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5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing Compares to Military Honor, Nov 23 2003
When a movie is about to come out, as this is, I am always excited to see how different reading the book was from watching it on the screen - time will tell.In the meantime, this is one of many wonderful DeMille novels, because the character development is well developed. Benjamin Tyson, a corporate man, who on the outside appears to be one of the most balanced people around, one day is faced with his past. He, like many men, and especially military men, are conditioned to disown emotions, to get on with the present moment. He took a solemn oath between himself, and the men who served under his leadership, 18 years prior. His honor is about to be tested as he sits on the commuter, heading for work, in New York, when he reads a story in the daily newspapers. This story explores what really happened in My Lai, 18 years prior to the date of this article. Also, a book is about to be released, during the time that this story hits the news wires. And Benjamin Tyson is suddenly faced with the conflict between his honor as a married man, who is prosperous, and looked up to by all, versus, his duties as a Platoon leader, 18 years prior. He has no control over the perception that the reporter and author place on his past. The army gets involved, because this is what they do, to save their bacon. But, his wife decides that this is not what she bargained for, in marrying him. And to maintain his sense of military honor, Tyson doesn't even tell his attorney the entire truth. His platoon had sworn to never tell the world what they had done. And the only person who could reveal enough details, to set Tyson free is someone who is not military, who was there, during this massacre. This is a wonderful look at male psyche, military law, the power of the press, and what happens when one denies the painful past. DeMille's books are excellent - I've read at least 10 of them. And I place them in a league with Leon Uris and Jeffrey Archer.
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