Dispatches
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Dispatches is a stream-of-consciousness, autobiographical account of the Vietnam War by Esquire Magazine correspondent Michael Herr. The book was used as a partial, uncredited inspiration for the film Full Metal Jacket, directed by Herr's friend Stanley Kubrick.
In the few interviews Herr has given regarding the book, he has admitted that certain elements are entirely fictional, such as the memorable characters Mayhew and Day Tripper. Herr has expressed amusement towards some readers' belief that the entire book is fact, since Dispatches was marketed as a novel in France.