The Tree of Smoke was a great book filled with emotion of four men during the Vietnam War. It truly holds the standards of a national book award. Immediately once I started to read the book I noticed that the author could paint a picture in my head. He could paint the picture of the men in the jungle, their drunken personalities, and the Hawaiian shirt and uniforms they wore. The author is able to play out every scene in the book in your head. He describes the characters and makes you almost feel like you know them. In this novel they portray the lives of 4 men who do tours in Vietnam. At first they are ready to fight and can’t wait for action, but as the days get longer and the battle wages they soon deteriorate. This book displays their emotions and how war can really affect the people that participate in it with the events that happen and the people they see.  It exemplified the true nature of war and the horrors that haunt the people that are in it.  War is harsh and can take a toll on the people who are chosen to fight in it.