Once Upon a Distant War:: Young War Correspondents and the Early Vietnam Battles

Prochnau's book is an illuminating account of the early years of American involvement in Vietnam, and of the war correspondents who made it their beat. "In the beginning," Prochnau writes, "it was such a nice little war," an exotic campaign of spies and intrigue that brought out the Hemingway in a small army of reporters eager to make their names---among them present-day CNN correspondent Peter Arnett, New York Times correspondent David Halberstam, and wire reporter Neil Sheehan, author of A Bright Shining Lie. When that nice little war turned ugly, many of these reporters became firm opponents of American involvement in Vietnam, disillusioned by official lies and delusions. Prochnau's anecdote-rich account of the work of these brave men and women, which often reads like something straight out of Graham Greene, is altogether fascinating.