Michael Herr has died.
The Vietnam war produced so many books that "mattered", from Washington to Saigon, from David Halberstam to Tim O'Brien.
It's hard to think of an equivalent list for Iraq and Afghanistan. Not that there haven't been some good ones, but they don't seem to have permeated popular culture in the same way. Perhaps because of the move from pages to images, but perhaps also because Vietnam was Crazy New Shit, whereas the wars in the Middle East have been Same Old Shit.
Anyway, RIP.
The Vietnam war produced so many books that "mattered", from Washington to Saigon, from David Halberstam to Tim O'Brien.
It's hard to think of an equivalent list for Iraq and Afghanistan. Not that there haven't been some good ones, but they don't seem to have permeated popular culture in the same way. Perhaps because of the move from pages to images, but perhaps also because Vietnam was Crazy New Shit, whereas the wars in the Middle East have been Same Old Shit.
Anyway, RIP.
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