Matthew Katz

Breathtaking! As a Vietnam era, non-combat veteran, I was chilled by the descriptions of "the boonies." The chapter that most affected me was "On the Rainy River" which described the period between being called up and reporting for duty. I had four months between being drafted and reporting, hated the war as did O'Brien, and faced those choices of Canada, jail or duty. I traded another year in the Army for a job not needed in Vietnam; smartest decision I ever made. An option presented through dumb luck. Life's like that some times.