Chickenhawk
by Robert Mason
On This Page
Description
With more than half a million copies sold, Robert Mason's Chickenhawk is one of the best-selling books ever written about the Vietnam War. Critically acclaimed for its unflinching detail, the book is hailed by The New York Times as "a hypnotic narrative" and by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as "very simply the best book so far out of Vietnam." Fascinated with flying from a young age, Mason earned his private pilot's license even before graduating high school. He enlisted in the Army in 1964 show more and endured an extremely challenging "weeding out" process in an effort to fly helicopters. Sent to Vietnam, he survived more than 1,000 air combat missions despite the violence and brutality exploding all around him. This completely honest account of one soldier's traumatic experiences provides a perspective often neglected in print and film--that of the helicopter pilot. Through L.J. Ganser's powerful narration, the shattering story of men who lived and flew in constant peril is vividly re-told. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
sunking0426 another great account of life in war and fighting in Vietnam
chrisharpe A novel from the perspective of a US Marine Corps officer, written by a Vietnam vet. Though Matterhorn is nominally fiction, while Chickenhawk is memoir, it's hard, if not impossible, to tell which is which.
Member Reviews
One of the greatest of the Vietnam War memoirs, Chickenhawk absolutely covers the joy of flight, the terror of combat, and the insanity of Vietnam as a whole. Robert Mason always wanted to fly, and the Army would give him a helicopter in exchange for a little stint in the Air Cav. Of course, nothing is easy, and that tour meant a year of heat, mud, mortars, whorehouses, hot LZ and crazy officers. It's hard to say what I love more: descriptions of the crazy tricks used to push a Huey to its limits and beyond, brief encounters with a Vietnamese way of life as yet unspoiled by war, or Mason's slow descent into a nervous breakdown, brought on by too many 10 hour flying days dodging tracers. In many ways, Vietnam was a helicopter pilots' show more war, and this is their book. show less
Most first hand accounts of wars I have read are written by a somewhat amateur author. Not this one. Robert Mason infuses his terrifying tale with plenty of drama and humanity, and managed to write one of the best personal military history I have ever read.
Part of it is surely the subject matter, as I am a huge fan of aviation and its lore. And part of it is that I haven't yet read a lot about the Vietnam War.
But either way, I could not put this book down. Every mission seems to be even more dramatic than the last, and you can see Mason's flying and survival skills just barely keeping up with the challenge. You can also viscerally feel the surviver bias at work, with plenty of close calls and dead friends. It's terrifying and thrilling show more at the same time.
And towards the end, the book truly surprised me with a very frank account of PTSD and the life of a veteran, which I truly hadn't read anywhere else in this level of clarity.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Perhaps a bit depressing at times, but an utterly compelling story, and without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. show less
Part of it is surely the subject matter, as I am a huge fan of aviation and its lore. And part of it is that I haven't yet read a lot about the Vietnam War.
But either way, I could not put this book down. Every mission seems to be even more dramatic than the last, and you can see Mason's flying and survival skills just barely keeping up with the challenge. You can also viscerally feel the surviver bias at work, with plenty of close calls and dead friends. It's terrifying and thrilling show more at the same time.
And towards the end, the book truly surprised me with a very frank account of PTSD and the life of a veteran, which I truly hadn't read anywhere else in this level of clarity.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Perhaps a bit depressing at times, but an utterly compelling story, and without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. show less
I finished reading Chickenhawk last night just a few minutes after midnight, July 4, 2008. I feel like I oughta apologize to its author, Bob Mason, for taking 25 years to "discover" his excellent account of one man's horrific wartime experiences in Vietnam over 40 years ago. Sam Hynes, author of the equally excellent WWII pilot's memoir, Flights of Passage, once told me that one of the most important ingredients in a memoir is that the narrator be likeable. Chickenhawk has that most vital element, for Bob Mason is as likeable a guy as you'll find in the literature of war, and his prose is absolutely real and riveting as he tells of his whirling descent into the madness that was Vietnam. His final chapter summarizes the kind of confusing show more nightmare his life became upon his return home, as he struggled to understand and survive this thing now commonly known as PTSD. I like this guy. In fact I like him well enough that I will try to find a copy of his out-of-print sequel to Chickenhawk. It may take a while, but I'll be back to comment on that one too. In the meantime, I urge anyone who enjoys good writing of any kind to read this book. It's the real deal. show less
A very interesting and (seemingly) honest description of the life of a soldier during the Vietnam War. The details of the helicopter life were intriguing and the description of the living quarters made the reader feel as if they were there with the soldier. Very interesting to hear about such an argumentative war from the perspective of a soldier who went for his country and how his own viewpoints change through the process of war.
I reread Robert Mason's Chickenhawk. This memoir of Robert Mason's tone as a Huey pilot flying Slicks in Vietnam provides his personal perspective on what his service was.
You See Mason a Warrant Officer grow as a pilot ABC also see him cling to his sanity by will and tranquilizers.
Robert Mason tells you the good and the bad of his time in Vietnam and his growing disillusionment with the war as it was fought and portrayed.
One of the best personal accounts I have read.
You See Mason a Warrant Officer grow as a pilot ABC also see him cling to his sanity by will and tranquilizers.
Robert Mason tells you the good and the bad of his time in Vietnam and his growing disillusionment with the war as it was fought and portrayed.
One of the best personal accounts I have read.
Chickenhawk is Robert Mason's narrative of his experiences as a "Huey" UH-1 Iroquois helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. The book chronicles his enlistment, flight training, deployment to and experiences in Vietnam, and his experiences after returning from the war.
tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a "chickenhawk" in constant danger.
tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a "chickenhawk" in constant danger.
I loved this book for the details of helicopter flying in Vietnam, especially tight landings and takeoffs. There are powerful moments of war, portrayed honestly and not as heroic fiction. The story is eminently readable, and decently written if not great. It is episodic and propelled forward, but is somewhat held back by the lack of character development; aside from the author, we don't get to know the other pilots well.
I feel like I have read too many other books close to this one—perhaps inspired by it—for this to get a five-star rating.
I feel like I have read too many other books close to this one—perhaps inspired by it—for this to get a five-star rating.
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Chickenhawk
- Original publication date
- 1983
- People/Characters
- Robert Mason
- Important places
- Vietnam; Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam; An Khe, Vietnam
- Important events
- Vietnam War
- First words
- I joined the army in 1964 to be a helicopter pilot.
- Quotations
- "I got it." The IP took over the controls. The engine and rotor rpm went back to the green. We drifted down from fifteen feet to three, pointed away from the sun and back to the tree, and moved back to the spot where we had s... (show all)tarted. I felt totally defeated. "Well, it's true what they say about you all right, ace." "What's that sir?" You're a natural." "A natural? Sir I was all over the field." "Don't worry about it, kid. We'll just keep practicing in smaller and smaller fields."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)No one is more shocked than I.
- Disambiguation notice
- Chickenhawk and Chickenhawk back in the world are different books.
Classifications
- Genres
- Religion & Spirituality, History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Art & Design, Philosophy, Politics and Government, Science & Nature, General Nonfiction, Business, Food & Cooking, Music, Sports and Leisure
- DDC/MDS
- 959.704 — History & geography History of Asia Southeast Asia Vietnam 1949-
- LCC
- DS559.5 .M37 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Asia History of Asia Southeast Asia French Indochina Vietnam. Annam Vietnamese Conflict
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 1,142
- Popularity
- 21,869
- Reviews
- 19
- Rating
- (4.14)
- Languages
- English, Russian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- ASINs
- 19