The Greatest Beer Run Ever- Annotation

Author: John “Chick” Donohue and J. T. Molloy

Title: The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Publication Date: May 2, 2017

Number of Pages: 272

Geographical Setting: Vietnam / New York City

Time Period: 1968

Series: N/A

Plot Summary: On an evening in 1967, John “Chick” Donohue, a 26-year-old veteran, was drinking with buddies in a local New York bar discussing their friends and family off fighting in Vietnam. They lamented the amount of virulent anti-war protesters who seemed to have abandoned the poor young soldiers. Chick and his friends decided something needed to be done to show the boys off in Vietnam that they were appreciated for the sacrifices they were making. Without much more thought, Chick sets off on a cargo ship to sneak into Vietnam, find his friends scattered all across the country, and deliver them a nice American beer brought with him from New York City. What follows is a comedic adventure that lasts much longer than Chick intended and witnesses many of the most violent parts of the war.

Subject Headings:

Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Memoirs
United States-- Armed forces
Adventure stories
Male friendship

Narrative Continuum: This book follows Wyatt’s definition of a highly narrative nonfiction book. As a memoir, The Greatest Beer Run Ever is told like a story, chronologically as we follow Chick’s adventures.

Appeal:

Tone: upbeat and frank

Characterization: John “Chick” Donohue is written as a fun, impulsive, and caring guy who considers himself a patriot. His charisma allows him to sneak into Vietnam and gloss over the truth at times to get to the places he needs to be. During his time observing the Vietnam War effort from the frontlines, his opinion on the war changes and he learns to question the people in power and be more sympathetic toward protesters.

Storyline: The book is told entirely from Chick’s perspective, chronologically over the course of a few months with the occasional insertion of stories remembered from the past. 

Setting: The book starts out with Chick in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City where he has grown up. Throughout the story, at times Chick returns to describing Inwood, painting us a picture of his home and how he grew up with all the men he sets off to find. The main setting of the novel is Vietnam in early 1968. Chick travels all over the country, though for the most part, his descriptions are more focused on the wartime aspects of these cities and towns rather than the actual country.

Pacing: I would call the book fairly medium-paced. There is always something eventful happening in the story, but it doesn’t rush along. Most chapters are very short which helps it move along quicker.

3 terms that best describe this book: War story, Adventure, Comedy

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:

A Vietnam War Reader: American and Vietnamese Perspectives- Michael Hunt

This is a compiled book of documents and testimonies from politicians, soldiers, and civilians who lived through the Vietnam War, on both sides of the issue. For the reader interested in learning more broadly about the war Donohue experienced, this is a great factual collection of sources. 

The Odyssey of Echo Company: The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War- Doug Stanton

Mixing history and narrative storytelling, this book focuses on the experiences of the Echo Company during the war and after the soldiers return home. Covered in the book is the Tet Offensive of 1968, which is the big event Chickie accidentally gets involved in in The Greatest Beer Run Ever.

Five Four Whiskey: A Memoir of War- Robert Sweatmon

Like Donohue's book, this is a memoir of the author's time in Vietnam. Set mostly in the woods of Saigon, Five Four Whiskey reflects on the up-front horrors of battle as soldiers try to reconcile their idealistic mindsets.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

The Things They Carried- Tim O'Brien

This novel is a classic for anyone wanting to read about the Vietnam War. The Things They Carried takes a much more literary perspective on the war experience, but they share a frankness and surrealness in their storytelling.

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War- Karl Marlantes

This is a fictional work by a Vietnam veteran that portrays a gritty, in-the-trenches perspective of the war by some young marine soldiers. This novel shows a more in-depth look at the fighting in some of the areas Chick found himself in Vietnam.

The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam- Bao Nihn

For readers wanting to know more about the opposite perspective, this novel is written by a former North Vietnamese soldier. Nihn gives an honest, critical look at the war, so much so, that the Communist Party tried to stop its being published.