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13 reviews for:
The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966
Rick Atkinson
4.26 AVERAGE
13 reviews for:
The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966
Rick Atkinson
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I know very little about the Vietnam war. This book is not about the Vietnam war, but is about the West Point class of 1966. The class that graduated into the war. I didn't laugh, but I cried often and learned a lot.
This history of West Point’s class of 1966 is a very interesting look into the military mindset, with some unique perspectives on the Vietnam War. I get the impression that the author is somewhat in awe of the people he is writing about, but I came away not liking them very much. Still, well worth the read if you’re interested in the history of the Vietnam War and its aftermath.
As a graduate of West Point, I was curious to see what I’d learn about a class that survived West Point only to be thrown deep into Vietnam and a country in upheaval.
They were the nameless stories I’d heard upperclassmen repeat in Beast. Atkinson did a fine job of evoking life as a cadet - I was transported back in time. It has been said West Point was 200+ years of tradition unchanged by time. Thankfully, only a few decades separated our classes, and changes had been made - all for the better.
They were the nameless stories I’d heard upperclassmen repeat in Beast. Atkinson did a fine job of evoking life as a cadet - I was transported back in time. It has been said West Point was 200+ years of tradition unchanged by time. Thankfully, only a few decades separated our classes, and changes had been made - all for the better.
Very good and very engaging. It’s not classic Atkinson - this isn’t An Army at Dawn - but you can almost feel him getting there with his writing, his phrasing, his story telling.
A few too many cliches and cliff hangers for a 5 star, but it was damn close.
A few too many cliches and cliff hangers for a 5 star, but it was damn close.
When I was a young lad, I liked nothing more than to read tales of the military escapades of those on the front line of major conflicts, particularly WWII. First hand accounts were of particular interest to me, the reason being, it was the action and adrenalin of the battlefield that gave me the most enjoyment. There was nothing that gave more delight than to read of the thunderous explosions and hails of machine gun bullets that soldiers had to fight through, losing close companions in a daily struggle for survival. At one stage of my youth I read little, if anything at all, other than this kind of stuff.
My father once said that as he had grown older, hearing of death and destruction in a wartime environment and indeed in general, didn’t hold any appeal for him. In his words, he had ‘mellowed out’. I didn’t ever think I would ‘mellow out’ but if anyone wanted to convince me that, in my steady advance towards middle age I had turned as soft as butter, they could simply hand me this book and their work would be done.
Sure, there is some action and tension but that really isn’t the focus of this. This books strengths lie in both the depth of it’s characters and the well researched and thorough account of the societal upheaval that gripped the US during and after the Vietnam conflict. Atkinson manages to tie the two together with a deftness which one often finds absent from non-fiction literature. In many cases you can read of either the military events of Vietnam, or 1960’s US history. The Long Gray Line portrays both, embedding the main characters stories firmly in the society of the times.
Not only did Atkinson achieve this, he also writes the characters beautifully and although this is not a novel, they possessed a roundness which is again, seldom found in the non-fiction genre. The two main characters for me, were Buck Thompson and Tom Carhart. Carhart in particular seemed to take a journey which can be outlined in three broad phases.
1) Young, headstrong, independent and popular
2) Disillusioned and lost
3) Content and at peace with himself
I am unable to relate any further detail on the guy without divulging too much information but what I will say is that the contrast between Carhart as he goes through these different phases is fascinating and moving. I really liked the guy. And that’s what I mean by Atkinson writing these mens stories so beautifully; by the end, it is not difficult to imagine yourself kicking your feet up and cracking open a beer with them. You feel you’ve shared some of their innermost feelings and thoughts. Again, for a non-fiction work, that is a remarkable achievement on Atkinsons part.
One of the central pillars of the book, apart from the characters, is their environment. This changes from West Point to Vietnam to postwar US society. The characters don’t remain static in their transition between each of these; they react. Sometimes with a sense of fun, sometimes with horror, sometimes with pain and sometimes with frustration. Their reaction clearly tells you where they are in their own personal journey and that is what makes this work one which I think will endure for a long time. It is a human story and by the conclusion, you really do feel as though you have a better idea of not only what these guys have lived through in Vietnam but the effect this had on the rest of their journey through life.
As if all this was not enough, Atkinson writes like a novelist. I’ve already mentioned that reading about the characters sometimes made me forget this was a work of non-fiction, such was the well rounded portrayal Atkinson gave each of them. But there is more to it than that – Atkinson writes with a poetic beauty that novelists strive for and often fail to attain. He describes situations, people and places with an immediacy that not only made me feel close to what was happening; it made me feel as if I was there. This level of human closeness to what is being written is something that journalists seem to find particularly hard to achieve and yet Atkinson makes it look effortless.
The scope of The Long Gray Line is truly magnificent. Twenty five years of history, combined with the effects of historical events on the main characters, characters you feel so close to by the end, that what happens to them genuinely moves you.It is an oft stated cliché that a book is ‘the best’ and this is certainly true with books on Vietnam. But this is more than a book on Vietnam, it is a work of social history. It fits comfortably in this genre, without falling into the trap of being too dry and factual. I’m not saying that all social history books are dry and factual but certainly, it is rare to find one as moving and yet at the same time informative, as this one.
