Don't pigeonhole this as "military history"

books:

	• The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966 Rick Atkinson Holt Paperbacks, 1999 - 608 pages average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Don't pigeonhole this as "military history"

It would be a shame to classify this book as "military history," since the term is bound to turn away some readers. Certainly this narrative of the lives of some members of the West Point class of 1966 follows them into combat, and Atkinson is a masterful writer in this genre. However, what is most interesting about this book is the way it describes the intersection---one might even say collision--of the values and education imparted by West Point with the rapidly changing culture of the sixties and seventies. In addition, Atkinson's examination of the lingering deleterious effects on the Army of an unpopular and unsuccessful war is enough to make one wonder what the consequences of the current unpopular war will be. This book, which often reads like a novel, ought to be in the hands of students, most of whom have little connection to the war in Iraq and little understanding of military life, unlike their sixties counterparts, who at least faced the draft.

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A Historical Novel of the Highest Quality

I held my breath through most of this book, unable to sleep at night without reading 'just one more page.' Whether a lover of history or not, you will enjoy this book! Atkinson weaves the tail of class="textlinks">West Point's class of 1966 with wit, humor, and profound understanding of his subjects. I found this story absolutely inspiring, and enjoyed the multiple dimensions to Atkinson's narrative as he focuses on American culture during the 1960's and 70's- not just the War in Vietnam. HEROIC! and a MUST read!!

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By far the best book I have ever read

This is one excellent book. It is a must read for people who have been in the military and for that fact, anyone and everyone. This book starts with the Class of 1966 as the enter West point. They start out as freshmen (I believe the term was plebes), the book takes the readers through the trials and tribulations of each of the main characters as they endure that first year. As the book progresses on you get to know each of the main characters as they experience school, romance, hard times, easy times, sad times and happy times. The book continues as they graduate from school and enter Vietnam. You experience the horror of war and the bond the forms with soldiers in combat. After Vietnam the reader will continue to follow the characters as they experience life after Vietnam. I was acutally hoping the book would not end. Being in the military I can relate to much of what the book was about. I highly suggest the book to anyone.

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Humbling Book

Wonderfully told, this book provides a great look at both the quiet heroism of the young men at class="textlinks">West Point and the complexities of the Vietnam war.

Why I recommend this book

Atkinson does his usual in depth reporting of events. In this book he explores the culture of the times, the morals of the cadets and the class="textlinks">long term effects of a misdirected war on an entire generation. As a Korean War veteran I could appreciate Atkinson's factual reporting of the events that transpired as the unprepared citizen soldiers entered their first fire fights.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The first trade paperback edition of the New York Times best-seller about class="textlinks">West Point's Class of 1966, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Atkinson.

This is the story of the twenty-five-year adventure of the generation of officers who fought in Vietnam. With novelistic detail, Atkinson tells the story of West Point's Class of 1966 primarily through the experiences of three classmates and the women they loved--from the boisterous cadet years and youthful romances to the fires of Vietnam, where dozens of their classmates died and hundreds more grew disillusioned, to the hard peace and family adjustments that followed. The rich cast of characters includes Douglas MacArthur, William Westmoreland, and a score of other memorable figures. The West Point Class of 1966 straddled a fault line in American history, and Rick Atkinson's masterly book speaks for a generation of American men and women about innocence, patriotism, and the price we pay for our dreams.

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