I have no particular interest in War type books. My decision to read Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes was kind of an argument I had with myself. I picked it up having no idea what it was based on the cover and flipped it over to read the back. As soon as I saw it was about Vietnam I immediately lost interest as a pointless war probably meant a pointless book. But then I thought how my father was in Vietnam and I figured if he could go fight in a war, surely I could tolerate a book about it and maybe even get some perspective. Perspective is exactly what I got.

While there are a multitude of characters in play throughout Matterhorn, the primary character is Lt. Mellas. A highly educated yet inexperienced officer sent to the bush to lead men who had been there for quiet some time. This was apparently typical protocol for officers as the higher ups preferred to rotate young officers into action to get them experience before rotating them out for executive work. It was common enough that there was minimal resentment from the grunts in the bush and they just hoped the new officers had brains and balls. In the beginning of the story, Mellas and his men are charged with occupying and fortifying a mountain the men dubbed Matterhorn as it was a strategically sound location for interrupting the North Vietnamese supply lines. Politics and bureaucracy however pressure the powers that be to order Matterhorn to be deserted to focus the resources on a more media friendly target. Upon Mellas and his men leaving Matterhorn, the North Vietnamese troops take possession of it with all its American made fortifications. It is then redetermined that Matterhorn must be occupied by American forces so Mellas must take his troops back to Matterhorn and retake the mountain by force. There it is.


While there was no particular flair to Marlantes' writing style, he was competent and effective at telling this story. He successfully brings suspense to the action segments while consistently exposing the inner thoughts of the soldiers. Most of the characters are already static, but we get to follow Mellas from inexperienced and naive to a tested soldier respected by his men.

Marlantes brings to light the difficult traumatic experiences the soldiers must face especially when they understand that the war they are fighting is pointless. The one thing that seems to keep them on task is their loyalty to each other. He also describes the brutality of the constant shelling the soldiers face night after night revealing in the characters some early symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

There were some interesting tidbits off the primary plot. One side story shows an early stage development of the Black Panther movement. Another interesting tidbit that I hadn't thought about previously and probably is the most interesting point of the book for me was the difference radio technology made in Vietnam and following wars. As the radios became more powerful and the effective range became longer the less attached the command post officers became to the men in the action. They had less understanding and in some cases just pure disbelief at what the soldiers were experiencing making them more inclined to risk a soldiers life for a less valuable objective.

I wouldn't recommend this book to just anybody. It lags in a few places and the bond between Mellas and the reader isn't as strong as I would have preferred. I guess I don't see it as amazing book but an excellent story worth reading if you want to get inside the head of veteran Marine of the Vietnam War.