If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home

Tim O'Brien's 1973 memoir of his Vietnam service covers his tour to Vietnam as a combat infantryman, with the Americal Division in the region around My Lai, from 1969-70. It is one of the earliest books about Vietnam by a combatant and also one of the early entrants in the genre now called "creative nonfiction." It is a very clear eyed, gripping account of his war.

Updated August 25, 2010