The 13th Valley cover art

The 13th Valley

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The 13th Valley

By: John M. Del Vecchio
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $44.99

Buy Now for $44.99

About this listen

Finalist for the National Book Award: a work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation.

The 13th Valley follows the terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini's plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semipacifist to an all-out combat-crazed soldier. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book. It is the first title in Del Vecchio's Vietnam War Trilogy, which also includes For the Sake of All Living Things, about the Cambodian holocaust, and Carry Me Home, which addresses the aftermath of war.

©2012 John M . Del Veccio (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Military War Vietnam War Air Force Imperial Japan
All stars
Most relevant  
The descriptions of combat are intense, this book really transports you into the terrifying and hellish depths of combat patrols in the jungle. You feel like you really get to know the men of the platoon, so much so that you really feel the loss when one is killed. This is easily one of the best books about the Vietnam war and I have read/listened to many.

Excellent philosophical observations of the nature of war and conflict.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

quite long so not for a single sitting

Any additional comments?

the only parts of this story i didn't like were the multiple philosophical conversations between the troops which while i'm sure happened on occasion didn't really add to the story and just seemed out of place, the second was the speed at which Cherry turned to 'the dark side' just seemed too fast for me but apart from that it was great.

Very good, a classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
got half way through this, the book mainly seems to be fictional dialog, could not follow any kind of story if any later in the book.

No combat just (fictional)? boring dialog

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.