When Michael Herr went to Vietnam in 1967 as a correspondent for Esquire, he was a virtually unknown writer. But he was unanimously praised after publishing his famous article "Hellish Sips," and his reputation grew as more and more of his work appeared. Dispatches confirmed what his early admirers already knew: no one has ever written, or is likely to write so eloquently, forcefully, and terrifyingly about what it was like to fight (and survive) in that spectral war. Many books have been written about Vietnam, but this book is unique: it is a work of perennial value that will rank among the best writings about men at war. This masterpiece of new journalism received the International Press Award in 1978.