PLATOON LEADER

A kid grows up in Brooklyn, goes to West Point, and then finds himself leading a platoon in the fabled 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Not your typical experience. But as the author points out with intelligence, fine details, and intensity, nothing about the Vietnam experience was typical. These accounts of booby traps, the ubiquitous helicopters, and the bankrupt "Strategic Hamlet Program" are challenging and riveting. Joel Rooks's steady and decidedly urban reading reflects the author's background, strong sense of duty, and questioning nature. McDonough relates how he struggled to hang on to his humanity and morality in extremely inhuman situations. He did manage to hold on to his values, and he found something else besides--wisdom. B.P. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]