He wanted to be an officer, he went hunting a lot, had a strong Catholic upbringing (attending a Catholic high school is “strong” to people like me), played bridge, and was somewhat involved in his local community. Perhaps the most interesting character is Gary himself. People like Riley Cox, Billy Walkabout, and others are only mentioned prominently at specific entries, but they are larger than life people who leap off the page. Linderer told me that Zo’s dream during Vietnam was to own a big rig truck), but he simply exists. His hobbies and interests are never described (in a personal e-mail to me a couple of years ago, Mr. For instance, the reader can accept Ray “Zo” Zoschak as a capable, stand-up team leader (maybe the best in the company) even though I’m not sure he is mentioned once before Linderer is assigned to his team. The people in this book aren’t described as much as they are introduced (often without fanfare they might be mentioned numerous times before there’s any description of them), but the people who are important to Linderer feel like living people regardless. It should be required reading in schools, not just for soldiers. It’s not just about Vietnam Eyes of the Eagle does more to “enlighten and expand” the human condition that most other books I’ve read. I would love to see him write some original, non-Vietnam fiction (why write Vietnam fiction? It would be a pale shadow to his real life experiences). Fiction may often lack the importance, heart, and raw vitality of his real experiences, but I would bet dollars to donuts that he could write anything and make it good. Linderer is obviously an incredibly talented writer, and this bears out in his other books. It is funny, it is heart-wrenching, and it is exciting. I am sure credit is due Gary’s wife who kept all the letters he wrote her (it’s hard not to fall in love with her yourself), his friends he interviewed, and his own memories but this book is a lot more than just past experiences. You want to see the people around him succeed. He invites you into his heart, (or at least some of it) and you want to see this guy succeed. You learn to like the people Gary likes you feel like you know them. It’s a war book, so there’s fighting and action. While I can’t see the people and the mountains and battles Linderer did, I feel like I’ve been there now, at least as an untouchable observer. It is less of a narrative than it is a recollection that the reader can share and "live" in. Gary Linderer describes the Vietnam War, in his perspective, to the reader on a day-to-day basis. This book recounts, in an journal format (and yet also a retelling), the first six months of his time in Vietnam. He made friends, fought the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and lost friends too. He was soon going out into the jungles of Vietnam in small, six-man teams to spy on the enemy, call in artillery, and sometimes even spring an ambush and take prisoners. He volunteered to serve his tour with a LRP unit (Long Range Patrol), F Company, 58th Infantry Division attached to the 101st Airborne Division. Gary Linderer joined the Army hoping to become an officer, but was sent to Vietnam in June of 1968 instead. Most recently, after "American Sniper" (the autobiography of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle), I was in the mood for more nonfiction military stuff and this is usually the first book I turn to. I bought my own copy of "Eyes of the Eagle" back in the mid-90s, and I think I’ve read it three or four times now. I devoured that book (I must have been 14 or 15), unaware that it was the second in a series. When my brother Scott came home on leave once, he brought a copy of "Eyes Behind the Lines" by Gary Linderer and told me it was a good, realistic idea of what life in the military could be like.
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