Legend by Eric Blehm

     I thought I'd made a terrible mistake choosing this book. I love non-fiction, it's my favorite genre, but what do I know about the Vietnam war?  It was over before I was born and none of my close family was in it.  I begrudgingly started Legend and thought, meh...another war book.  Have you ever watched the best, suspenseful movie?  This book is better. I stayed up way too late last night, couldn't put it down! I finished it today at work. We had no clients all day so thankfully they didn't have to see me throw my hands in the air, cover my head with my hands, slap the desk, curse and then cry.

    Roy Benavidez grew up as a migrant farmer. He got in a little trouble here and there but always remembered his grandfather's words: IF SOMEONE NEEDS HELP, HELP THEM.  Roy decided to join the Army and realize his dream of being a paratrooper.  He married and with one kid on the way he was deployed to Vietnam.

     If there is a story to be told, this is one of them, and Eric Blehm did an excellent job.  I've learned so much just reading this one book, I feel like I'm fluent in the Vietnam war.

     I want to talk about this book to everyone and tell everyone what happens so stop me.  I will, however, leave you with my favorite quote from the book:

      "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.  A man who has nothing which he cares about more than his personal safety is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." ~John Stuart Mill.


                                                     

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."