Michael Herr has died. One of the great writers. Of all time. "Dispatches" is one of my all-time favorite books. It's non-fiction, about Vietnam and the war. The best writing imaginable. I just recently re-read it. Life. Death. Blood. Mad. Surreal. Just the absolute best.
Herr also worked on "Apocalypse Now," (all that great narration spoken by Martin Sheen was written by Herr) and "Full Metal Jacket."
Later in life he "resented his celebrity," gave up writing, and turned to Buddhism. And there in a nutshell is the reality of the human thing.