Long Range Patrol
A Novel of Vietnam
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A searing novel of the war in Vietnam as seen through the eyes of a daring Long Range Patrol platoon leader
Young and eager to prove himself, Ranger Lieutenant Jim Hollister leads his six-man reconnaissance team on risky missions deep into enemy territory. The special volunteers who make up Long Range Patrols are tasked with setting up ambushes and conducting dangerous night patrols, helicopter insertions behind enemy lines, and fire support in the hottest of fights.
Enriched with a memorable cast of characters and thrilling details that only a Vietnam veteran could capture, Long Range Patrol is a powerhouse tale of a band of heroes fighting to keep their brothers alive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Strangely enough for a novel set in wartime Vietnam, this work is virtually free of conflict. Foley, who served in Vietnam himself, has created a series of episodes with no coherent theme or plot. Lt. Jim Hollister leads a platoon of men on dangerous missions. His team is suspected of having destroyed a South Vietnamese village, but after he is questioned once the matter is dropped. A buddy of Hollister's dies, and when he accompanies the body home, the lieutenant hears veiled references to the antiwar movement (``peace pussies'') but never connects with anyone involved in it. While his fellow soldiers are carousing and visiting prostitutes, Hollister lies on his bunk writing letters to his fiancee, but the romance, with a publishing novicep. 15 , is unconvincing. The point of view of a Vietcong soldier (who destroyed the town Hollister had been accused of savaging) is introduced in the first chapter, but he dies soon after, having no extended impact. Authentic military lingo is so prevalent that the novel includes an abbreviated glossary, but overuse of acronyms distances the reader from the action, so that even the Long Range Patrol's death-defying missions fail to intrigue.
