Book reviews

In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
Tobias Wolff Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
Tobias Wolff Books
New book search
Tobias Wolff Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
"Wolff, the future author of This Boy's Life, barely finished high school and skipped a summer job on a Coast and Geodetic Survey ship to enlist in the Army at 18. He went to paratroopers jump school and, despite being lazy and a rebel, managed to get an officer's commission because he had what they call "command presence." Just before, during, and after his service, he visited his estranged father, an inveterate liar and con artist from whom the boy had been estranged for three years.

In Vietnam Wolff was stationed near My Tho in the Mekong Delta, well out of the way of the action (his primary dangerous mission during the initial period is to steal a TV set from officers quarters at another base over Thanksgiving so he can watch "Bonanza") until the 1968 Tet Offensive surprised American and South Vietnamese forces all over the country. "

David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
War/Cloak & Dagger story? - Fought as soldier
War/Spying Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+
Which war? - Vietnam

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other people
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 (a fair amount)
United States Yes
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Southeast Asia
Misc setting - fort/military installation
Century: - 1960's-1970's

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Is book humorous? Yes
If humorous, kind of humor - eccentric personalities - Dry-cynical
Lot of foul language? Yes
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - race - war
Writer's slant towards subject: - neutral
Story of entire life, or part? - story of set of events during life
Autobiography? Yes
Pictures/Illustrations? - None
How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
If Morning Never Comes by Bill Vandenbush
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
In Retrospect by Robert McNamara
Naked In Da Nang by Tara Dixon-Engel and Mike Jackson
Steel My Soldiers' Hearts by David Hackworth


Click here for more information about this book


Tobias Wolff Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
David Loftus  

SCHOLARS:
Judy Berman  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Biography books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal story?

Big Business story?

Disaster Story

Ethnic/regional/gender

Family, hate

Family, ill

Family, love

Food

Job/profession/poverty story

Kids growing up/acting up?

Life in an institution

Outdoors story

Pal/friendship story

Phys disability/mental struggle?

Political/social rights fight

Road trip

Romance

Royalty bio

Sports story

Taboo Sex Story?

War/Spying



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us




Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
Anthony Horowitz 3:50:41 AM
Lurlene McDaniel 3:49:08 AM
Suzanne Weyn 10:53:04 PM
Jean M. Auel 10:13:28 PM
Suzanne Collins 10:04:43 PM
Shannon Holmes 8:05:43 PM
R. Garcia Y Robertson 6:56:32 PM
Marlo Morgan 6:30:00 PM
Robert Segarra 5:12:00 PM
Dennis L. McKiernan 4:47:04 PM
Mary Downing Hahn 4:04:51 PM
Margaret Peterson Haddix 3:40:45 PM
Natasha Friend 3:14:44 PM
Deric Longden 3:02:09 PM
Lori Wick 2:04:58 PM
George W. Bush 1:36:15 PM
Lilian Jackson Braun 12:53:34 PM
James H. Cobb 10:05:36 AM
Sallie Bissell 11:40:33 PM
Eva Augustin Rumpf 4:36:38 PM

More message boards