This book by Dr. Byron E. Holley is a must-read for anyone who is interested in learning about the soldier's personal experiences in Vietnam. His personal accounts of nearly everyday ocourances while on his Tour Of Duty is so insightful. When I read this book it was like being there or being the relative who received the letters home from Vietnam. This book and its account of daily events on Dr. Holley's Tour freezes ones mind in time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This awe-inspiring book reminds us of a war that some of us may have forgotten and other would like to. The words that Dr. Holley uses to describe his fears,concerns, and disgust with the war is a chilling reminder to us all. Dr. Holley tells his story in 1968-69 real-time by incorporating letters to his sweetheart and his parents. The book begins with Dr. Holley receiving that wonderful letter from Uncle Sam stating that his medical services are needed so that his country maybe served, through his one year tour-of-duty including his experiences with Col. Hackworth. You will hear this story from a man, a true man, who has saved countless lives and lives to tell about it. Dr. Holley captures his audience in this must-read for any person that survived his or her nightmares. This is simply a must-read.

This book is on the "Recommended Reading List" of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 295, Indianapolis, Indiana

I don't read many action books or novels, but I love this book!
A very perceptive, quick thinker caught in "The Most Dangerous
Game" - human War). The book HAS to be read for one to have an opinion, a personal one.

The veracity of his accounts has many endorsements and no rebuttals, as far as I can tell. To this day he has maintained a high visibility, and mud slingers would have no trouble sighting this target.

Bill Schaefer

This is an outstanding book about one of the greatest soldiers ever! Read this book. It is excellent--gripping--full of great lessons on leadership and military techniques. If you're not in the military, but like military history, you would also like this book. It is stock full of war stories and great tales of feats that are just absolutely amazing! Read this book. It's a keeper. Hack's stories and lessons learned help me every day as I lead my platoon...2 miles from North Korea.

The number of people who have actually sat down and provided specific advise on how to tactically approach combat in Vietnam is exceedingly small. Plenty of literature out there on "this happened to us" or "that happened to us" but almost none on how to actually move and fight.

I expected not to finish this book, given my previous lack of interest in Vietnam-War history, but I found that the story transcended its milieu and beyond that drew my interest to a key period of recent American history. I imagine that fans will counsel students of history and political science to read it, and they probably should as an interesting nuance from more high-level views provided by more famous luminaries like Westmoreland, McNamara, et al, but I found this fascinating from a different standpoint: how one individual struggled to keep his intellectual integrity in the face of massive institutional pressure not to. There are lots of melodramatic movies that seek to capture the situation more cleanly, but this book, in chronicling one man's true-life experience, did it better and with more resonance than any film I've seen. As a young person who works with "numbers" myself, I understand how frequently people try to manipulate them and use them as persuasive devices for major decisions.

