Dispatches was written by Michael Herr. He assisted in the screenplays for both Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. I seem to remember reading that he was inspired to write this book after working on AN.
The "novel" is a collection of memories of events that Herr experienced and people he met while he was a journalist in Vietnam during the war in the late 1960s. I read this novel about 2-3 years ago. It is a "stream of consciousness" rambling of stories and anecdotes. If you are expecting a cohesive tale with plot, characters, etc., you will be disappointed.
(BTW, the "helicopter door gunner" scene in FMJ is taken almost verbatim from Dispatches.)
... there has been technological advancement, but how little man himself has changed.
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Jwink72
8 years ago
Luckily, I had an idea of the postmodern style before I got it, so the structure is not a problem for me. It's actually more refreshing since I rarely (if ever) read a "stream of consciousness" book.
I like it very much so far, it really grabs me with the feel and detail of the war from a correspondent's perspective.
Thanks for the reply!
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libertarian45
8 years ago
Some misinformation in the responses. First to answer your questions:
a. Dispatches is an excellent memoir of Michael Herr's time in Vietnam as a journalist. Personally, I think it is a little over-rated. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but not "the best book ever written about VN" as many gush about it.
b. It is a non-fiction memoir and has nothing to do with Apocalypse Now.
So, to correct the mistakes articulated in previous responses:
Dispatches is not a novel- it is a non-fiction memoire. It was published in 1977 while AN was being filmed. AN is not "based on it". John Millius wrote the script in the late '60s and Coppolla contributed later. A late decision was made to add a narration to the film. That is Herr's contribution. Likely he was brought in at the end based on the strength of his dialogue in his book.
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