When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (On the Rainy River.64)
- Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone (On the Rainy River.64)
- Tim O'Brien, Going after Cacciato (How to Tell a True War Story.105)
Historical References
- The USS Maddox and the Gulf of Tonkin (On the Rainy River.2)
- Ho Chi Minh (On the Rainy River.2)
- Geneva Accords (On the Rainy River.2)
- SEATO (On the Rainy River.2)
- Eugene "Gene" McCarthy (On the Rainy River.3)
- Bomb Hanoi (On the Rainy River.4)
- President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) (On the Rainy River.4, 64)
- General William Westmoreland (On the Rainy River.4)
- Adolf Hitler (On the Rainy River.7)
- Bao Dai (On the Rainy River.10)
- Ngo Dinh Diem (On the Rainy River.10)
- Vietnamese nationalism (On the Rainy River.10)
- French colonialism (On the Rainy River.10)
- Burning draft cards (On the Rainy River.23)
- President Abraham Lincoln (On the Rainy River.64)
- Abbie Hoffman (On the Rainy River.64)
- Chu Lai (Notes.10)
Pop Culture References
- Bonnie and Clyde (The Things They Carried.5, Notes.5)
- "The Stars and Stripes" (The Things They Carried.39)
- Jane Fonda in Barbarella (On the Rainy River.64, The Ghost Soldiers.120)
- Gary Cooper (On the Rainy River.64, The Ghost Soldiers.127)
- "Lemon Tree" (How to Tell a True War Story.92)
- Harmon Killebrew (The Ghost Soldiers.8)
- Audie Murphy (The Ghost Soldiers.127)
- The Cisco Kid (The Ghost Soldiers.127)
- Mary Hopkin (The Ghost Soldiers.145)
- Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds (The Ghost Soldiers.217)
- The Man Who Never Was (The Lives of the Dead.55)