War of Numbers is an essential book for intelligence analysts as well as students of the Vietnam War. Adams provides key insight to strategic policy failure. In order to fully appreciate Adam's contribution to the intelligence history of Vietnam, it is important to understand that wars are fought by nations in the pursuit of interests and that for Americans, the decision to go to war should address seven considerations: Problem Identification, Interests Assessment, Objective Identification (including End State Assessment), Strategic Self Appraisal, National Power Assessments of The Enemy, Strategy Development, and the Identification of Gaps between Policy and Means.
Adam's book addresses errors in the National Power Assessment phase which had a negative cascading effect in subsequent decision making. Flawed enemy strength calculations contributed to flawed strategy development which contributed to a gap between policy and means. When Adams identified the flaw, the Johnson Administration was too heavily committed to a war of attrition to tolerate public exposure of the gaps between policy and means. Strategically, telling the truth about the numbers of enemy forces would have required larger commitments of U.S. forces increasing the strain on public support for the war. The strength of Johnson's political will and McNamara's quantitative analysis approach to war deeply affected the way the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, counted the enemy (called, Order of Battle).
MACV kept three sets of books; The first set of OB was the official version sent to Washington. The second set belonged to the OB Analysts themselves, and the third set was a blend of the first two. The first set was an undercount to keep official Washington placated; the second set was the honest count but did not go anywhere, and the third set went to Westmoreland who kept it close hold.
Adams contribution to the intelligence discipline is his description of how he found the flaw in OB accounting and the political correctness that resisted him within the intelligence community. The key to his breakthrough was to have actually gone to Vietnam, worked the Order of Battle issues on the ground, understand the enemy from "the enemy's" perspective and then double check how U.S. reporting of enemy strength matched that of how the enemy was reporting his own strength. This is when Adams discovered that MACV was undercounting troop strength. He performed a validity and reliability check on MACV and found their procedures and results wanting. The technique he used is described in detail and serves as a lesson learned for today's OB analysts.
The second lesson is how Adams' persistence caused a rift between the CIA and MACV over the integrity of the OB counting. The CIA is evenhandedly portrayed in the book. Individual analysts who looked at the numbers invariably sided with Adams; those in responsive political positions and vulnerable to the political influence of the Johnson-McNamara Administration behave in the subtle manner normally associated with behind the scene politics. Adams illustrates how assessments were watered down, reports delayed, egos clashed in the briefing rooms, and all of the suppressive efforts were brought to bear to keep him muffled and how he countered them. Basically, his operating principle was that the truth should be allowed to surface and he describes how he created those opportunities; back channel copies of reports; boot leg copies of reports, analyst to analyst contacts (CIA to DIA, for example), as well as maintaining contact with the honest brokers at MACV.
This is an important book for students of Intelligence Analysis. It serves as a guide on how to double check the validity and reliability of Order of Battle data; it gives insight to how politics heavily filtered ground truth under the Johnson Administration, and it lets the world see that the CIA wasn't evil incarnate. Like every other agency in Washington, it simply surrendered to political pressure from the White House.

Adams' book is not so much a book about Vietnam as a chronical of what happens when intelligence units and agencies report what the commanders WANT to hear. The CIA and J2 of MACV in Adams' book become pawns in the politics of Vietnam. They ignored facts and basic tenents of intelligence reporting. The agencies feared reaction to the facts and its possible effect on public sentiment to US involvement. Because of that they purposely, according to Adams, reported and knowingly maintained false information.

Even more disturbing are Adams' insights into the CIA of the middle and late Sixties. Though deeply entrenched in war in Vietnam, they seemed to take an overall cavalier approach to the mission. Adams notes after Tet-1968 there were "considerably less than 6" CIA agent handlers in Vietnam who spoke vietnamese. These same case officers received a grand total of 2 hours orientation on Vietnam and their enemy prior to assignment.

This book is a MUST read for intelligence personnel, policy makers and anyone who wants to learn how, the hard way, not to run an intelligence organization.

A fine book for many reasons, but IMO primarily as a character study of a complicated man. His ideas regarding the importance of hard training are hardly new, but are always worth repeating. His arguments about merging the Army and the Marine Corps, the top-heavy structure of the post-Vietnam era Army, and military awards are worth study. People unfamiliar with the values of a Cold War military officer find this book very insightful. The book is, most importantly, just pretty damned interesting.

Hack is clearly passionate about all things infantry, but the man suffers from a number of self-admitted character flaws:
-Losing a weapon and covering it up (sorry, this was wrong)
-Tolerance of drug use
-Criticizing the Army while serving as an officer DURING WAR
-..and I've always been uncomfortable with his part in Admiral Boorda's NCM scandal given his personal situation regarding his own awards (Ranger Tab, Hack?).

This aside, all Americans and allies are grateful for Hack's repeated combat valor.

Read the book, but consider his actions in the context of the times. This man is a combat hero, not necessarily a role model.

