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About Face

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About Face

Written by: Colonel David H. Hackworth US Army Ret., Julie Sherman
Narrated by: John Pruden
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Called "everything a 20th-century war memoir could possibly be" by the New York Times, this national best seller by Colonel David H. Hackworth presents a vivid and powerful portrait of a life of patriotism.

From age 15 to 40, David Hackworth devoted himself to the US Army and fast became a living legend. In 1971, however, he appeared on television to decry the doomed war effort in Vietnam. With About Face, he has written what many Vietnam veterans have called the most important book of their generation.

From Korea to Berlin, from the Cuban missile crisis to Vietnam, Hackworth's story is that of an exemplary patriot, played out against the backdrop of the changing fortunes of America and the American military. It is also a stunning indictment of the Pentagon's fundamental misunderstanding of the Vietnam conflict and of the bureaucracy of self-interest that fueled the war.

New York Times best seller. A Military Book Club Main Selection. A number-one Amazon.com best seller in Korean War Personal Narratives.

©2019 Colonel David H. Hackworth (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc. 20th Century Americas Military & War Modern War Military Korean War Imperial Japan US Army Air Force Military Bios
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Captivating from beginning to end even as a long book. Honest, transparent, detailed. The men portrayed in the Koren and Vietnam wars are heroic titans of the likes the free world should recognize and idolize

Unbelievable!!

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Col hackworth was one of America’s greatest leaders and it was inspiring to hear his story. Totally worth the length of content though I wish he would have spent more time on his epilogue and gone through strategy a bit more in depth. Highly recommended.

Best book I’ve listened to so far

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Incredibly complete and honest account of stories and events surrounding the authors life. This is a must read for anyone interested in military history surrounding the Korean or Vietnam war and or leadership.

Truly incredible account

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Some parts were informative. Some made me think. I felt at times Hackworth had a bit of an ego problem. Especially in the earlier part of the book. He seemed to mature as he progressed. The whole book is enough to make a person wonder.

I had very mixed feelings about the book and auth

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This book, both in content, and in its execution as an unabridged audiobook is an absolute masterpiece. It is, without question, one of the finest examples of autobiographical-style personal and military histories ever to have been written. While not every piece of Col. Hackworth's character is commendable, nobody will disagree with his honesty. This book shows the bumps and all. The book is masterfully researched, and the preface goes into great detail on the exhaustive work done to verify some of the incredible events detailed throughout the book.

Some of the quotes that start each chapter (especially if you're a military buff) will tug on your emotional wires.

Regardless of if you are a history buff, captain of a sports team, a student, a military officer, a business owner, a professional or "regular person", you will find something in this book. It is packed full of very subtle yet clever tricks and tactics for exceptional leadership. It also shows a remarkable transformation of Hackworth as a person, from a naive young man, to hard-as-rocks infantry combat veteran, to leader, to pacifist (although his transition to peacetime, and his work as an award-winning journalist and his family life post-war is not detailed, which is a shame, because I'm sure it is equally as fascinating)

John Pruden, the narrator, is the perfect voice - his gravelly, expressive and rich voice makes this book an absolute pleasure to listen to.

You likely wont (and probably shouldn't, by hackworths own account) agree with every decision he made, but that is part of the allure of this book. Hackworth is full of bravado and brazeness, but is also equal part humble, and you can take a lot of lessons learned from his mistakes as well.

This book should be mandatory reading for anyone seriously considering taking on a leadership role.

Extraordinary

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