Reading Vietnam Amid the War on Terror [Paperback]

Argues that the examination of contemporary American war narratives can lead to newfound understandings of American literature, American history, and American national purpose. To prove such a contention, the book blends literary, rhetorical, and cultural methods of analysis.American Myth, Vietnam, and the Prospect of Repetition Philip Caputo's Deconstruction of the Warrior-Hero Ideal Michael Herr's Dispatches and the Allure of Combat The Perversion of Labor in Larry Heinemann's Vietnam Tim O'Brien's Search for an Ideal Femininity Community in Bobbie Ann Mason's War Fiction

'The inclusion in this 'Vietnam' book of America's post 9/11 conflicts sharply contemporizes Hawkins' vital insights, not only making Vietnam still relevant, but teaching us the commonality of all war. Hawkins has powerfully documented the loss of innocence that must accompany any sentient soldier's combat encounters and aftermath. A haunting read.' - Donald Anderson, editor of War, Literature & the Arts and When War Becomes Personal

TY HAWKINS Assistant professor of English at Walsh University of Ohio, USA.