THIS BOOK IS BY FAR THE BEST MILITARY BOOK I'VE EVER READ IN YEARS. AND I THOUGHT TOM CLANCY WAS THE BEST! I GOT A HOLD OF THIS BOOK AT MY COLLEGE LIBRARY DURING MY FRESHMAN YEAR IN 1996. FROM THE MOMENT I READ THE FIRST WORDS, I KNEW I WAS MESMERIZED. I READ THIS BOOK OUT OF MY PERSONAL INTEREST ABOUT THIS CONTROVERSIAL OUTSPOKEN COLONEL. THE STORY GOES LIKE THIS: AN ORPHANED 15-YEAR OLD BOY LIED TO ENLIST IN THE ARMY, AND WENT ON TO BECOME THE MOST LEGENDARY AND CONTROVERSIAL WARRIOR. HE SERVED WITH DISTINCTION UNDER GEN. JOHN M. MICHAELIS AS A WOLFHOUND RAIDER LEADER IN KOREA. HE WAS BATTLE-COMMISSIONED AT A TENDER AGE OF 20, AND BECOMES THE YOUNGEST CAPTAIN AT 22. HE WON 2 DSCs, 7 SILVER STARS, 9 BRONZE STARS AND 2 DFCs, 8 PURPLE HEARTS AND MANY OTHER DECORATIONS DURING HIS SERVICE IN THE KOREAN AND VIETNAMESE THEATER COMBINED. WHILE HE INITIALLY FOUND HOME IN THE "OLD ARMY," HE FOUND HIMSELF INCREASINGLY DISILLUSIONED WITH THE ZERO-DEFECT,"TICKET PUNCHING" MENTALITY OF THE "NEW ARMY" CREATED BY A WEST-POINT GENERAL MAXWELL TAYLOR AND HIS PROTEGES. THE VIETNAM WAR BECAME THE CLIMAX OF HIS DISSILUSSIONMENT WITH THE "NEW ARMY" AS HE GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK INSIDE THE DEPT. OF ARMY, THE FLEDGLING TRAINING SYSTEM, SELF-SERVING TYPES LIKE IRA HUNT AND MANY OTHERS LIKE HIM. AS AN ADVISER TO THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE PARATROOPERS, HE PRESSURED THEM TO PERFORM, BUT TO NO AVAIL. BY 1971, HE WAS THE YOUNGEST COLONEL IN THE US ARMY, AND CONSIDERED A FOUR-STAR MATERIAL. BUT ALL THESE GLORY MOUNTED TO NOTHING. HE WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS MEN WHO WERE BEING SHOT AT THAN HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING A FOUR-STAR GENERAL. THUS, HE FINALLY SUMMONED HIS COURAGE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH AT THE EXPENSE OF HIS CAREER,ONLY FIND THE ARMY ATTEMPTING TO CLAM HIM UP. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL TOO TRITE, IF THE STORY ENED OTHERWISE; IF HE WAS TO WRITE THE MEMOIR AS GENERAL DAVID H. HACKWORTH, USA RET., RATHER THAN COLONEL DAVID H. HACKWORTH. BUT THAT IT ENDS WITH IT A SAD CONCLUSION, MAKES IT ALL THE MORE BELIEVABLE. UNLIKE ANY THING I'VE EVER READ, THIS IS A BOOK I FIND HARD TO PUT DOWN. IT'S TOO SAD THAT HE DID NOT GO ALL THE WAY TO MAKE THE NECESSARY DENT, BUT THE COLONEL DOESN'T THINK SO. I LIKE TO SEE HIM MAKE MORE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM TO THIS GREAT ARMY.

This is the best book ever written about the Korean and Vietnam Wars. I have read about 20 books on these wars and this is the best. I couldn't put it down. Colonel Hackworth is an American hero. Written from the perspective of a front line combat Army soldier. I work at a military hospital and Colonel Hackworth is greatly admired by the soldiers and the staff. America asked these young men to fight for freedom and they did. Thank God they fought for us. Check out Colonel Hackworth's website at hackworth.com. It is full of good information.

I've heard several comments made about about 'Steel My Soldiers Hearts' saying that Hackworth deals a whole lot with self- aggrandization. My answer is that from my perspective, he deserves every bit of praise and honor possible for writing a very truthful book about how the fighting in Vietnam SHOULD have been conducted.

