Fiction

Matterhorn

Matterhorn

  • Downloads：8303
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-22 09:52:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-14
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Karl Marlantes
  • ISBN：1848874960
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Fire Support Base Matterhorn: a fortress carved out of the grey-green mountain jungle。 Cold monsoon clouds wreath its mile-high summit， concealing a battery of 105-mm howitzers surrounded by deep bunkers， carefully constructed fields of fire and the 180 marines of Bravo Company。 Just three kilometres from Laos and two from North Vietnam， there is no more isolated outpost of America's increasingly desperate war in Vietnam。

Second Lieutenant Waino Mellas， 21 years old and just a few days into his 13-month tour， has barely arrived at Matterhorn before Bravo Company is ordered to abandon their mountain and sent deep in-country in pursuit of a North Vietnamese Army unit of unknown size。

Beyond the relative safety of the perimeter wire， Mellas will face disease， starvation， leeches， tigers and an almost invisible enemy。 Beneath the endless jungle canopy， Bravo Company will confront competing ambitions， duplicitous officers and simmering racial tensions。 Behind them， always， Matterhorn。 The impregnable mountain fortress they built and then abandoned， without a shot， to the North Vietnamese Army。。。

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Reviews

Jack ，

Insightful and gripping。 A fictional tale of the war that is honest in its potrayal of the horrors。

Neil Crocker ，

An amazing book by someone who lived it that provides incredible insights into what it meant to be front line （in the bush） and other horrible places in Vietnam。 "Apocalypse Now" on steroids， with more of the details。 An amazing book by someone who lived it that provides incredible insights into what it meant to be front line （in the bush） and other horrible places in Vietnam。 "Apocalypse Now" on steroids， with more of the details。 。。。more

Delany ，

I finished the 560+ pages over a period of about3-4 days; I found it a gripping， well-written novel and a nearly cinematic experience。 It’s been 30+ years since I’ve read a novel or memoir set in the Vietnam War — this one now ranks in my list of the top tier of those books。 It’s compelling and harrowing， and the characters are complex and believable。 Drawbacks: I was ready for it to be over about 100 pages before it ended， and the sub-plot about the Black Marines could， I think， have been handl I finished the 560+ pages over a period of about3-4 days; I found it a gripping， well-written novel and a nearly cinematic experience。 It’s been 30+ years since I’ve read a novel or memoir set in the Vietnam War — this one now ranks in my list of the top tier of those books。 It’s compelling and harrowing， and the characters are complex and believable。 Drawbacks: I was ready for it to be over about 100 pages before it ended， and the sub-plot about the Black Marines could， I think， have been handled better。 。。。more

Dana ，

Don't let the length turn you off。 You do need the time to invest in this， but it's hardly just 500 pages of military jargon。 Wonderfully blends the day to day reality of the boots on the ground， with overarching political and racial contexts。 A study of both the best and worst of humanity as it can only be seen in war。 Graphic， emotional， page turner in the best sense of the term。 Don't let the length turn you off。 You do need the time to invest in this， but it's hardly just 500 pages of military jargon。 Wonderfully blends the day to day reality of the boots on the ground， with overarching political and racial contexts。 A study of both the best and worst of humanity as it can only be seen in war。 Graphic， emotional， page turner in the best sense of the term。 。。。more

Bethany White ，

This is a long but well worth it book。 It was heartbreaking and eye opening。It really brought to life the hardships of war。 I was sad when it ended。

Katelyn ，

4。5 stars。 Excellent novel about the daily lives of soldiers during the Vietnam War。 Written by a Vietnam War veteran。 Starts out slow， but the pacing picks up and by the end you feel like you want to keep following these soldiers' lives。 Would make a great pairing with "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien。 Highly recommended。 4。5 stars。 Excellent novel about the daily lives of soldiers during the Vietnam War。 Written by a Vietnam War veteran。 Starts out slow， but the pacing picks up and by the end you feel like you want to keep following these soldiers' lives。 Would make a great pairing with "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Zachary ，

Messed up。

Marshall Snyder ，

In my opinion， the definitive Vietnam novel。 Marlantes gets everything right - the tactics， the language， the personalities， and the ethos of the Marine Corps。 Hard to read， but the book delivers on the tragedy of the war。

Jurgen Rose ，

Great literature on USMC in Vietnam。

Sabina Britton ，

actually liked this book more than i thought i was going to as i'm not really into military history/war etc but i had empathy for the characters and the book really brought over the futility of war actually liked this book more than i thought i was going to as i'm not really into military history/war etc but i had empathy for the characters and the book really brought over the futility of war 。。。more

