Tour of Duty

Starred review from December 22, 2003
Popular historian Brinkley's account of John Kerry's Vietnam experience could easily serve as the first part of a multivolume biography, examining the senator and presidential candidate's early life in rigorous detail. Entering the U.S. Navy soon after graduating from Yale in 1966, Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry commanded two Swift boat crews on river patrols in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. He kept "voluminous" notes during his service, maintained extensive correspondence with friends and family, and tape-recorded interviews with combat-seasoned comrades. With unrestricted access to this archival material and interviews with Kerry and surviving crewmates, Brinkley (coauthor with Stephen Ambrose of The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation
) depicts war in riveting detail, down to what music the crew of PCF-94
listened to on patrol. Though clearly centering his attention on Kerry, Brinkley also stresses the navy's under-recognized role in Vietnam while emphasizing the "true battlefield heroism" of American forces. Kerry's combat experiences make for gripping reading, and later sections on his high-profile role in the antiwar movement are equally engrossing, including the Nixon White House's efforts (involving a young Armistead Maupin) to discredit veteran-turned-antiwar-activist Kerry as a "phony." Final chapters fully address Kerry's political failures in the early 1970s while quickly summarizing later successes and how these successes were shaped by his Vietnam experience and ongoing relationships with fellow veterans. Though never intended as a political biography, this book offers perhaps the most insightful examination available of the character of this or any other Democratic candidate. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW
. (Jan. 6)

Forecast:
The first printing of 100,000 seems about right for such a timely book by a popular author. First serial went to the
Atlantic Monthly. January 6 is a one-day laydown; that day, Brinkley will appear on the
Today Show and
The O'Reilly Factor.

September 15, 2003
A campaign biography?

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2003
The Vietnam War has deep footprints, especially for political candidates whose valor in combat often becomes a key platform plank. Presidential candidate John Kerry's service as a navy gunboat captain in the Mekong Delta is a key part of his stump speech. For Kerry and his campaign, however, Vietnam is especially defining in that it showcases not just leadership under fire but also the development of his antiwar activism, which established Kerry as an articulate opponent of the war with the credentials to give his words weight. Brinkley's account follows an adventurous young Kerry as he enlists straight out of Yale and requests dangerous river duty, where he witnesses horrible things, gets wounded, and becomes anxious about the distance between the administration's objectives and the experiences of soldiers. Yet Brinkley also consistently strives to show us that Kerry was different from other soldiers--more intellectual, less prone to vice, always striving for perspective on his actions. Built out of interviews and historical research, as well as Kerry's diaries, there is enough of a war narrative here to satisfy Vietnam buffs, even if they aren't interested in Kerry's politics. Political buffs will do best to wade patiently through the combat action, which is followed by the veteran's antiwar testimony before Congress. This would be a timely book even if Kerry weren't running for president.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2004
Prolific historian Brinkley (Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, 1903-2003; Rosa Parks) offers a gripping account of presidential candidate John Kerry's heroic service, his fight to end the Vietnam War, and his efforts to improve medical care for veterans. Kerry was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts as commander of a Swift Boat, which patrolled the dangerous enemy-controlled rivers and canals of coastal Vietnam. However, as Brinkley points out, unlike many servicemen who were gung-ho when they arrived in Vietnam, Kerry always doubted the war. Following his active duty (1966-70), he became the most visible leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War-and earned President Nixon's bile for speaking out against the conflict. Kerry was eventually elected to four consecutive terms as senator from Massachusetts. Brinkley concludes with the moving reconciliation between Kerry and John McCain-the two veterans and senators who led the struggle for full diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, realized in 1995. Kerry did not find closure for his tour of duty until that peace was accomplished. Highly recommended for all public libraries and academic Vietnam War collections.-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.