As a combat veteran of Vietnam, I was most taken with his very truthful and accurate description of the many 'perfumed princes' whose goals were ultimately skewed and self-serving. Many commanders in Vietnam were more concerned about climbing the ladder and 'punching tickets' for future promotions than the welfare of the soldiers who served under them. Give Hackworth the highest of credit for two things: molding a tactically sound fighting force and caring enough about those serving under him that American lives lost were kept to a bare minimum as compared to lives lost by the enemy.

For any conflicts that this country may face in the future, the tactical leadership of this country should take a page from Hackworth's accomplishments and study it hard. Sadly, it appears as though the lessons learned in Vietnam have not made an adequate enough impression upon our current leaders.

A wonderful book written by perhaps one of America's last true warriors.

Uncompromising, tough, boots on the ground in the enemy's face. This is the way that David Hackworth ran his battalion and taught them to fight the enemy. That his methods were so successful with an outfit previously dubbed 'hopeless' is vindication of Hack's theory that with proper leadership and training the American soldier can meet and defeat any foe.
Steel My Soldiers' Hearts is more than a simple primer on combat leadership techniques. It is larger than the historic role it will fill in the library of personal reminiscenses of Vietnam. This book captures well the irrational nature of the war as expressed by the national leadership and promulgated down through the military command structure. It touches a poignant nerve of what might have been.
Hack had to fight much more than the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army although they proved to be as tough an opponent as he had met on any battlefield. He had to deal with the double dealing and backstabbing of career army officers to whom a dead GI or a false report was of considerably less condern than risking the next promotion or decoration.
He was continuously at loggerheads with highers up who saw more benefit in using precious helicopter resources to ferry USO entertainers about than to support American troops engaged in battle. He recounts how his battalion staff, trying to run inteference with him while he led from the front on the ground - something mighty scarce among leaders in that war - had to cope with minutiae and bean counting from higher HQ. Exceeding allotted 'blade time' on helicopter assets meant that you would not supply or maneuver troops in contact, for example. He fought the all too common practice of routinely disregarding or downgrading awards and decorations for combat soldiers while quietly approving them for senior officers who never smelled a sweaty armpit or fresh gunpowder.
In the Vietnam era Army the officer's efficiency report form listed 'tact' as an evaluated leadership trait. It was a point of pride for most of us to get low marks in that category. I am certain that David Hackworth set the standard in blunt truth that many of us strove to match. His most recent work Steel My Soldiers' Hearts has only added to his reputation for direct and honest expression of thoughts regardless of whose feelings get hurt.
Stylistically there are places in the book where I would have suggested different word choice or toning down of expression. To me it got in the way of the narrative. However that might not be Hack. And regardless it ought not get in the way of his core message.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Vietnam war as it was not as we hoped it might be. It ought to be required reading for anyone responsible for dispatching, funding, managing or leading troops, especially for the politicians who somehow manage to avoid seeing the product of their failed policies.

...P>"Steel My Soldiers' Hearts" isn't just about a battalion commanding officer or about the man himself or just written by him. It's about every man who was involved here and if you think about it, written by every man who was involed here as David incorporated those interviews in his book. It gives the best picture to date of what grunts and support units went through in Vietnam while for one of the first times allowing those who never experienced fire and death to finally understand and see what war is really like and about. About the only thing that you (non-combat veteran) don't get to do is smell the cordite and burning ammo. Believe me when I say that the vets who were in any war will never forget the smell of that or death. it stays with you forever.

What really showed this man as a real leader was where he admitted his mistakes and explained them in detail along with giving his men credit where the credit was due. To take the time that was involved in researching this book with the visiting of old friends and comrads in arms, shows a man who wanted to tell it like it was and share the wealth by involving everyone in this book.

It is not only a pleasure to read David's books, but to learn from them as they show the mistakes and the poor leadership that's been going on in the military by those too concerned with their careers and personal happiness. But, it also mirrors those who were good leaders and soldiers.

