Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry | 
 enlarge | Author: John E. O'neill
Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3122 reviews
Sales Rank: 159985
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0895260174
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931092
EAN: 9780895260178
ASIN: 0895260174
Publication Date: August 25, 2004
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Amazon.com Review
Due to the timing of its publication, Unfit for Command could be dismissed as the sort of controversial, loaded book typical in a presidential election year: Either courageous and necessary, or untruthful and malicious, depending on one's political point of view. Filled with interviews of men who served in Vietnam at the same time as John Kerry, the book poses the following question: "Why do an overwhelming majority of those who commanded or served with John Kerry oppose him?" (Note that the issue of "service" has sparked investigation into its definition--in other words, just how close was the interaction between Kerry and those cited in the book during Kerrys Vietnam tour of duty?) The charges leveled against Kerry in this book are severe and include filing false operating reports; lobbying for and receiving three Purple Hearts for minor wounds, two of which were self-inflicted; receiving a Silver Star under false pretenses; offering false confessions of bogus war crimes in both print and testimony; and recklessness in the field, including the burning of a village without cause or direct order. The book also claims that Kerry left Vietnam after serving just four months instead of the usual one year tour and that he returned home and accused his fellow soldiers of atrocities without offering any evidence, endangering POWs in the process. It is debatable whether the book will change any minds, or votes. Instead, readers will likely reach one of two conclusions: Either John Kerry grossly misrepresented his military service or the authors are spinning the interviews that they conducted for ulterior motives. There is a third option, however; readers will further investigate both sides of the debate, and by doing so, may reach conclusions independent of partisan extremes. --Brian Neff
Product Description
A shocking indictment of John Kerry by some of the men who knew him best.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3117 more reviews...
 Could I give it a ZERO? August 14, 2008
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is not a piece of well-research journalism. It is a polemic against an honorable man by those who have to destroy anyone they disagree with.
This book should never have been published. The main facts are three:
1. The man Kerry rescued, a life-long Republican, says Kerry is a hero.
2. Kerry went to war while Bush played.
3. Look what Bush has done to our wonderful nation in the 8 years he's been in. ANYONE could have done a better job. Kerry would have been a much better president. He would have worked for alternative fuel instead of being owned by the oil companies, he would have been resonsible with the lives of our military.
Anyone who believes this deserved Bush. I don't believe it--and I got Bush anyway.
Insulting to "True" Veterans June 11, 2008
10 out of 16 found this review helpful
As a disabled veteran, I am insulted to read trash like this. While my military background keeps me aboard the conservative party... it's amazing what folks will print/support during election time. I really wish everyone would focus on "issues" rather than conjuring-up campfire stories.
 The Verdict of History May 30, 2008
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
Like a lot of conservatives, I purchased this book when it first came out, but unlike most of them I never got around to reading it straight through until a few weeks ago. Maybe at some level I wasn't sure the book's charges would stand up so I wanted to wait a while before investing the time.
Well, it has been almost four years, and what have we learned? When the book came out, John Kerry and his supporters claimed it was full of lies which they would shortly expose. Not ONE lie has been found, not ONE charge exposed as false. The best that anyone has been able to do is to argue that in a few cases honorable people could disagree about what the evidence shows: one of Kerry's Purple Hearts might not have been a phony, one of Kerry's combat stars might have been deserved. But that is pretty much it.
Some of this could probably be cleared up if Kerry would just execute Standard Form 180, authorizing the Defense Department to release all of his military records otherwise sealed by privacy regulations. President Bush had to execute one in order to disprove all of the lunatic accusations that he had somehow not fulfilled his service obligations, but Kerry never has and presumably never will, despite repeatedly promising to do so. One of the supporters of the SBVT, T. Boone Pickens, Jr., offered Kerry a one million dollar challenge after the election if he could disprove any of their charges. Kerry took him up on it but failed to do so. (Tellingly, Kerry supporters give as their reason that Pickens put some conditions on the challenge which they label as "reneging" on the deal. You'd think that if Kerry could expose any of these charges as lies, he'd be willing to do it for free, wouldn't you?)
What emerges is a sobering portrait of a man singularly unfit to hold any office of leadership and trust, much less POTUS. After failing to avoid military service, Kerry started out rather conventionally by determining to use his military service to advance his political ambitions, hardly the first time THAT has ever happened. But his inconstancy soon began to disturb his colleagues who never knew who was going to show up on the battlefield on a given day: the reckless glory hound or the overly cautious near coward. If Kerry could have settled on one persona for the duration, his peers and his commanders could probably have made good use of him because both personality types have served in every war, but Kerry's unreliablity made him a liability they could not long tolerate.
Then upon taking the hint to leave early, Kerry (in their eyes) betrayed them all by falsely accusing them of atrocities as he switched over to the anti-war side. (Even Kerry supporters will be relieved to learn that whenever his more excitable anti-war friends proposed assassinating pro-war politicians Kerry always voted against it.)
Still, time heals all wounds eventually, and it might have been possible for Kerry to have come to some sort of understanding with his once squadron mates, then bitter foes, if he had only had the sense, not to mention the decency, not to do ANOTHER 180 and attempt to win the White House by touting his "military service". That was just one turn too many for these men, and the rest is history.
Great Story May 5, 2008
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book helped defeat John "Traitor" Kerry.
After I read this book, I donated $200 to the Shift Boat Vets.
John Kerry is a coward, liar, cheat and is certainly not a war hero.
Brian
Vietnam Vet.
 better late than never April 23, 2008
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
I was given this book a few years ago and finally decided to go through it. The bottom line is that this book gives the other side of the story on John Kerry's story. Since Kerry decided to use his short service in Vietnam as one of the cornerstones of his campaign, it is only fitting that both sides be told regarding his service. Then, it is up to the American people to decide which John Kerry is closer to reality.
The first part of the book is mostly he said-he said regarding Kerry's service. To me, it was hard to tell which accusations about Kerry in Vietnam were accurate and which were not since memories fade over so much time passing. Kerry's rapid accumulation of medals was very suspicious however. Putting that aside, the most shocking part of the book dealt with Kerry's anti-war activities to include his meetings with Vietnamese Communists in Paris while our soldiers were fighting and dying. His behavior was just not responsible and at a minimum, seditious. There is a way to oppose war without working against your country's military efforts and assisting the enemy. Kerry did not choose that route.
I found it especially interesting how Kerry's 2004 campaign bragged about his medals, while in 1971 he threw those same medals back. I guess it all depends on what is politically expedient at the time.
Thank you to the Swift Boat Veterans for presenting the other side of the story.
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