it in history (except the mention of the domino effect theory in the book did ring some bells).

I'm so, so glad I read this book. It was touching and scary and fascinating, all in one. I cried at several points during the story. I give it five out of five Whatevers. LOVED it. I recommend this to just about anyone: those who remember Viet Nam or those who, like me, need to learn more about it. It is pretty scary, so it's not for young kids, but other than that, go for it. show less

This is book is a simply-told recollection of a young man who becomes a marine, serves in Vietnam and returns home. It is not a story of amazing heroism, amazing feats in battle or heart-pounding action. It is, rather, an account of a real marine in the middle of a complex conflict fighting for a conflicted country. The best parts of this book are in the way he describes his transitions: From teen to marine, from marine to battle, and straight from battle back to civilian - coming back to a country wracked by guilt over an ill-conceived war. I felt that Jack McLean did a good job of making us feel as he felt through these life changes. As we feel these emotions, the book flies past us, leaving us turning pages backward and re-reading show more parts to better understand.
I wish we had done a better job separating the war from the people who served and we would have honored them from the start. We have been recovering from this mistake for decades. This excellent book helps us to understand this recovery. show less

Jack McLean begins his memoir by saying he wasn't the type of kid who goes to Vietnam. He was from an upper class family and went to prep school (with George W. Bush no less). He was groomed for an Ivy League education. The problem was he wasn't such a great student. As the college rejections began to come in the mail, he decided he was going to try something different. Something no one expected. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.

McLean's memoir captures the Vietnam experience from a unique perspective. He takes the reader through his boot camp and training experiences. He captures the seeming contradiction of wanting to serve and do what he was trained to do- fight in the war, but at the same time being scared out of his mind. He show more goes into detail about the battle for LZ Loon where many of his friends and brother soldiers died.

He discusses the sense of brotherhood the Marines had in Vietnam, the endless waiting, and tedious details of camp life. He even discusses coming back and returning to school. Several things truly separate this memoir from other Vietnam memoirs. First, McLean goes into the details of the battle including the strategies. He interviewed his superiors in preparation for writing the book, so he would have the entire story: the grunt's perspective, as well as the commanding officer's perspective. I've read several nonfiction books about Vietnam, but have never read an account of a battle with the strategies and thinking of the commanding officers involved.

Second, McLean gives historical context throughout the book and touches on how that made the soldiers feel. For example, he talks about receiving news the RFK and Martin Luther King were assassinated. He talks about being on R & R and hearing the new music that was coming out of the states. The historical context slows the book down at times, but I felt like it added to the overall experience of the sixties- confusion, emotions, rebelliousness, etc.

I think McLean's book earns a legitimate place in the library about the Vietnam War experience. While it isn't as genre shaping as The Things They Carried or A Rumor of War, it still brings insight from an unique perspective. show less

This is one of those books you can't put down once you start reading it. It is the moving and beautifully written true story of a young man who spent a year in Vietnam in 1968 and was forever changed by the experience. Jack McLean buried his time in the USMC in the back of his mind for more than thirty years before he was able to put pen to paper. Based on his recollections and on the many letters he wrote to his family, this story is as raw and fresh as if he had written it as soon as he returned home. If you like personal war memoirs, you will love this book; if you don't care for that genre, you would still love this very human story.

"Loon" presents an oddly insular view of a small, hilltop "LZ" operation during the Vietnam conflict, from the point of view of an upper class, New England prep school slacker who joins the Marines rather than entering college. McLean's account of the three day affair has merit as history but the characters exist more as functions than as personalities. Not a flaw in historical context but I wanted to feel more the pressures on and responses of his platoon mates to the chaos of battle. The most moving moment, for me, came only later, in the acknowledgments, when McLean saluted his fallen comrades and bade them rest in peace. For more affecting accounts of battle in Vietnam see; "The Fearless Man" by Donald Pfarrer, "The Things They show more Carried" by Tim O'Brien, and particularly "Dispatches" by Micheal Herr.

Addendum: 5/1/10 Just finished reading "Matterhorn" By Karl Marlantes. Superbly conceived and almost flawlessly written, this novel is comprehensive and, perhaps, the best Vietnam novel we'll see. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job. show less

The year is 1966, and Jack McLean is deciding what to do with his future. After attending the prestigious Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, five colleges deny him admission. A short break from school seems like a good idea so McLean opts for a two-year stint with the United States Marine Corps much to the bewilderment of his parents.

The reader is led from boot camp through war and back home again. Thinking back on the Viet Nam era, I was completely absorbed in what McLean had to say. I suppose that people who have engaged in active combat cannot easily share the horrible reality of it with others so they may often choose not to. It is with great humility that I read a book such as this. McLean was a young man who, whether he show more intended or not, put his life on the line for his country. At first, I thought that McLean’s story was just skimming the surface of what needed to be said. By the time McLean arrived in Viet Nam, however, the story became so gripping that I could not put the book down until I finished it. The story was neither too technical nor too gory. It was mostly thoughtful – a look back at a young man’s decision and how it affected his life immediately afterward.

I know the Viet Nam era is past history, but for me it was a time of turmoil and the right to express my antagonism to the war. How little did I appreciate the opposite side of the equation! By the end of this book, McLean was out of the war. He was already home, but the agony of his homecoming and the oddity of his being a Viet Nam vet among college students of the 60's caught me in a stranglehold. My reaction to McLean’s recalling this was my wanting to shout out “Thank you” to the author for sharing his story and to tell him how proud I was of his service even though, many years ago, I might not have told him so.

My favorite quote from the book is this: 'My lesson for that day was that the line between life and death was random and arbitrary. I elected not to share that revelation with my mother.' At the time of the Viet Nam war, I was a student and then a young working professional. Now I am a mother. Looking back on the Viet Nam war experience after 40 years is a strange experience but one which I'm glad the author forced me to do. show less

While this memoir of a Marine in Vietnam is not groundbreaking, it is well written and it keeps the reader's interest. The parts detailing McLean's experiences at Parris Island were a welcome addition; for an outsider, it is important to see how these men were transformed from boys to Marines. Also valuable were McLean's occasional mention of significant historical events going on back in the world during his time in Vietnam. McLean used his correspondence with his family and friends to write the book, and it is apparent that the details are not hazy for him, these many years later.

McLean isn't exactly covering new ground, telling us about various reasons he and his fellow Marines went to war, what his life was like upon returning to show more the world, how hellish combat could be, etc. Yet this memoir is a welcome addition, since it adds one more voice to the chorus that tells us what happened. We need to listen to this. show less