Body Count by William Turner Huggett

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
Written with total immediacy and gut-honesty by a former combat officer, Body Count is about the Marine Corps as no recruiting poster will ever picture it. Whether the scene is a bloody battle against a brilliantly resourceful enemy, or a brothel where desperate men seek violent pleasures, every page bears the vivid stamp of one who was there and has the overwhelming talent to bring it to life the way it really was. You have never experienced anything quite like it. You will never forget it. - taken from back of book

My thoughts:
Body Count is a honest look at war in Vietnam from the perspective of a small group of men in Delta Company. William Turner Huggett writes about these men in fast paced battle scenes, in sweaty brothels in Nam, while they are relaxing in the rear, and while they are in Tokyo for R'n'R. There are some hilarious moments while some of the men pull pranks and goof around. But there are sad times too as some of these characters we come to really like die. An underlying theme of this novel is race issues. There are two characters, Wilson and Carlyle, both black men who are on opposite ends of the black power movement. Huggett writes about racism in Vietnam throughout the novel and the reader can see how it affects both Wilson and Carlyle in vastly different ways. The only complaint I have with this book, and it prevents me from giving it 5 stars, is the ending. There is little or no resolutions at the end. Huggett never says what happens to these men. After a final battle scene he pretty much ends the book and I was left with a lot of questions. Overall, Body Count is an impressive novel about a group of men in Vietnam and the living and fighting they do while they are there.