ldcornell's review
4.0
This memoir recounts Jeff Danziger's time in the Army (1967-71) and his year in Vietnam. (Yes, Jeff Danziger, the political cartoonist.)
There a times when his recollections ramble, and he pauses the narrative to take some (not undeserved) shots at past and present politicians and military leaders.
Even so, it is a detailed memoir that shows why it is so hard for the US and its citizens to come to terms with the Vietnam War.
There a times when his recollections ramble, and he pauses the narrative to take some (not undeserved) shots at past and present politicians and military leaders.
Even so, it is a detailed memoir that shows why it is so hard for the US and its citizens to come to terms with the Vietnam War.
baskerville_book_reviews's review
3.0
This review is going to be for the audiobook version. I normally save my audiobook comments for the end, however, in this instance, most of my commentary has to do with the audiobook and not the physical and or kindle version.
I was surprised to find Jeff Danziger was the narrator for the audiobook version as he sounds much younger than he is. He often stutters, mispronounces words, or begins a chapter sounding totally different than he did in the one before. While it makes sense that he’d want to narrate his own memoir, it’s apparent that he lacks the professional talent of other narrators. My first impression was that the narrator was chosen for his age, due to his poor reading abilities.
While the information presented in the story is interesting from a historical point of view, the lifeless, emotionless narration makes this one of the most boring listens I’ve ever sat through. At one point, after listening for what felt like hours, I was getting ready to write my review, only to find I’d only been listening for an hour or two.
Another issue with the novel itself is how poorly planned it seems. The author will occasionally bring up a fact or mention something of historical importance, only for it to not be mentioned for hours. It feels like hours anyway; I genuinely can’t tell. I have an hour or more left and I feel as if I’ve been listening to this book for days. At one point in the story, he talks about how a friend of his wanted to help a woman he was smitten with, by borrowing 200$ to send her away to his home so he could marry her. He then proceeds to tell you that he doesn’t even know if things ever worked out, making that story a complete waste of time.
This audiobook really feels as if you’re sitting down in from of your grandfather as he prattles on for seemingly an eternity about the bad old days. As I said at the start of this review, I listened to the audiobook, so I can’t comment on the illustrations or their quality.
I’m giving this book my middle-rating of ‘meh’. It’s not a bad book, just rambly. It’s an interesting look into the Vietnam War and the absolute lunacy of it all through the eyes of a soldier. It reads like a well written ” and then …… and then …….. and then …… and then…..” type of story. You’d be better off picking up a physical or kindle copy as the Audiobook is likely to put you to sleep.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
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