Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14104 in Books
• Published on: 1984-08-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 398 pages

From the Back Cover
A stunning book about the right stuff in the wrong war.

As a child, Robert Mason dreamed of levitating. As a young man, he dreamed of flying helicopters - and the U.S. Army gave him his chance. They sent him to Vietnam where, between August 1965 and July 1966, he flew more than 1,000 assault missions. In Chickenhawk, Robert Mason gives us a devastating bird's eye-view of that war in all its horror, as he experiences the accelerating terror, the increasingly desperate courage of a man 'acting out the role of a hero long after he realises that the conduct of the war is insane,' says the New York Times, 'And we can't stop ourselves from identifying with it.'

About the Author
Robert Mason
Robert Mason is married and lives in the United States.

Customer Reviews

The best possible, true story, of a Vietnam helicopter pilot
I first read this book about 15 years ago and was absolutely stunned, both by the story itself, and how it was told.

Robert Mason's writing style is so matter-of-fact that everything rings true, and is superbly entertaining at the same time. The reader feels that he can fly a helicopter himself, so convincing are the descriptions about the training, the flying controls, the night-time formation flying, etc.

If you were a teenager in the 60's (like me), the Vietnam war is usually remembered through the newsreel bulletins of the time, with their footage of B-52 air strikes, burning Vietnamese villages and so on. Robert Mason's book tells the same story of what was (ultimately) a terrible waste of time, money, and, not least, human life. However, this book transports you to Vietnam itself, so vivid are the recollections. Mason's descriptions of the people involved in the conflict, mostly North & South Vietnamese and American, gives a completely authentic insight into their mentality at that time. On the one side, Communists, fanatical in their fight against Colonial/Imperial rule, who built tunnels under the enemy and would walk or cycle into battle, and on the other, the (mostly) Americans, who had the best military technology in the world and could fly anywhere in the country by fast jet, military transport or, more likely, in a Bell Huey helicopter, as flown by Robert Mason, and described so brilliantly in Chickenhawk.

My own first copy of the book, bought so many years ago, was lent to a friend and never returned. It's replacement, now also a few years old, has been read and re-read so often that it is well worn and dog-eared. It's a great book - perhaps it's time I got it off the shelf again!.

A gripping and shocking book
This is the story of how a boy, like so many others before and after him, left his rural home to fight for his country and really didn't and couldn't possibly envisage what horrors lay in store in Vietnam. What makes it more readable is the fact that he clearly is not a trained writer, so we are left with a very lean, stripped-down and hard-hitting narrative. He has a conversational style and you can picture him sitting across a table from you for a couple of hours and telling you what he did and saw in Vietnam. He arrives as a fresh, green Huey chopper pilot recruit, eager to so his bit for Uncle Sam. He leaves scarred, disillusioned and horrified and his life is never the same afterwards. If you've never read about the Vietnam War(I have read more than 30 books about the conflict) before, then start here. He is honest and you do get swept along by the vividness of his story. Highly recommended.

A hard hitting book about a year in the Air Cav, Vietnam
Chickenhawk begins in the summer of 1964 as the young and dreamy rookie pilot, Charles Mason, began training to become an Army aviator. By July 1966 he returns to the States a wrecked man, after spending a year flying helicopters in Vietnam.

When I read the book I was immediately struck by Mason's down-to-earth and unpretentious style in communicating just what was going on, not only around him but also in his mind. It's certainly a brave story. Mason freely describes his gradual mental decline when confronted with the lunacy and tragedy of the war.

Readers with historical or aviation interests will not be disappointed. Throughout the book there are subtle clues as to why the Americans would ultimately fail. In terms of helicopters, Mason conveys a wealth of information and mission detail that gives the reader a real birds-eye-view of the war.

I highly recommend Chickenhawk, not as a war story, but a human story. Few readers will fail not to be touched by this man's experiences; it's a lasting testimony to everything that is wrong about war.