Book Review: Chickenhawk by Robert Mason

I've dabbled in war literature in the past and have learned that I can only really dive into one of these books when it is told as a first person narrative story. Too often, however, many of these books spend way time diving into exact dates, locations, historical context, and the like. If I'm picking up a this type of book about the Vietnam war, I'm reading it because I've been exposed to the content before, have a reasonable idea of the general historical context and am most certainly not looking for a history lesson of names and dates. I'm looking to get an exposure into what this war was like for the real people who lived in on the ground everyday.

That being said, if you are picking up this book for a history lesson, I would put it right back down. Mason readily admits in his afterword the book has quite a few historical inaccuracies, mix ups of names and dates, and incorrect locations.

But then again, who cares?

The point of this book is to provide a detailed snapshot into the life of helicopter pilots in Vietnam, something this book does better than any other I have read so far.

Over and over again throughout the book, Mason paints incredibly detailed pictures of life in Vietnam for an American soldier. We are exposed to the terrible conditions these soldiers lived in, from outdoor latrines, to miserably hot and humid weather, to the constant worry of mortar attacks. We live in the cockpit with him as he runs troops all over Vietnam, dropping them into deserted areas and LZs so hot that others were amazed the pilots agreed to land at all.

What stood out most to me was his exploration of his own psyche during the war. Mason repeatedly questioned his own being in Vietnam and what the end goal was for being there. He talked about feeling guilty for feeling even just a shred of understanding for his enemy, while simultaneously craving some kind of action versus the boredom of days without missions.

All in all, I founds this book to be fascinating and left me with one lasting thought, which I will end this review with:

As fascinated as I am with comtemplating how I personally would react and deal with warfare, I thank the flying spaghetti monster or Zeus or whatever is up there that I have never had the experiences the millions of men and women who serve and have served in our armed forces have seen all over the world. And with that, I say thank you.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Amazon link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Chickenhawk-Robert-Mason/dp/0143035711