The Village | 
 enlarge | Author: Bing West
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 34428
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0743457579
Dewey Decimal Number: 959.70438
EAN: 9780743457576
ASIN: 0743457579
Publication Date: December 31, 2002
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Product Description
In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days -- half of them died.Few American battles have been so extended, savage and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are now a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought and died. And why the villagers remember them to this day.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 Good book... lots of lessons applicable to today's wars November 9, 2008
This book was very useful in trying to understand what it is like to fight a war among people who have mixed loyalties. Lots of things to think about. Yes, it was Vietnam and that has been 40 years ago, but there are lessons here for Iraq and Afghanistan too. A very interesting read. For what it is worth, this is what I got from the book.
1. The effort to take territory and keep it, and to work with the locals for their own defense seemed to have worked, temporarily. The people, above all, wanted security and freedom. They also wanted to be safe from indiscriminate shelling and bombing of their villages, so having an American presence helped to assure that. Lesson: Although casualties will increase, it is better to be out among the populace, sharing their concerns and working together with them, than it is to be secure in your bases.
2. The locals who had lived in and around the village had to choose their loyalties. As long as they believed the American presence was short term, they wouldn't side with the Americans, even if they preferred what they had to offer. They knew that once the Americans pulled out, they would be thrown back to the wolves and those who had cooperated with the Americans would be targeted. Lesson: If we aren't in it for the long run, don't start.
3. 20 years on, no one even remembered that people had fought and died there for the security of the village. The larger political storm had overtaken everything else. Lesson: The military efforts must be working in parallel with the political agenda. If they end up working at cross purposes, failure will be the result. And, if the political will falters the sacrifices of the soldiers and civilians will change little. Again, don't start unless you are in it for the long run.
A good book. The young men who fought and died in that village deserve our respect and admiration.
 small wars great men October 15, 2008
I thought this was a great lesson on how to win against insurgencies one village at a time. This was a unvarnished true story of one village and some US Marines who stopped the VC at their doorstep.
Very Good Read March 10, 2008
The Village is a very good read while at the same time contains applicable lessons to future wars.
The way the Vietnam War should have been fought February 14, 2008
Probably the way that the VN War should have been conducted (provided that we belonged there in the first place); very aggressive small unit tactics constructed around endless night patrols in all kinds of weather and the formation of long term, respectful relations with the local fighters and populous. Well written.
A Day In The Life In Vietnam December 18, 2007
Cutting through all the politics and proganda the clouds the Vietnam War, this book gives a simple history of soldiers defending one village during the war. In simple language and without florid rhetoric, West presents a story of heroism and dedication of individuals, American and Vietnamese, defending themselves in a complex military and civil war. Great for anyone interested in the military or in what good soldiers did in this war. You cannot help but be proud of these individuals, regardless of your view of the War generally.
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