Martijn ，

Wat een indrukwekkend boek！ Het neemt je mee met Waino Mellas， een jonge Amerikaanse marinier die gaandeweg leert hoe het is om als een pion te fungeren in een zinloze oorlog。 De gevechtssituaties， maar ook de onderlinge raciale conflicten en andere problemen binnen het korps mariniers worden zo intens beschreven dat je echt meeleeft met de personages en soms ook het gevoel krijgt alsof je zelf deel uitmaakt van de Bravo compagnie。 Het genre van de oorlogsroman moet je aanspreken， maar voor mij Wat een indrukwekkend boek！ Het neemt je mee met Waino Mellas， een jonge Amerikaanse marinier die gaandeweg leert hoe het is om als een pion te fungeren in een zinloze oorlog。 De gevechtssituaties， maar ook de onderlinge raciale conflicten en andere problemen binnen het korps mariniers worden zo intens beschreven dat je echt meeleeft met de personages en soms ook het gevoel krijgt alsof je zelf deel uitmaakt van de Bravo compagnie。 Het genre van de oorlogsroman moet je aanspreken， maar voor mij verdient het boek zeker 5 sterren！ 。。。more

M。S。 ，

Lang niet zo door een boek meegezogen。 Tekst zal altijd tekortschieten als het aankomt op het overbrengen van ontberingen aan het front， maar Vietnamveteraan Marlantes dient talloze passages op waarin de uitputting， doodsangst， dorst， pijn， honger， frustratie， radeloosheid van de soldaten heel eventjes bijna voelbaar worden。De overvloed aan militair jargon en veelvoud aan personages waren aanvankelijk wel wat intimiderend， maar eenmaal die drempel voorbij stond me een intense， aangrijpende leese Lang niet zo door een boek meegezogen。 Tekst zal altijd tekortschieten als het aankomt op het overbrengen van ontberingen aan het front， maar Vietnamveteraan Marlantes dient talloze passages op waarin de uitputting， doodsangst， dorst， pijn， honger， frustratie， radeloosheid van de soldaten heel eventjes bijna voelbaar worden。De overvloed aan militair jargon en veelvoud aan personages waren aanvankelijk wel wat intimiderend， maar eenmaal die drempel voorbij stond me een intense， aangrijpende leeservaring te wachten die nog wel 500 pagina's had mogen doorgaan， hoe gruwelijk en deprimerend de inhoud geregeld ook is。 。。。more

Alex ，

'Matterhorn' is a realistic， mud-level novel of Marine Corps infantrymen in the Vietnam War。 If you're interested in land warfare， Vietnam， or the Marine Corps， you'll find it worth your while。I'm not particularly interested in land warfare， the Marine Corps， or Vietnam。 I read this book because it was recommended by a shipmate。 Regardless， I found it a thoughtful， serious novel。 I recommended it to my teenage son， who aspires to become an Officer of Marines。 That said， I think the novel suffers 'Matterhorn' is a realistic， mud-level novel of Marine Corps infantrymen in the Vietnam War。 If you're interested in land warfare， Vietnam， or the Marine Corps， you'll find it worth your while。I'm not particularly interested in land warfare， the Marine Corps， or Vietnam。 I read this book because it was recommended by a shipmate。 Regardless， I found it a thoughtful， serious novel。 I recommended it to my teenage son， who aspires to become an Officer of Marines。 That said， I think the novel suffers from its lack of a strong protagonist。 This is a story about a bunch of Marines slogging it out in the jungle， and it gave me no one character to really care about。 The book has no strong antagonist， either - just a bunch of REMFers doing their best。Still， this is as good a description of the ground-level war in Vietnam as you're likely to find。 If you care about land warfare， Vietnam， or the Marine Corps， this book is for you。 。。。more

Nathan Price ，

This fictional account of the Vietnam War， centered on a wanna-be hero 2nd Lt。， addresses the "elephant in the room" that is war with no-holds-barred gritty realism that will give you a new perspective on some of the challenges our young men and women faced during that tumultuous conflict。 Marlantes manages to convey massive amounts of detail and the minutia of war through an engaging human drama that will leave you unable to put the book down （or pause it as the case may be）。 Pinchot perfectly This fictional account of the Vietnam War， centered on a wanna-be hero 2nd Lt。， addresses the "elephant in the room" that is war with no-holds-barred gritty realism that will give you a new perspective on some of the challenges our young men and women faced during that tumultuous conflict。 Marlantes manages to convey massive amounts of detail and the minutia of war through an engaging human drama that will leave you unable to put the book down （or pause it as the case may be）。 Pinchot perfectly captures the emotions of the wide variety of personal interactions and conflicts that helps paint a vivid picture of Marlantes' story almost as if it were happening in front you。 An absolute must read for any student of the history of modern ground combat， or for anyone wishing to better understand some of the sacrifices our military service members make。 。。。more

