351 pages · Released May 12, 1987 · Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Content report card
One to Count Cadence parent’s guide: what’s inside
Medium confidence
LGBTQ+ themes
None · 0/5
What it offers
A note for parents
One to Count Cadence is a gritty, adult military fiction novel set during the Vietnam War era that deals unflinchingly with combat, disillusionment, and the moral costs of war. The book is characterized by pervasive profanity, heavy drinking and drug use, sexual content, and depictions of violence in both military and combat settings. This is sophisticated literary fiction intended for mature readers who can engage with its cynical examination of war, institutional failure, and loss of faith.
The time: late summer, 1962. The place: Clark Air Force Base, the Philippines. Sergeant Jacob "Slag" Krummel, a scholar by intent but a warrior by breeding, assumes command of the 721st Communication Security Deteachment, an unsoldierly crew of bored, rebellious, whoring, foul-mouthed, drunken enlistees. Surviving mili...The time: late summer, 1962. The place: Clark Air Force Base, the Philippines. Sergeant Jacob "Slag" Krummel, a scholar by intent but a warrior by breeding, assumes command of the 721st Communication Security Deteachment, an unsoldierly crew of bored, rebellious, whoring, foul-mouthed, drunken enlistees. Surviving military absurdities reminiscent of those in Catch-22 only to be shipped clandestinely to Vietnam, Krummel's band confront their worst fears while finally losing faith in America and its myths. Powerful, scathingly funny, and eloquent, One to Count Cadence is a triumphant novel about manhood, anger, war, and lies.
