FORTUNATE SON

A PulitzerPrize-winning autobiography, Fortunate Son is horrific, but ultimately inspiring. Puller had served less than three months in Vietnam when a booby trap "vaporized" the lower half of his body. In recovering, he overcame pain, depression, alcoholism and disabilities which most of us cannot imagine enduring. The author's lack of vocal skills makes the pre-Vietnam section tough going for listeners. But once he enters combat, all stiltedness vanishes; he becomes the only conceivable reader. The bits of music--a "title song" and drumbeats as underscoring-- are thankfully few as they are at odds with the intense sincerity of the work. E.T. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPT 92]