Dustin Porter ，

Striking example of what our asks if our military members。 While today’s challenges are very different than those from Vietnam， I think most civilians would be surprised to hear that many of these interagency problems still exist。 I just ask that the people in our country remember that most of us that serve in the military are still working towards a goal of keeping our families and friends safe from those that would do us harm。

Jeff Mincy ，

Fiction is not my favorite type of book to read， and when you start Matterhorn， you are committing to reading a novel in the truest sense of the word。 It takes some time to dig into this work。 That’s the main reason this book that I have owned for years sat on the shelf unread。 The character development is extensive， and the descriptions of combat are complex and detailed right down to military hardware， communication， jargon， and slang。 Just when I was getting bogged down， the book would suck m Fiction is not my favorite type of book to read， and when you start Matterhorn， you are committing to reading a novel in the truest sense of the word。 It takes some time to dig into this work。 That’s the main reason this book that I have owned for years sat on the shelf unread。 The character development is extensive， and the descriptions of combat are complex and detailed right down to military hardware， communication， jargon， and slang。 Just when I was getting bogged down， the book would suck me in， and I had to know what would happen on the next page。 I think the book ending is well done。 It ends with a shocking event and then the protagonist， goes about the daily routine of being a junior combat officer in a war。 It was also refreshing for the author not to throw a happy ending love story that so many fictional war books seem to throw in the mix。 You start to think he is going to do it， but then he flips it to go further into a character study of the protagonist。 All in all it’s a great novel and I could see why it is recommended to young infantry officers。 I believe it’s also an important book for people who have never and will never see what life is like for the infantry soldier or Marine holding the rifle in a combat zone。 The only reason its not five stars is more to my personal rating system in that it took me some time to get throught it。 。。。more

Chris Jones ，

One of the best books I’ve ever read， let alone one of the best Vietnam war books I’ve read。 No other book on the Vietnam war has made me feel like I was really there with the Platoon as much as this one。

John Winters ，

Damn！Maybe the best novel I have ever read。 This pulled at my heart strings， stirred up anger and sadness and hope and despair。 I could not put it down。

Judy ，

Just finished this book， and my heart physically hurts。 This is a heart wrenching look at the Vietnam War and the boys （many still teenagers） that fought it。 It is a powerful book， that doesn't sugar coat anything。 There is sadness， anger， pain and a bond of loyalty and friendship that I will never truly understand。 I won't lie， this was a tough one to read。 But I'm happy I read it， I'm happy to have known these Marines （fictional or not）， and I found myself grieving for them and with them。 Just finished this book， and my heart physically hurts。 This is a heart wrenching look at the Vietnam War and the boys （many still teenagers） that fought it。 It is a powerful book， that doesn't sugar coat anything。 There is sadness， anger， pain and a bond of loyalty and friendship that I will never truly understand。 I won't lie， this was a tough one to read。 But I'm happy I read it， I'm happy to have known these Marines （fictional or not）， and I found myself grieving for them and with them。 。。。more

