Air War – Vietnam by Frank Harvey

I’ve finished reading my 103rd book of the year: 'Air War – Vietnam' by Frank Harvey, a 1967 expose advertised as the story of “What our Airmen are really doing in Vietnam!” and “The headline making eyewitness story of America’s devastating new brand of warfare!”.  

Harvey spent several weeks embedded with Navy and Air Force pilots in 1966, and what emerged is a frank portrait of the air war at the time.  It is frank, in that it discusses the good and the bad, but it is by no means prescient; while more a dove than a hawk, Harvey is a bit awed by the blunt power of our weaponry and overestimates our success. Not the greatest stylist in the world, Harvey still composed an entertaining account that is filled with details of everyday life that would now otherwise be lost to time. 

Grade: B