My father once said that as he had grown older, hearing of death and destruction in a wartime environment and indeed in general, didn’t hold any appeal for him. In his words, he had ‘mellowed out’. I didn’t ever think I would ‘mellow out’ but if anyone wanted to convince me that, in my steady advance towards middle age I had turned as soft as butter, they could simply hand me this book and their work would be done.
Sure, there is some action and tension but that really isn’t the focus of this. This books strengths lie in both the depth of it’s characters and the well researched and thorough account of the societal upheaval that gripped the US during and after the Vietnam conflict. Atkinson manages to tie the two together with a deftness which one often finds absent from non-fiction literature. In many cases you can read of either the military events of Vietnam, or 1960’s US history. The Long Gray Line portrays both, embedding the main characters stories firmly in the society of the times.
Not only did Atkinson achieve this, he also writes the characters beautifully and although this is not a novel, they possessed a roundness which is again, seldom found in the non-fiction genre. The two main characters for me, were Buck Thompson and Tom Carhart. Carhart in particular seemed to take a journey which can be outlined in three broad phases.
1) Young, headstrong, independent and popular
2) Disillusioned and lost
3) Content and at peace with himself
I am unable to relate any further detail on the guy without divulging too much information but what I will say is that the contrast between Carhart as he goes through these different phases is fascinating and moving. I really liked the guy. And that’s what I mean by Atkinson writing these mens stories so beautifully; by the end, it is not difficult to imagine yourself kicking your feet up and cracking open a beer with them. You feel you’ve shared some of their innermost feelings and thoughts. Again, for a non-fiction work, that is a remarkable achievement on Atkinsons part.
One of the central pillars of the book, apart from the characters, is their environment. This changes from West Point to Vietnam to postwar US society. The characters don’t remain static in their transition between each of these; they react. Sometimes with a sense of fun, sometimes with horror, sometimes with pain and sometimes with frustration. Their reaction clearly tells you where they are in their own personal journey and that is what makes this work one which I think will endure for a long time. It is a human story and by the conclusion, you really do feel as though you have a better idea of not only what these guys have lived through in Vietnam but the effect this had on the rest of their journey through life.
As if all this was not enough, Atkinson writes like a novelist. I’ve already mentioned that reading about the characters sometimes made me forget this was a work of non-fiction, such was the well rounded portrayal Atkinson gave each of them. But there is more to it than that – Atkinson writes with a poetic beauty that novelists strive for and often fail to attain. He describes situations, people and places with an immediacy that not only made me feel close to what was happening; it made me feel as if I was there. This level of human closeness to what is being written is something that journalists seem to find particularly hard to achieve and yet Atkinson makes it look effortless.
The scope of The Long Gray Line is truly magnificent. Twenty five years of history, combined with the effects of historical events on the main characters, characters you feel so close to by the end, that what happens to them genuinely moves you.It is an oft stated cliché that a book is ‘the best’ and this is certainly true with books on Vietnam. But this is more than a book on Vietnam, it is a work of social history. It fits comfortably in this genre, without falling into the trap of being too dry and factual. I’m not saying that all social history books are dry and factual but certainly, it is rare to find one as moving and yet at the same time informative, as this one.
Good book purely for the history, but too focused on part of the class; overlooked the positives. Mentioned 'things' that are gone from West Point....not accurate.
I read this a while ago due to the large influence the vietnam war had been on my upbringing. A good insight into what happened to the class of 1966, with a breif look at the infroduction of women in west point and the building of the vietnam memorial in Washington.
From West Point to Vietnam
This book has sat on my bookshelf, unread, for a very long time. But once I picked it up, I found it very difficult to put it down. The West Point Class of 1966 entered the academy in 1962. Mr Atkinson’s book follows the lives of several members of the Class of 1966. Many of those who graduated became platoon commanders in Vietnam, those who survived had to return to a world in which their service was seen as deeply divisive. The world, as Mr Atkinson points out, had changed. General Douglas Macarthur may have inspired them, but the war they found themselves embroiled in had entirely different rules of engagement.
I read about the journeys of these young men, from their first days at West Point through their training and Army service, their aspirations and hopes, their relationships and family stories. I watched as idealism was overtaken by the reality of a different world for all and by tragedy for some.
While Mr Atkinson’s book charts the lives of individuals, it also covers the history of West Point as an institution. The role of the US military has changed since World War II and continues to evolve.
This book ends with the creation of (and accompanying conflict surrounding) the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This book has sat on my bookshelf, unread, for a very long time. But once I picked it up, I found it very difficult to put it down. The West Point Class of 1966 entered the academy in 1962. Mr Atkinson’s book follows the lives of several members of the Class of 1966. Many of those who graduated became platoon commanders in Vietnam, those who survived had to return to a world in which their service was seen as deeply divisive. The world, as Mr Atkinson points out, had changed. General Douglas Macarthur may have inspired them, but the war they found themselves embroiled in had entirely different rules of engagement.
I read about the journeys of these young men, from their first days at West Point through their training and Army service, their aspirations and hopes, their relationships and family stories. I watched as idealism was overtaken by the reality of a different world for all and by tragedy for some.
While Mr Atkinson’s book charts the lives of individuals, it also covers the history of West Point as an institution. The role of the US military has changed since World War II and continues to evolve.
This book ends with the creation of (and accompanying conflict surrounding) the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith