America Takes Over

作者:Edward Doyle

页数:192

出版时间:1980-1

价格:0.00

isbn号码:9780939526031

具体描述

Airborne Brigade landed in Vung Tau, at the mouth of the

Saigon River. They would ~oen establish their headquar-

ters at Bien Hoa, twelve miles north of Saigon, guarding

the airfield there. At the same time, the marines were es-

tablishing their third tactical area of responsibility (TAOR)

at a newly constructed airfield in Chu Lai (see map, page

14). By the end of May approximately 20,000 American

combat troops-seven marine battalions and supporting

units and two army battalions-had swollen the ranks of

~erican forces in Vietnam to 46,500.

The troops were digging in to fight a war. But the com-

bat troops of the American armed forces represented only

the head of a body with a very long tail-the logistical sup-

port. The marines had been the first to take on a combat

role in Vietnam precisely because their tail was the short-

est. They carried what they needed with them. But as the

build-up continued throughout 1965 the logistical needs

became greater and greater, a massive problem that

commanding General William Westmoreland needed

more than a year to solve. A few statistics show the im-

mensity of the problem: By December 31, 1965, almost 1.3

million tons of dry cargo had been shipped to Vietnam

from the United States, over $35 million worth of construc-

tion had been completed, and some seventy-five million

barrels of petroleum products-gasoline, oil, and lubri-

cants (POL)-had been consumed along with fifty thou-

sand tons of ammunition. In all, one hundred six,y-five

thousand tons of cargo were reaching Vietnamese ports

and airfields each month.

Back in the United States these statistics, while unno-

ticed by many, took on real meaning for some Americans.

The workers at the Oscar Mayer plant in Madison, Wis-

consin, were turning out 2.6 million canned hams for ship-

ment to the troops. From Chicago the Borg-Warner Com-

pany began sending more than seven hundred thousand

steel helmets for the army, which had procured no new

helmets since 1958. In Huntsville, Alabama, Safety First

Shoe was working on an order for 253,907 pairs of

nylon-topped jungle boots, while de Rossi & Son was ship-

ping one hundred thousand tropical raincoats from its

plant in Vineland, New Jersey. These purchases were in-

significant compared to the $58 million order placed with

Kaiser Jeep and the two hundred and fifty million dol-

lars in orders the army placed for some sixteen hundred

helicopters.

There were other ways in which the new war in Viet-

nam was impinging on an otherwise quiet American

home front. The television networks began the construction

of additional telephone lines between Vietnam and

Hawaii to facilitate increased coverage. By midsummer

all three networks had sent their first full-time correspon-

Preceding page. Soldiers from the U.S. Army 101st Airborne

Division arrive at Cam Banh Bay aboard the U.S.N.S. Gen-

eral Le Roy Eltinge in Iuly 1965.

用户评价

这本书最让我震撼的地方，在于它对“记忆”这种载体的解构。它没有采用线性的回忆手法，而是将记忆碎片随意地抛撒在文本中，时而清晰，时而模糊，如同老旧录像带的噪点。这种非线性的结构，非常贴合我们大脑实际处理信息的方式——过去并非一个固定的档案库，而是一个不断被当下重新诠释的、流动的景观。书中有一段情节，主角在整理旧物时，偶然发现了一张泛黄的照片，关于那张照片背后的故事，作者用了近五十页的篇幅来反复咀嚼、推敲、甚至自我矛盾，这与其说是在叙述一个故事，不如说是在模拟一个心智如何试图重建失落的真实。这种对“真实性”的拷问，使得整本书具有了一种哲学思辨的深度。它迫使读者去思考，我们所相信的“历史”和“自我”，究竟有多少成分是真实的发生，又有多少是我们为了让自己能够继续前行而精心编织的叙事？这种对内在世界的深挖，超越了一般的社会批判，直抵人类经验的核心。

这本书，初看书名，还以为是某种历史的断章，或者是一部描绘特定时代权力转移的宏大叙事。然而，真正翻开后，那种预期立刻被一种更细腻、更内敛的情感力量所取代。它像是一面被精心打磨过的镜子，映照出个体在面对巨大社会变迁时的那种无所适力的迷茫与挣扎。作者的笔触极为克制，没有使用那些华丽的辞藻或激烈的冲突来堆砌戏剧性，反倒是用一种近乎冷静的观察，捕捉了那些日常生活中的微小裂痕。比如，书中对一家三口在搬离他们居住多年的老房子时，对那些蒙尘旧物的依恋，那种对“失去根基”的恐惧，被描绘得入木三分。你几乎可以闻到空气中弥漫的灰尘味，感受到他们心中那份说不清道不明的失落感。这种失落并非针对某个明确的“敌人”或“事件”，而更像是一种时间洪流冲刷后，个体身份认同的消融。阅读过程中，我常常会停下来，不是因为情节的惊人反转，而是因为某个句子触动了我内心深处某个久未触碰的角落，那是一种关于“归属”和“遗忘”的深刻反思。作者似乎在探讨，当宏大的叙事退潮时，剩下的那些细碎的情感碎片，如何拼凑出一个人的全部意义。

坦率地说，这本书的节奏是缓慢的，甚至可以说是“晦涩”的，但它绝不是故弄玄虚。如果你期待的是那种传统的起承转合，清晰的人物动机和明确的戏剧冲突，那么你可能会感到失望。这部作品更像是一首长篇的意识流诗歌，它更关注“感觉”的流动，而非事件的发生。书中人物之间的交流，常常是充满停顿和未尽之意的，他们似乎都在努力地表达着什么，但最终都淹没在了语言的边界之外。这种处理方式，极大地考验了读者的耐心和共情能力。我花了很长时间才适应这种叙事模式，直到我开始放下“理解”的执念，转而专注于“感受”时，作品的魅力才真正展现出来。它探讨了现代人之间那种“亲密又疏离”的矛盾状态——我们比以往任何时候都更紧密地连接着，但我们似乎也从未如此深刻地感到被孤立。书中关于“沉默”的描写尤其令人印象深刻，那些没有说出口的话，那些眼神的交汇与回避，比任何激烈的争吵都更有力量。

这是一部阅读体验极其“沉浸”的作品，但这种沉浸感并非来自快节奏的叙事，而是源于作者对细节的近乎偏执的捕捉。它更像是一部社会观察报告，披着文学的外衣。我尤其欣赏它处理“空间”的方式。书中的每一处场景——无论是拥挤不堪的通勤列车，还是光线昏暗的地下室公寓——都不仅仅是故事发生的背景，它们本身就是活生生的角色，带有强烈的时代烙印和情感重量。比如，对那个新建社区中，那种刻意制造的“完美”景观的描绘，那种缺乏人情味的对称与整洁，反而让人感到一种压抑。它揭示了一种现代困境：当一切都被规划、被优化到极致时，生命中最真实的、最不可预测的那部分似乎也被一并剔除了。阅读时，我的脑海里不断浮现出各种画面，仿佛我在跟随叙述者的脚步，亲身经历着那个正在被重新塑造的城市景观。语言的运用非常精妙，很多时候，作者用极简的句式，反而营造出了巨大的情感张力，那种“此时无声胜有声”的效果，让人在读完一个段落后，需要深吸一口气才能继续。

初读此书，最大的感受是它散发出的那种独特的“冷峻的诗意”。它不是那种让你读完后立刻感到振奋或愤怒的作品，而是一种需要时间去沉淀、去消化的“味道”。作者的语言像冰冷的溪水，清澈见底，却也带着刺骨的凉意。书中涉及的议题非常宏大，关于身份的构建、集体记忆的重塑以及个体在庞大系统中的微不足道，但作者处理这些议题的方式却异常克制和内敛，几乎没有出现任何带有说教色彩的陈词滥调。相反，他通过描绘一个个看似无关紧要的日常瞬间——比如一个人在深夜独自完成的一份表格，或者是一段被突然打断的对话——来暗示那些更深层次的社会机制的运作。这种“以小见大”的叙事策略非常高明。它不给你答案，也不提供出口，只是将你轻轻推入那个充满不确定性的氛围中，让你自己去体会那种在既定秩序下，如何保持住一丝不易察觉的个人能动性。读完后，你可能会忘记具体的故事情节，但那种弥漫在字里行间的复杂情绪和对现实的警醒，会像底噪一样，久久地萦绕在心头。