Webb's Fields of Fire is an outstanding book. I can't vouch for its accuracy or realism, as I did not serve as an infantry platoon leader during the Vietnam War.Webb's A Sense of Honor is the best book I've ever read about the U.S. Naval Academy experience. In fact, I'd recommend it to any young person contemplating attending the Academy.
Webb might be reprehensible as a politician, but he is a fairly respectable novelist. Those two books could be studied as part of a college freshman curriculum.
In California, no doubts Webb's books would find quite the "home" even despite the anti-military rhetoric of California Democrats. They'd welcome his books but only if there were "gay friendly" clips in the book. Kingsolver's books are focused mostly on "environmentalism" and "no borders". I love a good "read". I'm ecclectic in what I read.
But putting books like Webb's (and Kingsolver's) in a college course is sneaky rip-off, IMHO. Books like these should be on bookstore fiction shelves; not in classrooms, many of which are subsidized by state and federal monies. The hugest racket in "college costs" are the books, liberal ones, authored by the instructor in pre-req courses. That's called a "monopoly" in some quarters of the world. And it reaps the author/professors HUGE loads of money.
Agreed. Attacking fictional passages seems like a non-starter to me. If this is the RPV's bigh push for this final weekend, VA Republicans should be damn worried about Tuesday and make sure they drag every Republican they know out to the polls.
A much more important question about Webb and his character is how a man who used to defend the Vietnam grunt can now accept endorsement and support from somebody like John Kerry. The Webb campaign happily trumpeted Kerry's endorsement, at which point a fair question would have been, "How can Webb accept support from Kerry, who - while still on active duty - organized North Vietnamese-sponsored show trials to condemn US servicemen?"
Attacking novels? Pffff... useless. Maybe a few nanny-staters will get their panties in a bunch over this. But really, "exposing" passages about forced oral sex and clever ways to cut a banana... that's just gonna get the Democrat base very excited about Webb.
good lets hope he stays as a novelist and not a porn writing senator