Andrea Ebers ，

Ich muss zugeben， dass mich anfangs die Lektüre wenig mitriss。 Hineingeworfen in eine Basis einer US-Kompanie inmitten des vietnamesischen Dschungels kämpfte ich mich durch Namen， Abkürzungen und mit der Orientierung。 Doch durchhalten lautete die Parole – wie für viele Soldaten auch。 Marlantes erzählt von Blutegeln， die wie Regentropfen von Bäumen direkt auf die Nacken der Soldaten fielen und ihnen unters Hemd glitten; von Dschungelfäule， wegen der Soldaten auf Unterwäsche verzichteten; von Lee Ich muss zugeben， dass mich anfangs die Lektüre wenig mitriss。 Hineingeworfen in eine Basis einer US-Kompanie inmitten des vietnamesischen Dschungels kämpfte ich mich durch Namen， Abkürzungen und mit der Orientierung。 Doch durchhalten lautete die Parole – wie für viele Soldaten auch。 Marlantes erzählt von Blutegeln， die wie Regentropfen von Bäumen direkt auf die Nacken der Soldaten fielen und ihnen unters Hemd glitten; von Dschungelfäule， wegen der Soldaten auf Unterwäsche verzichteten; von Leere， die nach dem Tod befreundeter Soldaten entstand und Löcher hinterließ; von Kameraden， die sich moralisch verpflichtet fühlten， ihr eigenes Leben aufs Spiel zu setzen und „wie scheißbeschissen dieses Scheißland überhaupt war“。 Und so blieb mir nichts anderes übrig als irgendwann gefesselt zu sein。 Mit jeder weiteren Seite stellte ich eine Beziehung zu den Soldaten her， die sich gegenseitig den Arsch retteten， nur um im nächsten Moment eine Schlägerei untereinander anzufangen und keine noch so lange gemeinsame Zeit im Busch konnte die Barriere überwinden， Partei für Weiß oder Schwarz zu ergreifen。 Schicksale unter den Soldaten waren an der Tagesordnung。 Unter ihnen ein Hundeführer namens Arran。 „Zweimal verlängerte er seine Dienstzeit， weil die Kundschafterhunde nicht an andere Hundeführer übergeben werden konnten und eingeschläfert wurden， wenn ihre Dienstzeit vorbei war。 Irgendwer in der wirklichen Welt hatte erklärt， sie seien zu gefährlich， um nach Hause mitgenommen zu werden。“ Wem schnürt’s da nicht die Kehle zu， wenn man von solchen Männern liest。 Wohlwissend wie sie später zu Hause empfangen wurden。 Solche Bilder abzuschütteln fällt nicht leicht。 Ein aufwühlender， zeitgeschichtlicher Roman。 „Hören Sie， wir verhungern hier。 Oder sagen Sie uns wenigstens， was zum Geier wir hier draußen eigentlich machen sollen。 Over。“ 。。。more

David Liscio ，

After reading Matterhorn， I felt like I'd served a tour of duty as an infantryman in Vietnam。 Just when you think the book can't deliver more repetitive details on thick jungle， muddy clay and rotting skin， the action picks up and you get a clear picture of what the soldiers had to deal with in such difficult circumstances。 Excellent read。 After reading Matterhorn， I felt like I'd served a tour of duty as an infantryman in Vietnam。 Just when you think the book can't deliver more repetitive details on thick jungle， muddy clay and rotting skin， the action picks up and you get a clear picture of what the soldiers had to deal with in such difficult circumstances。 Excellent read。 。。。more

Matt Brandt ，

A really good read。 The characters are easy to follow which made the book read fast。 The story paints a very good picture of the Vietnam war through the eyes of the main character。 It’s real， gritty and raw。

Clayton ，

This was the best war novel I've ever read。 This was the best war novel I've ever read。 。。。more

Michael Oborn ，

Karl Marlantes， ex-marine， wrote an exceptional， visceral， powerful story。 On every one of the over 600 pages he had my full attention。 Marlantes successfully set the record straight， refuted every lie Washington D。C。 shoved down our throats。 He received the Navy cross for heroism。 I can’t help wondering why he did not receive the Pulitzer for Matterhorn。 I highly recommend， Matterhorn。

Jennifer ，

Wow。 This book will stay with me for a while。 Yes， it's a novel， but it's written by a Viet Nam veteran who took thirty years to get it right。 This novel should give everyone who reads it pause， and remind Americans of the sacrifices that these soldiers （and our entire current military）made for us。 Wow。 This book will stay with me for a while。 Yes， it's a novel， but it's written by a Viet Nam veteran who took thirty years to get it right。 This novel should give everyone who reads it pause， and remind Americans of the sacrifices that these soldiers （and our entire current military）made for us。 。。。more

Shay Miles ，

Simply superlative。 One of the most powerful books I’ve ever read。 There’s a rawness and authenticity in this novel that makes it particularly compelling。 Exceptional character development。 Violently engaging action sequences

John ，

Pretty grim read， lit up by sentimental passages。 Nevertheless a book to read。 In some ways it says more about America in the seventies than about Vietnam。

Daniel Pérez Gleason ，

So immersive。

ElwoodRadley ，

Incredible book。 I think every person wanting to join the military should be required to read this， because it shows what war is truly like。 Not some glorified hollywood crap， but what it's truly like with the fear， despair， friendships， boredom， and the small moments that mean the world to the people there。 This book impacted me deeply。 I can't say if it would have the same impact on someone who has not been in the military or to war， but I would suggest reading it anyway because it will give y Incredible book。 I think every person wanting to join the military should be required to read this， because it shows what war is truly like。 Not some glorified hollywood crap， but what it's truly like with the fear， despair， friendships， boredom， and the small moments that mean the world to the people there。 This book impacted me deeply。 I can't say if it would have the same impact on someone who has not been in the military or to war， but I would suggest reading it anyway because it will give you a tiny glimpse of what being at war truly means。 。。。more

Ellie Kidson ，

I would give this 6 stars if I could。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Matterhorn

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Matterhorn&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Matterhorn&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0