." -- "matterhorn." [unintelligible] >> he stood beneath the great monsoon clouds on a narrow strip of ground between the jumble. >> since 1969, it is the story of the 20-something men of bravo company in vietnam. faced with starvation, leeches, and the enemy, they fight toward an impossible target. written by a vietnam veteran, it has been called the definitive vietnam novel of airtimes, and the hottest new novel in america today. extraordinary given that it is his first book. he started writing it in 1977 and it has taken years to get published. he was awarded two purple hearts. and he describes the terror of combat in a hopeless war. >> the jungle was not evil. it was in different. so, too, was the world. >> he joins me. why do you think a novel about vietnam's strike such accord in 2010? >> well, there are probably several reasons. one is i think the baby boomers are getting to the point where they will start reflecting in their history. i hate to think i wrote a book about my own history. but i also