Dispatches

Dispatches is a stream-of-consciousness, autobiographical account of the Vietnam War by Esquire magazine correspondant Michael Herr. The book was partially used as an 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, the author has admitted that certain elements are entirely fictional, such as the memorable characters Mayhew and Day Tripper. Herr has expressed amusement in some readers' belief that the entire book is fact, since Dispatches was marketed as a novel in France.