Thousandyard Stare

the long version

This book is about the author's experiences in Vietnam during the war. It is hard-hitting, graphic, and disturbing. The book consists of two sections. The back cover reads, "The first section, "In Country," assaults the reader with all the charm of a meat grinder as the poet serves up image after image of the indiscriminate carnage of war and the gruesomeness of death in the triple-canopy jungles of Viet Nam. The second section, "Back in the World," returns us to the States but not necessarily to sanity as Soular wades through the psychological aftereffects of the war for both veterans and their families." It's an accurate description. This book is about the sorrow of war, the accompanying guilt, PTSD, and despair. Read it.