Short Synopsis
In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village, one Marine squad fought for 495 days—and half of them died.

Full Synopsis
Few American battles have been so extended, savage, and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are not a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of fifteen resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought, and died; and why the villagers remember them to this day.

"A minor classic about war." ---The Washington Post

"A vivid and unbiased portrait of one Vietnamese hamlet in the grip of war. . . . Exceptional insight. . . . West has told this story with honesty and without embroidery, while bringing out its inherent human drama." ---The New York Times

"A superbly honest, readable work that goes beyond journalism to become good literature." ---Peter Braestrup, author of Tet

"Peter Berkrot's strong baritone reads this work with great confidence. He is steady and projects effortlessness in relating the tales of the deadly cat-and-mouse game the marines and the villagers played with the VC." ---Library Journal Audio Review