First things first, I read the book and it is a good read and it kept me interested. It drifts along with characters entering the story that never interact with the main characters at all (or anyone else really). I kept waiting for there to be a point, but there never really was. If you are considering this book to understand the U.S. in Vietnam, or about the Army or anything don't bother. It would be like watching Popeye to learn about life in the Navy. Almost all of the scenes with military personnel involve being at dinner and drinking too much, or going to whore houses. There is no doubt that Vietnam era military people did some of these activities, but if you read this book you would think that nothing else happened. But if you like to read about confused people drifting through a major period of history then by all means read this book.