The Nightingale's SongRobert Timberg weaves together the lives of Annapolis graduates John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter to reveal how the Vietnam War continues to haunt America. Casting all five men as metaphors for a legion of well-meaning if ill-starred warriors, Timberg probes the fault line between those who fought the war and those who used money, wit, and connections to avoid battle. A riveting tale that illuminates the flip side of the fabled Vietnam generation -- those who went. |
Contents
Prologue | 13 |
Introduction | 23 |
Halos and Horns | 31 |
Imagination Is Funny | 49 |
Showdown | 61 |
Fields of Fire | 85 |
Fire at Sea | 92 |
Music Bingo Dummy Math | 100 |
A Tutorial with the Greats | 221 |
Reentry | 229 |
A Change of Heart | 240 |
Pug Henry | 248 |
Women Cant Fight | 255 |
Guerrilla Warfare | 264 |
Garlic in a Crowded Elevator | 272 |
The Nightingales Song Introduction | 285 |
Welcome to the Gallant Marines | 109 |
Do You Want to Go Home? | 132 |
The Natural | 151 |
Trusting the System | 162 |
Tis the Season to Be Jolly | 171 |
Stranger in a Strange Land | 175 |
The Reasonable and Honest War Criminal | 188 |
Long Tall Sally | 193 |
The Water Walker | 199 |
Adult Education | 212 |
Ollie Bud and John | 291 |
The Candidate from Hanoi | 298 |
Scorpions in a Jar | 306 |
Noble Cause Redux | 318 |
The Doubters | 329 |
Where Was Al Krekich When We Needed Him? | 411 |
A Note on Research Methods | 477 |
Bibliography | 500 |
Acknowledgments | 522 |
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