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Title: Book'c content not supported by Kerry's military records
Review: This book is more a work of fiction than reality. As a historian Brinkley's book contributes nothing to the history of Vietnam and it is inaccurate in it's portrayal of Kerry's exploits. It relies too much on Kerry's diary and not enough on the recollections of the 200 plus men who served with Kerry. As a retired naval officer and a collector of navy medals for over 40 years, I found major holes in Kerry's records indicating conflict between the book and reality. Regretfully, Kerry has not released numerous pages of his record thus the truth of the matter will not be resolved. One would expect that if the records indeed supported Kerry, that he would have proudly shown them to the world. In the end, Brinkley's scholarship is lacking through a failure to pursue readily available sources. The result is an unbalanced view of Kerry and his service in the Navy.
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