View from a Low Bough is a story of poignancy, of horror and of devastatingly funny happenings amongst a group of 9 RAR Australian soldiers in Vietnam. Dave is one of them; so is Pete, the medic. Lenny, the superb forward scout, is another. There's Peaches and Fuzz. There's Woofer, who got his nick name from the habit of calling 'woof woof' to the enemy before shooting them. And there's quite a few more. All real people. Barrie Crowley knows them well - he was one of their number.

This is a compelling account of the Vietnam War as it really was, in language as it really was, by someone who shared the tensions and tragedies of jungle action and pulled his weight in the wild goings on at other times. It is a book whose images will remain in the mind for a very long time.

Barrie Crowley joined the army at 18 and was a regular army corporal. He did one tour of Vietnam, after which he deserted because of the traumas he experienced, described in this book. After nine months he gave himself up and was honourably discharged at the age of 21.