Dispatches is a book comprising six narratives by Michael Herr, each of which originally appeared in periodicals and were first collected in 1977 by Alfred A. Knopf.
An early and outstanding example of the New Journalism, HerrâÂÂs rendering of his experiences as a Vietnam War correspondent was a critical success.
Featured in the book are fellow war correspondents Sean Flynn, Dana Stone, and Dale Dye, and photojournalist Tim Page.
Original periodical publication indicated:
After freelancing for Holiday magazine in the mid-1960s, Herr approached EsquireâÂÂs Harold Hayes and landed a war correspondent assignment in Vietnam. He arrived there in November 1967, age 27, and was attached to combat units with the IV Corps. Two months after his arrival the Tet Offensive began, and Herr accompanied units to Cần Thá, Huế Khe Sanh and other theaters in the war. During this period he published Hell Sucks with Esquire. In October 1968 he returned to New York.
During the next 18 months Herr wrote three more of the six narratives that would ultimately appear in Dispatches: Khe Sanh, Illumination Rounds, and Colleagues.
During this interlude of productivity, Herr suffered the loss of several of his co-correspondents which served to trigger an emotional and creative crisis.
In a June 28, 1990 interview with NPRâÂÂs Terry Gross Herr recalled the period between 1969 and 1971:
Herr added that his condition âÂÂwas not particularly healthy or wholesome or conducive to making good art.âÂÂ
Herr discontinued his efforts to complete Dispatches and did not return to the project until 1976, when he wrote the narratives that appeared as Breathing In and Breathing Out. These, along with his four previous narratives, were published as Dispatches in 1977.
John le Carré called Dispatches "the best book I have ever read on men and war in our time." It was featured in the journalism section of The Guardians 100 greatest non-fiction book list in 2011.
After publishing Dispatches, Herr disclosed that parts of the book were invented, and that it would be better for it not to be regarded as journalism. In a 1990 interview with Los Angeles Times, he admitted that the characters Day Tripper and Mayhew in the book are "totally fictional characters" and went on to say:
Similarly, in a separate interview with Eric James Schroeder, he said:
Dispatches was hailed by critics as one of the finest books published on the Vietnam War, revealing âÂÂwhat it was like to fight there, how it differed from all our other wars.âÂÂ
Paul Ciotti at the Los Angeles Times reports:
Dispatches was adapted into a musical with music by Elizabeth Swados.
Herr worked on the narration for the movie Apocalypse Now and co-wrote the screenplay for the movie Full Metal Jacket. Several scenes and pieces of dialogue used in the book were later also used in those movies.