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I'll add to this later, but I'm hooked after the first 50 pages. I think I know where this story is going, but so far he captures the mood of the times the way I want to remember it. I bought it used, having timed out apparently from the Houston Public Library. So far a great read on a hot and sultry summer day overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

1st update: I'm now on page 400 of a 500-page book. It's an amazing read, with more nuances than War & Peace. The episodes from the North Vietnamese POW camp make me shudder. As recorded, one of the main characters hasn't had an erection in three years! When I wrote my book about Tet '68 I recorded that I hadn't had an erection for 30 days, and I thought that was some kind of record for a very young man. (The Lost Battalion of Tet).

Webb manages to make very credible characters that defy ordinary characterizations. This is truly art. Webb does mention that the anti-war groups' arguments were used to shame the POWs. I wonder if this includes those who threw their medals over the White House fence?

Third and final comment. Webb maintains the emotional structure until the end of the book, with several surprises. While the theme may be related to youth and bravery, honor and loyalty are strong undercurrents that appeal strongly to old fossils like me. I feel now that this country is in the middle of a storm. If we come through it intact, we'll need all of Webb's value-settings as we can muster. It's a tough world.

PS. My last comment was posted a few days ago, and I intended it to be my final observation. Since then, however, I continue to be haunted with the story, its images and ironies. I know no one will read this, but if you get this far and are still interested, it's truly a great read--fiction at its finest.

Webb, the Junior Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a gifted writer of fiction and non-fiction. Because I so enjoyed reading "A Sense of Honor" and "Fields of Fire," I determined that I would eventually read all of his books. I have just finished "A Country Such As This," the action of which is set in the time of the Korean conflict and the Viet Nam War.

As is always the case with Webb's writing, his own experiences as a midshipman at Annapolis and as a Marine in Viet Nam strongly inform his world view and the characters he has created. In this case, the narrative revolves around three roommates from the Naval Academy whose careers veer off in dramatically different directions. Red becomes a pilot with the Navy's Blue Angels and eventually is taken as a prisoner of war in Viet Nam. Joe becomes a pioneer in the U.S. missile program. Judd, a Marine officer wounded in battle, serves in the FBI, where he is again shot. He eventually becomes a minister and then a Member of Congress. The evolving relationships among these three musketeers and the various women they love serves as a fascinating and satisfying platform that allows Webb to wax eloquent about the cost of war, of leadership, of freedom, and of deep relationships.

In this excerpt, he paints a vivid picture of the history of anti-war movements in the U.S.

He also sets the scene for why the anti-war movement emerged against our involvement in Viet Nam. The lessons seem particularly relevant to the current conflict in Iraq and the response by the American people to that protracted war. Joe's wife, Sophie, is talking to Judd during the time they are awaiting word about Red as a POW in Viet Nam:

" `It's just so vicious, Judd. And so wrong. How can they [the anti-war protesters] call themselves Americans?'

`We've always been this way. It's just gotten more out of hand this time, that's all. Lyndon Johnson tried to sneak a war past the American people, and whether it was a good war or not became irrelevant. Red understood that. He even wrote me about it before he was shot down. You don't fight a war when you haven't articulated what you're going to do, and expect people to go cheerfully off to bleed for years on end. And Nixon came in with the promise he was going to end it. Once he started pulling people out, that was it. The North Vietnamese have him cold, because the antiwar movement has taken away his negotiating leverage.'

He felt awkward making is speeches. He knew it wasn't what Sophie wanted to hear: `I know I'm not consoling you, much, but I've been trying to put this in perspective. Did you know there were antidraft riots in World War I? And did you know that the Selective Service Act only passed by one vote in World War II - in 1940, with Europe already overrun by the Nazis?'

They passed by ugly, despairing neighborhoods along New York Avenue. Judd Smith watched black faces staring at his car, and thought some more. `No, here's a better example for you, Sophie. Did you know that during the Civil War Lincoln had to deal with an antiwar movement? Imagine, the same people who created the abolition movement losing their stomach for the war. Robert E. Lee went north into Sharpsburg to try and defeat the Yankees on their own soil, so that the antiwar movement would force Lincoln to negotiate a settlement. There you have it in a nutshell. The idealists didn't want slavery, but they didn't have the stomach for the bloody part of it. They wanted the world to be rational and sane, even when their very cause was the essence of the war!'" (Pages 473-4)

Webb wrote this novel in 1983. In reflecting on the mood of America in the 50's and 60's in response to Korea and Viet Nam, he was presciently offering insights to help us to understand the mood of America in 2007 on the heels of years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Al

Re-read for me. I first read the book some maybe thirty years ago and enjoyed it then and again now. With Webb's re-entry perhaps on the political scene it is a must read. To known Webb, read his books. They will tell you a lot about the guy. Well written, not a cliff hanging adventure story by any means, just a story about three different Americans and the times that shaped them and us. You will understand the times, people like you known and perhaps yourself. I see parts on myself in these pages. I loaned my first copy to a son and he has still got it. This is a book you will want to put on the shelf and read again, that says a lot.

One of the best authors going. He should have become president.

One of the best books I have ever read. Webb is a tremendous writer with a keen knowledge of military history and this is in fact one of my 10 favorite books of all time. I picked it up in 1985ish in a small bookstore in Scotland. It was so good was sad for days when it was over.

James Webb is an amazing man. He is a retired Marine! No matter who wins our Presidential race, hopefully they will consider Jim as Secretary of Defense. If you do not purchase it, by all means, get it from your library, phenomenal book!

This story chronicles the lives of three classmates from the U.S. Naval Academy who graduated in 1951. It takes the reader thru their careers and marriages. One character was a marine hero in Korea, went on to join the FBI and the was elected to congress. Another was a skilled pilot who was shot down on a mission in Vietnam and was a prisoner of war. The third, was an engineer and scientist involved in our early missile programs. He then left the military and worked as a civilian. It was painful to be reminded of Hanoi Jane Fonda and her ilk. They worked like a 5th Column for The Enemy. This is a valuable read just to remind us how bad those days really were.

It's obvious the author did not just imagine the lives and locations written. They are real representations of real persons and places. I wish there had been Hollywood endings, but that wouldn't have been true life. I hope he writes a book about his single Senate term. Thanks Amazon for making this book so readily available.