In Pharaoh's Army
Despite his impressive credentials as a paratrooper and former Green Beret, Tobias Wolff recognises in himself laughably little talent for the military life and no taste at all for the war. A young officer out of his depth, he lives in boredom and terror and grief for lost friends; then and in the years to come, he reckons the cost of staying alive. Much has been written about the scarring Vietnam experience, but never with the blend of exactitude, humanity, grotesque humour, and painful truth that marks the work of Tobias Wolff.