Like all good war novels, Fields of Fire pulsates with the horror, comraderie and yes, the joy of men at war. Webb's driving narrative draws you right into the poncho hootches and marine trenches that ring the village of An Hoa. His prose is often awkward ("Bagger shook his head miserably," "the first Sergeant sat among a gaggle of clerks") and verbose, but it is enhanced by authentic dialogue and the inimitable patois of jungle combat: Baby Cakes and Cat Man are Number One soldiers (the very best); when the enemy launches artillery shells, it's time to retreat ricky-tick (immediately, if not sooner); and when Lieutenant Hodges says, "I think we've all gone dinky dau," he expresses a universal truth that needs no translation.

The novel is essentially plotless, relying instead on bittersweet vignettes….

Thematically, Webb's key character is Will Goodrich, a Harvard student who enlists in the...