Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story

by JohnLaurence (Author)

• New

  Illustrated
  2002

  $33.46

  John Laurence covered the Vietnam war for CBS News from 1965 to 1970 and was judged by his colleagues to be the best television reporter of the war. His documentary about a squad of U.S. troops, The World of Charlie Company, received every major award for broadcast journalism. Despite the professional acclaim, however, the traumatic stories Laurence covered became a personal burden that he carried long after the war was over. In this evocative, unflinching memoir, laced with humor, anger, love, and the unforgettable story of Meo, the Vietnamese cat, Laurence recalls coming of age during the war years as a journalist and as a man. Along the way, he clarifies the murky history of the war and the role that journalists played in altering its course. The Cat from Hue has earned passionate acclaim from many of the most renowned journalists and writers about the war, as well as from military officers and war veterans, book reviewers, and readers. Now available in trade paperback with a new epilogue, this book will stand with Michael Herr's Dispatches, Philip Caputo's A Rumor of War, and Neil Sheehan's A Bright, Shining Lie as one of the best books ever written about Vietnam-and about war generally.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $12.45

  John Laurence covered the Vietnam War for CBS News from 1965 to 1970 and was judged by his colleagues to be the best television reporter of the war. His documentary film, The World of Charlie Company , won every major award for broadcast journalism and also the George Polk memorial award for best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and entrprise abroad . Despite the professional acclaim, the traumatic stories Laurence covered became a personal burden that he carried long after the war was over. The result is this passionate memoir about what he witnessed there, laced with humour, anger, love and the unforgettable story of a very idiosyncratic cat who was determined to play his part in the Vietnam revolution. In reconstructing his experiences, Laurence relied noy only on his notes and memory and formidable literary skill, but on dozens of hours of film footage shot at the time, giving the book an uncanny power and fidelity to facts. The Cat From Hue is full of bizarre stories of unknown solders and famous journalists and generals, incredible humanity and tenderness and also corruption and cowardice. Along the way, it clarifies the history of that murky war and illuminates the role that journalists played in it. This book should stand with Michael Herr's Dispatches and Neil Sheehan's A Bright Shining Lie as one of the best ever written about Vietnam.