365 Days

I found out about _365 Days_ in an unusual way. I was reading Peter Straub's novel _The Throat_, in which the main character, a Vietnam vet investigating the murder of his friend's wife, spent his free time reading this doctor's memoir of the Vietnam conflict. Intrigued by the mention of a book within a book, and being both a doctor and an active duty soldier with an interest in history, I wanted to find out if it was real. It, of all things, is very real.Dr. Ronald Glasser treated wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefields of Vietnam to Zama, one of four US Army hospitals in Japan starting in September of 1968. He records the experiences of men and women working throughout the area of operation in a wide range of duties, such as infantrymen, nurses, commanders, pilots, rangers and physicians. Glasser recounts their experiences in training prior to coming to war, detailed accounts of engaging the enemy, and time spent in hospital being treated for their wounds. One person's story comprises each chapter, which opens with a quotation or poem by a service member; Glasser includes a glossary of medical and military terms in the back of the book for readers without specialized knowledge of either field. He does an amazing job of encompassing so much in such a comparatively slim book; _365 Days_ conveys more in fewer than 300 pages than volumes of historical text.What makes Glasser's book so moving is the depth of information it contains. He does such a tremendous job for manifesting the entire raw spectacle of the events, in full technical detail, that you're thrust into the middle of the firefight, the recovery room, the training field. Glasser has a gift for bringing the personality of his subjects to life, so you can feel their struggles, their frustrations and their pain.There certainly is a lot of pain in this book. There's a lot of horror and repulsiveness too, along with sadness, and examples of dedication and personal courage too. War is very difficult to observe, and harder to participate in, in both overt and subtle ways, and Dr. Glassner ably performs in bearing witness. A must-read for anyone who serves their country in the armed forces, and an emotionally demanding yet worthwhile lesson about the bravery and sacrifices of US veterans for everyone.

I have been on a Vietnam reading jag.The last several have been personal, the individual experiences of the author. I assume 365 days is the same, but unique and different in that it is a collection of individual stories, written by 1author about the things he has heard from the men who have come through his hospital or told him from other settings.It's hard reading. If you don't want to know about the horrors of this war (probably others), don't read it. Parts of it are raw as the truth often is. I treat veterans and I need to understand as much as I can because I haven't experienced war personally. I am a Vietnam era vet, but not a Vietnam vet. Reading books like this is the only way I can begin to understand, and then only at an intellectual level. I thank Glassman and others for having the courage to essentially re-traumatize themselves to tell these important stories. The horrors of this war are unfathomable. The first story I heard as a psychology intern in 1970 I didn't believe. When I said so to a staff member, I was told that if this infantryman turned administrative in a psych unit said it happened, it was true. I didn't want to believe he had watched a fellow soldier flayed alive by the VC or anything else he said. Glassman captures the tales and passes them on to his readers so we can know of the horrors, courage, and sacrifices of a generation of young men, many right out of high school. They never received the respect and honor owed them.

My bookshelf overflows with books about the folly of Indo-ChinaI spent most of a year as a ships officer on Merchant ships in and out of the rivers of Vietnam supporting the War. I was not in hand-to-hand or a point man on patrol, but living for months at a time in the Saigon River changed my life. It sent my best school friends to Arlington and made my only brother, originally an alum of West Point, become himself a more recent alum of Zama.I knew I had to write a book about the experiences of we Mariners who pushed ships up the rivers of Vietnam loaded with 20,000 tons of bombs, rockets and Claymore mines; fodder for the Viet Cong sappers. Thus I began to read everything of any importance. Started with Bernard Fall "Hell in a very small place" and graduated to the excellent "Dispatches" by Michael Herr. Book after book after book led to a mastery of the subject. Work on my Doctorate for this course was solidified by Dr. Glasser in "365 days".There are many excellent books about this War, such as "Matterhorn", however the vignettes provided by "Dispatches" and "365 days" carry much more meat on the bone. I cannot read quickly through either book...there must be time for thought and perspective following each of the short stories.The majority of complaints about books such as "Matterhorn" or "365 days" seems to be about jargon. If you do not like or understand the jargon, this book was not for you...go back to rags about everyday life. For those of us who must set straight the wind of this conflict which permanently bent the boughs of our young sappling selves, we are deeply indebted to the excellence of this book by Dr. Glasser.I can only hope that my memoir holds up a small candle to his bright light.

I went through the medical evacuation system and met Dr. Glasser. Wonderful professional docs.

Bought this to try to inspire my son for his History GCSE, he loved it as much as I did so it does work for different ages, although its obviously quite moving and upsetting at times its never a boring read.

I had a copy this book many years ago, lent it to someone never got it back, Good book

Read it when first published, even better after all this time. Book in excellent condition and prompt delivery.

This book brings home the brutal reality of Conflict.

One of the best books about the Vietnam conflict I have ever read.