Thanks for sharing with us David and good luck in continuing your writing of more good books.

This is the tale of America's most decorated living hero. From his humble beginnings to his glorious career in the U. S. Army. A man destined to be one of the elite movers and shakers in the military. He became disillusioned with America's war effort in Vietnam and the "ticket-punching" pursuits of the manager-officers. He gave up his career and moved into self-imposed exile. This story is a must read for those interested in the development of the U. S. Army since WWII. It's a real wake-up call

I first came to hear of ABOUT FACE from a friend and fellow NCO in Korea. He said I might think it was good, Was that an understatement. I read About Face in one fourteen hour plane ride back to Korea. I've read it three more times so far and recommend it to all my friends deserving the title Non-Commisioned Officer. I truly believe that all military leaders should read this and take from it; Hack's wisdom and experiance dealing with the military, Integrity and soldiering.

I bought this book when I was about 11 years old and a big fan of "war stories". I am now approaching twenty and have read this book at least once a year since first purchasing it, to the extent that it is now in three parts and the photographs have fallen out. This book is an intense, gripping, readable but most of all honest and believable account of one of America's greatest warriors and his experiences...from the forested slopes of Trieste in 1946 to being chased around Washington DC by Army Intell goons in 1971, this book, while entertaining, will also teach you everything you need to know about duty, honour,bravery and honest patriotism, qualities that come hard to find in the era of Iran-Contra, Tailhook, Whitewater and the like... This book will make you laugh, cry and think. Please, read it.

I have read and enjoyed Col. Hackworth's previous works. He is the consumate "truth-teller". In "The Price of Honor", Sandy Caine's search for the "truth" about what occurred in Vietnam follows Hack's principles. The few combat scenes are well told and page turning, but too brief. The comaraderie between good officers and men in the Special Forces is on target. Where Hack goes somewhat astray in this tale is the foray into Sandy Caine's sexual activities with Abigal Mancini. While the depictions may arguably provide the reader insight into their relationship, Hack should have fallen back on the more subtle and less graphic. For more on SF ops and the frustration to win hearts and minds, try "Immaculate Invasion". Or, for more on Somalia, try "losing Mogadishu", or "Backhawk Down". While not a top on my list, I'd compare it to a W.E.B. Griffin genre. Next time Hack (and I do hope this is just the beginning of his fiction writing)...stick to the guns and leave out the bedroom details.

I normally stay away from non-fiction authors who write fiction because their fiction usually is rarely as good as their non-fiction (the Late Carl Sagan comes to mind.) However, I made an exception for David Hackworth's first novel.

This exception was well worth it. I enjoyed the book as a good, well done read. The plot about the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) and greed is well thought out. I had a problem with some of the climax because some of it turned into stuff from a really bad conspiracy movie. This is a good solid adventure to be enjoyed.

Finally, I would like to make a comment about Hackworth being an SF groupie. That's total BS. He led the equivalent of a Ranger unit in Korea, and his actions in Vietnam from My Canh to his quest to improve small unit training showed that he walked the walk. I really believe that he respects those who live, not speak, the warrior spirit. And if they happen to be SF types, so be it.

