Cover of The Village

The Village

by Bing West · 1972

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In Black Hawk Down,the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young,the fighting lasted three days. In The Village,one Marine squad fought for 495 days-half of them died.

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Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.

Subject
historyhistoryMore like thisLess of thisleadershipleadershipMore like thisLess of this
Genre
war and militarywar and militaryMore like thisLess of thishistorical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
military historymilitary historyMore like thisLess of this
Setting
Cold WarCold WarMore like thisLess of thisVietnamVietnamMore like thisLess of thisAsiaAsiaMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
long · 400 pages

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Liked The Village? Here’s where I’d start.

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“If you want more of the same (history about military history), start with these.”

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“If it was the Vietnam that hooked you, try one of these.”

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“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

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