Argues that the examination of contemporary American war narratives can lead to newfound understandings of American literature, American history, and American national purpose. To prove such a contention, the book blends literary, rhetorical, and cultural methods of analysis.

American Myth, Vietnam, and the Prospect of Repetition Philip Caputo's Deconstruction of the Warrior-Hero Ideal Michael Herr's Dispatches and the Allure of Combat The Perversion of Labor in Larry Heinemann's Vietnam Tim O'Brien's Search for an Ideal Femininity Community in Bobbie Ann Mason's War Fiction

TY HAWKINS Assistant professor of English at Walsh University of Ohio, USA.