Philip Caputo, author of A Rumor of War, dies at 84

“We had believed we were there for a high moral purpose. But somehow our idealism was lost, our morals corrupted and the purpose forgotten.” He wrote one of the great American Vietnam War memoirs and was an exceptional war reporter. RIP Philip Caputo. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/b...

When I was the kid in the Chicago Tribune newroom, I looked up to Phil Caputo as the reporter's reporter. Philip Caputo, Who Wrote Blistering Vietnam War Memoir, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/b...

RIP Philip Caputo. from "A Rumor of War" (1977), one of the essential Vietnam memoirs. The close of its introduction really hit me when i first read it, around age 19 (right when Gulf War I was underway), and still does.

RIP Phil Caputo. A Rumor of War resonated with me because, as a lieutenant, I always felt like I never really knew what the hell I was doing. The book hit differently after Iraq & Afghanistan, where I realized I could never have complete control of either my Marines or the situation on the ground.

‘A Rumor of War’ was one of the books that inspired me to become a military historian. Fair winds and following seas, Philip Caputo.

Very sad news #histbookchat #RIP Philip Caputo - wrote one of the best war memoirs ever, A Rumor of War

ah shit, philip caputo died, "a rumor of war" is right up there with "dispatches" in terms of vietnam war memoirs—I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting but it's early

“Mr. Caputo wrote in ‘A Rumor of War’ that his book was about ‘the things men do in war and the things war does to them’.”

Philip Caputo died yesterday aged 84. If you only ever read one book about the Vietnam War, make it A Rumor of War, first published in 1977 #Booksky

RIP Phil Caputo. If you can only read two of his ten novels, these. Of the first, John Gregory Dunne wrote, "to call it the best book about Vietnam is to trivialize it." The second, set in war-torn Sudan, reads like a latter-day Graham Greene morality tale. #books #writing #booksky

📚💙 ⌛📚💙 #Books #Reading #HistorySky A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo 1977 A personal memoir of the war in Vietnam, in which the author first served as a Marine and which he later covered as a reporter

Man, I had no idea he was still alive, RIP I bought many books in the 2nd hand stall in the old Argyle Market in Glasgow (now Sports Direct I guess) but 'A Rumor Of War' is right up there as my fave ever - I re-read it regularly, I recommend it always, I've never once met a person whoz read it

“A Rumor of War” is a great and terrifying book about a tragic and pointless war. It was based on Caputo's time as a young Marine Corps officer in Vietnam in 1965-66 and is well worth reading. Philip Caputo, Who Wrote Blistering Vietnam War Memoir, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/b...

One of my popular favorite writers. Acts of Faith is a stunning book. May his memory be a blessing #booksky

Journalist and author Philip Caputo said his memoir "A Rumor of War" was "a story about war, about the things men do in war and the things war does to them.” chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...