Dispatches Book Analysis

Informing a New Generation

Dispatches is a powerful book that should be taken seriously. War is something that I have found hard to read since there are so many different perspectives to take into account. Michael Herr has written a book that brings perspectives from soldiers, commanders, and correspondents to create a very informative and captivating story which is true. I was nervous about reading a nonfiction book since those I have read in the past are dry but Dispatches has changed my perspective on nonfiction. Mr. Herr leaves little to the imagination and draws you in with all the real life detail surrounding the war and the people it encompassed.

There are usually two sides to a war the official side and the true side. This can be seen in this book and with great distinction and detail. I enjoy reading the actual accounts of soldiers because I feel that the best way to understand something is to have it explained by the source and in a war, soldiers are primary sources at their best. I also enjoyed the moments of humanity when Mr. Herr recounts a story he heard from another man or tells one he witnessed himself. Two that stick out to me are the man who had to get home to kill the man his wife slept with “back in the world” or the boy who looked for names of people he knew

from his small town because then he would be safe because what are the chances of more then one person dying from a town of about 500. (206) There was also the boy and the priest story, which I find puzzlingly humorous because of the divine gravity applied to what appears at first glance just to be another story. The “marine was carried in still unconscious and full of morphine and his legs were gone.”(174) The priest “didn’t know what to say” to the boy when he asked about his legs so the priest decided to palliate the situation and said “sure” for lack of a better response. (174) Later after the boy realized that his legs were gone and that the priest had lied to him he asked the...