Colonel David Hackworth [Hack] has drawn from the experiences of his storied military background and juxtaposed them with his findings as a war reporter-national security critic to write his first novel. The story line develops around the budding career of a young Army captain who has all the right moves: West Point graduate, Airborne Infantry, Ranger, Green Berets. Sandy Caine is the latest scion in a long and distinguished family linkage to the Long, Gray Line. Distinguished, that is, with one exception. Sandy's father had died under mysterious and seemingly dishonorable circumstances in Vietnam [more about that later]. Sandy is like any loyal and dedicated soldier who embraces the Code of Duty, Honor, Country. He goes where the guns are sounding. Where they are sounding are God forsaken places like Somalia and Bosnia. Sandy quickly proves himself to be wise and capable beyond his years in a series of difficult situations. One during which, he makes contact with a seasoned warrior, Sergeant Major Dan Perkins, who had served with his father in Vietnam. Perkins says something to Sandy alluding to his father's valor under fire, but is killed before he can fill Sandy in. The plot then spins around sandy's quest for clarification of the truth about his father. Of course, Sandy has to have a love interest, and here he proves to be not so wise and capable. Perhaps, just a little naive. She's Abigail Mancini, a reporter for a Washington newspaper trying to make the big time with a hot story out of...seems like wherever Sandy happens to be. She gets under Sandy's skin and into his bed. Ultimately, of course, She gets involved with Sandy's search for the truth, finds that herein lies a real story and we're off to the races. Hack takes us through Somalia, then Bosnia, with intermittent trips back stateside to develop political intrigue and coverup of the facts surrounding the death of Sandy's father. Along the way, Hack editorializes, through Sandy's experiences, on the follies of US involvement in every corner of the world: how we screw up doing what we shouldn't be doing. As Yogi would say, its deja vu Vietnam all over again. Inept and or corrupt politicians charting the course. Gutless dilitante generals prosecuting the war. Careerism [a dirty word] in the military. Its Anton Myrers' Courtney Massingale types from Once an Eagle vs a young Sam Damon. But this time, the good guy wins...and he gets the girl. Hack needs to follow up on "Honor", promote young Sandy a few times, and take us with him up the line. There is something powerful the way Hack communicates, through fiction, the devastating impact, which is all too real, of our Government misadventures on people's lives. Besides, does Sandy really get to keep the girl?

When Ike left office, he warned of the emmergence of a military industrial complex. A union forged between high ranking officers in the military, defense contractors, and legislators. Each member of this triangle has a different goal, but a common road that leads to that goal. In this book, Hack documents the toll that the "triangle" is taking, on the soldiers of this country and on its' economy. Hack presents disturbing example after another of how neglected our troops are, from that "gem" of a weapon called the m-16 that cursed our boys in Vietnam, to the cavalier attitude u.n. commanders displayed in mis-using OUR troops in Somalia. When someone tells you that the sky is purple, you don't need to read the detailed report they put together explaining their conclusion, just look out the window and see for yourself. Hack has reported from the front by giving us a first hand look at what no "triangle" spin-doctor can justify, willfull neglect and mis-use of our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. This behaviour does not border on criminal, it goes way beyond that.

Col Hackworth does it again in giving the combat soldier's front line experiences, problems, and on site management of same. Combine this book with his book "About Face" and the Korean/Vietnam tragedies are seen in a much different light than that portrayed in and by the media and many politicians before, during, and after US military involvement in Korea and/or Vietnam.These books by Hackworth are not solely for the military student or professional. They are equally for the civilian politician and taxpaying public that provides for and/or pays the bills for the US (and many foreign) military establishments and similar activities. (Read also Amazon Book Review of "About Face" by Robert W Sheehy)

I really, really enjoyed this book! As a former enlisted US Army soldier myself, this book added extraordinary insight to the confounding, herky-jerky decision making that came from every headquarters higher than Battalion level, regardless of unit.

Col. Hackworth's brilliant revelations on the self-serving motivations of O-5 and higher officers were invaluable and revealing of the top-heavy, job-preserving nature of not only the military, but of the federal government itself.

I must say that a few of Hackworth's "Perfumed Princes" seem to have read the book and given it a sour-grapes 1 star rating. Mainly because of the blunt writing style. God forbid that we should read the truth about self-serving flag officers in plain language!

Hackworth cuts through today's political doublespeak with a chainsaw. Part of what's wrong with America today is an unwillingness of high-level decision makers to speak plainly, in layman's terms.

Dissertation-dry military books are as full of misdirection and obfuscation as a US congressman. Truth and plain speaking are as rare as hen's teeth in the litigation-cowed tortocracy that is America today.

If you want hoity-toity, quasi-intellectual pabulum, read someone else. If you want the truth, from a warrior who's been there and is willing to stand up the slings and arrows of the entrenched status quo elite, then Col. Hackworth delivers in spades.