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Michael Herr

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Author

The Resume

    (April 13, 1940-June 23, 2016)
    Born in Lexington, Kentucky
    'New Journalism' writer
    War correspondent for 'Esquire' (1967-69)
    Wrote 'Dispatches' (1977)

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of Syracuse University.
    He was supposed to write a monthly column for 'Esquire,' but submitted only one article during two years.
    He suffered a nervous breakdown eighteen months after returning from Vietnam: 'I was pretty crazy when I came back. For a long time, in fact, I was very crazy.'
    Although 'Dispatches' was published as nonfiction, he admitted that parts of it, including two characters, were made up. ('I never thought of 'Dispatches' as journalism.')
    He had trouble dealing with the success of 'Dispatches,' moved to England, and largely avoided the media.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He wrote the narration for 'Apocalypse Now.'
    He (along with Gustav Hasford and Stanley Kubrick) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Full Metal Jacket.'
    He stopped giving interviews about 'Dispatches' because he felt the focus on him was disrespectful to the soldiers he wrote about.
    John Le Carre called 'Dispatches' 'The best book I have ever read on men and war in our time.'
    He wrote, 'Conventional journalism could no more reveal this war than conventional firepower could win it.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying