VIETNAM IN THE MUD

You have probably seen a number of these pictures somewhere else--but all are worth looking at again and many, once seen, are not to be forgotten. A freelance photographer, one of the best, Pickerell has covered the war mainly from the foot-soldier's viewpoint, but he has done so throughout this entire devastated land, with a breadth of insight and compassion few others have been able to command. The text is much more than introduction to the photographs; Pickerell is convinced that the U.S. should stay in South Vietnam and can win, but he is equally positive that present tactics--especially spreading the conflict to North Vietnam--will only lead to failure. In blunt, simple terms, he enumerates what he feels to be our worst mistakes and sketches possible alternatives. In his highly laudatory preface to the book, Malcolm Browne predicts it will ""raise hackles in certain quarters."" This much is obvious; but neither Browne nor Pickerell is so naive as to expect it will change matters. A good glimpse for the potential gun toter.