The Nightingale's Song

By: Robert Timberg

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Robert Timberg weaves together the lives of Annapolis graduates John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter to reveal how the Vietnam War continues to haunt America. Casting all five men as metaphors for a legion of well-meaning if ill-starred warriors, Timberg probes the fault line between those who fought the war and those who used money, wit, and connections to avoid battle.

Here is a riveting tale that illuminates the flip side of the fabled Vietnam generation: those who went.

©1995 Robert Timberg (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[A] terrific book about courage and cowardice, honor and betrayal, suffering and the death, and the indomitability of the human spirit." ( Washington Post)
"[A]n amazing work that could make you cry over descriptions of bravery so bold and big....It is about the soul of a nation....This is a stunning book." ( Boston Globe)
"[I]n Timberg's telling of their specific combat experiences, insightful angles on their subsequent careers emerge....A well-researched and well-written account of five interesting lives." ( Booklist)

Amazing story and historical background.

I loved knowing so much more about what went into making the men who were so recently involved in politics and especially really understanding how the Vietnam war is what broke America

Revealing in scope and detail. This book was recommended to me by a good friend and history buff.

The revelations come not from the well researched findings but from the context of "seasoning" experienced by the 5 featured Vietnam vets.
It was thoroughly impressive and fascinating.

Very slanted portrayal participates in the Iran contra affair.

The very partisan liberal author made no bones about who the bad guys were in his story - Reagan and North. His version of the affair might carry some weight if he could make up his mind whether they were the mastermind architects behind the caper or just a couple of bumbling dolts.

Servants of Democracy

Timberg's task of synthesizing five biographies works well in how Annapolis and then Vietnam shaped these five servants of democracy. Some you love and some you hate but they all did their duty. The author holds nothing back.

An Outstanding Recap Of The Events and Idiosyncrasies Of Vietnam and the Post Watergate Era in America

Having been a witness and participant in all that took place in the America of Vietnam and the years following, I am blown away by the details of that period as recorded in Mr Timberg’s epic book. His in-depth explanations and somewhat startling explanations of why and how the principals became so deeply enmeshed and subsequently entangled in their own lies is nothing short of utterly fantastic. It is truly a classic and at the same time a loud warning of how those with the best of intentions can so easily corrupt themselves in attempting to perform honored duty.