A true, bestselling story from the battlefield that faithfully portrays the horror, the madness, and the trauma of the Vietnam War More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first published in 1983. Now with a new afterword by the author and photographs taken by him during the conflict, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying truth about the … electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a “chickenhawk” in constant danger.
“Very simply the best book so far about Vietnam.” –St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Enjoyed this first hand account of what our Vietnam Heroes did on a daily basis.
Having served ‘in country’ in the ’60s, this brought back even the smells. The descriptions of the never ending process of learning to fly helicopters were fascinating and illuminating. Thank you Robert Mason, a novel that needed to be written about a war(sic) that shouldn’t have existed.
Excellent
I really enjoyed this book. Very realistic!
This is a very well written chronicle of a very brave man’s year in Vietnam as a chopper pilot. Try to imagine the courage it took to fly one of these flying targets into a hot LZ, watch tracer rounds fly at you and hear and see rounds hit the bird and know you must land and stay in place until the troops you were carrying have all jumped out of the craft. Also try to imagine the courage it took to jump out into the fire and know in a few seconds your only link to safety is going to fly away from you. What an incredible time this was.
The only way to win a war is to totally eliminate the enemy’s will and ability to wage war.
This is a first person account of how American politicians and top military officers taught us how to waste American lives and material while disregarding the above.
A sad but interesting read.
Realistic glimpse into helicopters pilots skill and courage during Vietnam war.
Very true of that dirty war waged by politicians
Fantastic book by who I would call a hero and Rhodes who served along side him for our country at a sad time when our citizens of our country did not support our soldiers.
The best book I have read on the Vietnam Conflict. Wasn’t it really a war? This author tells it like it was, a war with so many restrictions placed on our soldiers.
Simply outstanding description of a chopper pilot’s life (and others deaths). No artifice or phony writing devices. It’s as real as it gets.
Having friends who served in Viet Nam I knew a lot about what went on but this book opened my eyes to the reality of serving there, from the mundane to the exiting to the horror of what the Viet Nam war was. I am in awe of this man’s service!
Real life
Nothing new in this book. Same RVN info as many other such books/articles.
Good book sad ending.
Presents a view of the Vietnam war from one who was on the front lines and saw it all.
What an incredible book. It’s amazing the amount of hardship he went and was still able to keep fairly seen.
The best account ever written on the waging of the Vietnam War by the air cavalry from the perspective of a heroic helicopter pilot, who had to drop off and pick up troops to and from the battle fronts, often flying out under fire under impossible conditions overloaded with live, wounded and dead soldiers. A great, informative, insightful read about the waging of a war of choice we could not win against a people dedicated to defeating us at any cost, despite the courage of our brave soldiers, who were willing to lay down their lives to protect their country’s interests wherever they were called upon to do so.