Matterhorn

Matterhorn is one of the best books I've read in a while. It's a novel that puts you in the trenches of the Vietnam War.

The book touches on a lot of topics: obviously war, but also politics, race, class, sex, friendship, hierarchy, and a whole lot of things I can't recall. One thing that is very obvious is the author's familiarity with this war; the imagery and detail is too real to be fake, and gives the reader a really good idea of what it was like to be there.

The drawback to this book is the jargon. There is so much military jargon that a novice like me had a hard time understanding some of what was said. There is a glossary at the end of the book, but I was often too lazy to use it while in the flow of reading.

I consider myself very lucky to be living in a time where men are mostly free to do whatever they want, rather than conscripted to fight and potentially die far away from home. Enjoy.