From his earliest days on the ground, Lieutenant Waino Mellas - Princeton educated, fresh, green, and uneasy in his new fatigues - has second-guessed his decision to become a marine. Yet here he is, an officer leading a rifle platoon in a desolate corner of South Vietnam. The men in Marlantes's gut-wrenching first novel - young, raw, and far from home - are facing the toughest trial by fire imaginable. Dumped on a jungle hilltop that's shrouded in monsoon rains and clouds, they're too crippled by fatigue, boredom, and the dearth of supplies to question policy. Like most soldiers, they follow orders whether they make sense or not, in a war too complex for them to figure out.
Authentic and unflinching, with dialogue so vivid it plunges readers squarely into the inferno of war, Matterhorn is both white-knuckled adventure and superb literature. From the smallest details - the music, the gear, and the C rations; the smells, the heat, and the humidity - to the most profound judgments made high up the chain of command, it's a tour de force of storytelling. A celebration of the courage and camaraderie of our young men in uniform, and a chilling indictment of the politics of war, Matterhorn is an unforgettable and vital testament that keeps alive the thousands of stories of heroism during what some might consider one of history's darkest and most regrettable moments.
Description:
From his earliest days on the ground, Lieutenant Waino Mellas - Princeton educated, fresh, green, and uneasy in his new fatigues - has second-guessed his decision to become a marine. Yet here he is, an officer leading a rifle platoon in a desolate corner of South Vietnam. The men in Marlantes's gut-wrenching first novel - young, raw, and far from home - are facing the toughest trial by fire imaginable. Dumped on a jungle hilltop that's shrouded in monsoon rains and clouds, they're too crippled by fatigue, boredom, and the dearth of supplies to question policy. Like most soldiers, they follow orders whether they make sense or not, in a war too complex for them to figure out.
Authentic and unflinching, with dialogue so vivid it plunges readers squarely into the inferno of war, Matterhorn is both white-knuckled adventure and superb literature. From the smallest details - the music, the gear, and the C rations; the smells, the heat, and the humidity - to the most profound judgments made high up the chain of command, it's a tour de force of storytelling. A celebration of the courage and camaraderie of our young men in uniform, and a chilling indictment of the politics of war, Matterhorn is an unforgettable and vital testament that keeps alive the thousands of stories of heroism during what some might consider one of history's darkest and most regrettable moments.