Late Thoughts on an Old War: The Legacy of Vietnam

Vietnam veteran Philip D. Beidler brings back the war through chapters on its vocabulary, music, literature, and film. His catalog of soldier slang reveals how finely a tour of Vietnam could hone one’s sense of absurdity. His survey of the war’s pop hits looks for meaning in the soundtrack many veterans still hear in their heads. Beidler also explains how
Viet Pulp
literature about snipers, tunnel rats, and other hard-core types has pushed aside masterpieces like Duong Thu Huong’s
Novel without a Name . Likewise we learn why the movie
The Deer Hunter
doesn’t
get it
about Vietnam but why
Platoon
and
We Were Soldiers
sometimes nearly do. Drawing on deeply personal memories, Beidler reflects on the war’s lingering aftereffects and the shallow, evasive ways we deal with them.