''Dispatches'' is a

New Journalism New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non ...

book by

Michael Herr Michael David Herr (April 13, 1940 – June 23, 2016) was an American writer and war correspondent, known as the author of '' Dispatches'' (1977), a memoir of his time as a correspondent for ''Esquire'' (1967–1969) during the Vietnam War. The ...

that describes the author's experiences in Vietnam as a war correspondent for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine. First published in 1977, ''Dispatches'' was one of the first pieces of

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

that portrayed the experiences of soldiers in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

for American readers. "Dispatches" arrived late. Herr served as Esquire’s correspondent from 1967 to 1969, and returned to the United States intending to produce a book about what he’d seen there immediately, but 18 months after his return, he suffered a nervous breakdown due to the events that he witnessed and stopped writing for five years, until it was ultimately published in 1977. Featured in the book are fellow war correspondents Sean Flynn,

Dana Stone Dana Hazen Stone (April 18, 1939; disappeared April 6, 1970) was an American photojournalist who worked for CBS, United Press International, and Associated Press during the Vietnam War. Biography Stone first traveled to Vietnam in 1965. Befo ...

, and

Dale Dye Dale Adam Dye Jr. (born October 8, 1944) is an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer. A decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializ ...

, and photojournalist Tim Page. ''Dispatches'' was reprinted in 2009 by

Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & Ni ...

as a contemporary classic.

Reception

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

called ''Dispatches'' "the best book I have ever read on men and war in our time." It was featured in the journalism section of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s 100 greatest non-fiction book list in 2011. However, after publishing ''Dispatches'', Herr disclosed that parts of the book were invented, and that it would be better for it ''not'' to be regarded as journalism. In a 1990 interview with ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', he admitted that the characters Day Tripper and Mayhew in the book are "totally fictional characters", and went on to say: Similarly, in a separate interview with Eric James Schroeder, he said:

In screenplays

Herr worked on the narration for the movie ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...

'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the movie ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel ''The Short-Timers'' and stars Matthew M ...

'' and several scenes and pieces of dialogue used in the book were later also used in those movies.

References

1977 non-fiction books Vietnam War books Non-fiction novels Non-fiction books about war Alfred A. Knopf books {{Vietnam-war-book-stub