About this ebook
The hilarity of M*A*S*H meets the satire of Catch 22 in one distinctive Australian voice.
'We need to send our survey party there!' (pointing to map) 'But Colonel, we cain't do it. that's the most insecure area in the whole country!' 'Insecure? Goddamn it! the greatest concentration of American troops in the country is there!' 'Yes Colonel, and have you considered why the greatest concentration of American troops is right there?' CAPtAIN BULLEN'S WAR combines the irreverent humour of M*A*S*H with the sharp satire of Catch 22 in portraying one man's extraordinary experiences of the war in Vietnam in 1968, the bloodiest year of the conflict. the difference is that neither Captain John Bullen nor his experiences are fictional. Nor was he a reluctant soldier. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and a career soldier in the Australian Army, Bullen commanded the vital map-producing section of the Australian task Force at Nui Dat. Alert to the possibility of humour in the bleakest circumstances, he decided to chronicle the events around him. What emerges is one of the most darkly funny and lacerating accounts of the Vietnam War ever written. Strewn with wonderful character sketches and hilarious anecdotes, CAPtAIN BULLEN'S WAR is more than just one man's insightful account of the absurdity of war. He perceives with unsparing clarity the nature and enormity of the conflict around him. A thoughtful, decent man, Bullen's is a voice of sanity in a world gone mad.
'We need to send our survey party there!' (pointing to map) 'But Colonel, we cain't do it. that's the most insecure area in the whole country!' 'Insecure? Goddamn it! the greatest concentration of American troops in the country is there!' 'Yes Colonel, and have you considered why the greatest concentration of American troops is right there?' CAPtAIN BULLEN'S WAR combines the irreverent humour of M*A*S*H with the sharp satire of Catch 22 in portraying one man's extraordinary experiences of the war in Vietnam in 1968, the bloodiest year of the conflict. the difference is that neither Captain John Bullen nor his experiences are fictional. Nor was he a reluctant soldier. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and a career soldier in the Australian Army, Bullen commanded the vital map-producing section of the Australian task Force at Nui Dat. Alert to the possibility of humour in the bleakest circumstances, he decided to chronicle the events around him. What emerges is one of the most darkly funny and lacerating accounts of the Vietnam War ever written. Strewn with wonderful character sketches and hilarious anecdotes, CAPtAIN BULLEN'S WAR is more than just one man's insightful account of the absurdity of war. He perceives with unsparing clarity the nature and enormity of the conflict around him. A thoughtful, decent man, Bullen's is a voice of sanity in a world gone mad.
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About the author
Paul Ham is the author of many highly acclaimed histories, including KOKODA, VIETNAM, SANDAKAN, 1914 and PASSCHENDAELE. He was born and educated in Australia and lives in Paris, having spent several years working in Britain as a journalist and publisher.
Captain John Bullen commanded 1 Topographical Survey Troop of the Australian Task Force at Nui Dat. He had previously served in National Service, in the Citizen Military Forces and with the Australian Regular Army as a soldier before being commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1958. He retired from the Army in 1983 and joined the staff of the Australian War Memorial. Paul Ham is the award-winning author of VIETNAM: THE AUSTRALIAN WAR and KOKODA.
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