Whispers in the Tall Grass

by Nick Brokhausen

Imprint: Casemate

216 Pages, 6 x 9 in

Hardcover
9781612007755
October 2019
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$32.95

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9781612007762
October 2019

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Description
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Praise

The previously unpublished second volume of Nick Brokhausen's vivid and riveting memoir of his experiences in MACV-SOG in Vietnam.

“This battle-scarred memoir is an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” -New York Journal of Books

Whispers in the Tall Grass is the second volume of Nick Brokhausen’s riveting memoir of his time serving in Recon Teams Habu and Crusader, CNN, part of MACV-SOG. These small recon teams, comprising Americans and indigenous Montagnards, conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Picking up where We Few left off, Whispers in the Tall Grass opens as the war moves into a new phase. The enemy are using special formations to hunt recon teams and missions are now rarely accomplished without heavy contact. Despite the teams’ careful prep, losses are mounting. More and more missions are extracted by Bright Lights until eventually classic recon missions are almost impossible, and the teams briefly trial HALO insertion. Finally, as the US prepares to withdraw, the teams undertake back-to-back missions directing air strikes and disrupting supply lines to ease the pressure on the ARVN. Broken by the pace, but desperate not to leave the Yards, Brokhausen is ordered to out-process, his request for extension denied, and is forced to leave his friends—his brothers—behind.

Written in the same vivid, immediate style that made We Few a cult classic, Whispers in the Tall Grass follows Habu, Crusader and other teams as they undertake missions in this new, deadlier phase of the war. The narrative veers from hair-raising to tragic and back as the teams insert into hot targets, act as Bright Light for stricken teams, and play hard in between missions to diffuse the ever-rising tension.

Brokhausen’s account brings home the reality and the detail of operating for days within mere meters of the enemy, and movingly convey the bonds that war creates between soldiers.

"Brokhausen tells all in a masterfully gonzo style of reporting and recollection shaped by clever gallows humor which meshes with the immediacy and danger of the situation in ways only a true soldier can pull off." ~Booklist

"His command of language shows originality, particularly when he describes military feats and individual emotions." ~The VVA Veteran

“His account of suicidal missions behind the lines in Vietnam is in the best tradition of military memoirs, startlingly alive, and showing the bonds between comrades.” ~Leatherneck Magazine

"Reading with all the inherent and riveting drama of a deftly crafted novel, "Whispers in the Tall Grass" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library 20th Century American Military History and Contemporary American Biography collections in general, and Vietnam War supplemental studies lists in particular." ~Midwest Book Review

"There is much here for the wargamer..'' ~Miniature Wargames

“Brokhausen’s personal account is gritty, harrowing, descriptive, and full of detail… His account is full of visceral accounts of battle, soldierly descriptions of fellow warriors, and other tales both mundane and exceptional. The various missions described are full of the sort of military detail and recall expected of a reconnaissance operator, giving a vivid impression of the activities of the author’s unit. The everyday prose flows naturally and draws the reader into the narrative.” ~Christopher Miskimon, Military Heritage

“Brokhausen is as hard-boiled as they come, but this book is also replete with plenty of humor, even if it is obsidian black … an excellent and exceptionally raw look at the Vietnam War just at the apex of its unpopularity… this battle-scarred memoir is an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” ~New York Journal of Books

“Brokhausen mixes irreverence, perversity, and sarcasm with touches of gonzo journalism to recreate his 1970 tour with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group… Brokhausen draws convincing pictures of his fellow Green Berets’ combat skills and idiosyncrasies and the areas in which they operated. He taught me lessons about Special Forces tactics and weapons—more than I learned from Ken Burns’ television saga on Vietnam, which I never finished watching.” ~Vietnam Veterans of America

“Brokhausen interconnects anecdotal accounts of small-unit tactical engagements to provide an overview of the challenges, opportunities and risks associated with support from Joint Forces capabilities during the Vietnam War. He transmits details that activate each human sense through an imaginative response to the reproduction of a mission… We Few, U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam is a recommended read for smallunit leaders and others seeking a short but entertaining nonfictional book.” ~ARMOR Magazine