This Never-Never Land does not seem recognizable as Vietnam anymore, given how much the nation has changed since the cessation of the conflict. Ironically, Herr's portrait of a world-upside down might seem to better reflect the current situation in Iraq, another nation which is torn apart by a confusing array of factions and bloody violence. Of course the terrain, nature of the fighting, and the ideological issues at stake are very different in Iraq, and the historical analogy is far from perfect. But Herr is not talking about history so much as emotions, and the failure of Americans to truly understand a situation and a worldview different than their own. As an American,...

Vietnamese soldiers appear as dismembered victims of violence more than they do as actual subjects and speakers. But for this Herr may be forgiven, as the aim of his book is not comprehensive, rather it is about the limits of the American worldview.
Works Cited

Herr, Michael. Dispatches. New York: Vintage, 1991.

Michael Herr, Dispatches (New York: Vintage, 1991), p.43

Herr, p.49

Herr, p.207

Herr, p.49

Herr, p.209

Herr, p.61

Herr, p.63

Herr, p.14