Vietnam veteran Philip D. Beidler brings back the war through chapters on its vocabulary, music, literature, and film. His catalog of soldier slang reveals how finely a tour of Vietnam could hone one's sense of absurdity. His survey of the war's pop hits looks for meaning in the soundtrack many veterans still hear in their heads. Beidler also explains how ""Viet Pulp"" literature about snipers, tunnel rats, and other hard-core types has pushed aside masterpieces like Duong Thu Huong's ""Novel without a Name"". Likewise we learn why the movie ""The Deer Hunter"" doesn't ""get it"" about Vietnam but why ""Platoon"" and ""We Were Soldiers"" sometimes nearly do. Drawing on deeply personal memories, Beidler reflects on the war's lingering aftereffects and the shallow, evasive ways we deal with them.