No covering up here, we're right there with Charles as he gets splashed by water buffalo dung while crossing a street, has his oversize pants slip at the most inopportune times, gets his privates grabbed by a bar girl, and continuously asks naive questions. On the flight in, he gets taken under the wing of an irreverent vet returning from some R&R aiming to extend his vacation by taking a roundabout route to their assignment. Pretty amusing tale of the first week of a FNG (...new guy) in The Nam, and the action carries the reader quickly thru the 447 pages. No apologies given for some racial slurs & sexist remarks used.
However, the editing was completely lacking. My volume was rife with typos and commas were scattered liberally throughout in surprising places. It was still readable. Maybe a computer programmer (author's stated profession) didn't pay attention in English class. ( )