This is a raw and emotional book surrounding the Vietnam war and the lasting impacts and emotions. It touches on three timelines and three young men who are turning 18. In 1968, William finishes high school and enlists with the Marines. His very young life is about to be shocked by the experiences he will face in Vietnam, and the images he will capture as a photographer.
In 1979, Vincent has also just graduated high school and finds himself working for a construction crew alongside William. He begins to hear a few stories from William and sees changes in William as memories come back or he experiences different encounters. In 2016, Vincent is older and his son Beau is preparing to graduate from high school. Vincent receives William's war journal in the mail and slowly reads through it, processing the emotions that are clearly documented there. Strong perspectives resonate with Vincent, even in his current stage of life.

The World Played Chess is a novel that feels like nonfiction. It is told from different points of view and different points in time. The experiences of young Americans fighting, dying, and coming home from the Vietnam War serve as sources of wisdom for the contemporary characters. This book is emotional and puts the ugly part of war on full display. It was well-written and engaging. Kudos to author Robert Dugoni, who pulled together a beautiful coming of age story full of life lessons.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

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I loved the title but I loved the book even more. This historical fiction book is about boys on the cusp of manhood in three different time periods- a young man sent to Vietman, the same man ten years later who works on a construction crew with a recent high school graduate, and that graduates' son at the same age, twenty years later. Trauma, loyalty, and lessons on trust and resilience are woven thru the three stories seamlessly.

Usually in multiple timelines, I find myself disliking one of them, but this was not the case with this book. All three were so interesting in different ways and I think you needed a part set in the home front later to balance out the Vietnam battles. It really deepened the connection between the men and the themes.
I loved this book (by the author of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.) He is a beloved author online and I can see why- this book was well crafted. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance readers copy.

A beautifully brilliant and emotional read that will stick with me for a long time.

This is the first book I have read by Dugoni. I don't normally read books on the war but I had so many people recommending this book to me. I am so glad I took their advice and read it. It wasn't an easy read due to it's emotional content but it was brilliant and so absolutely real. These young boys/men being sent to war and so many that don't come back. A book that is so rich and powerful. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I absolutely loved this book. The story was told in three different time periods, and Robert Dugoni expertly weaved all three stories together to make one beautiful portrayal of how William's life during the Vietnam War impacted not only his life, but the life of Vincent in the 70 and then Vincent's son years later. I haven't read much in the way of historical fiction set during the Vietnam War, so this touched me in so many ways. Thank you to Meagan Beatie at MB Communications and Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC of this amazing story.

This was a very well written book about the Vietnam war as told through diary entries of a marine who lived through the war. There are three POV throughout the book; William in 1968, Vincent in 1979 and Beau in the present. I would have enjoyed the book more had it just been about William and his life in Vietnam. That was the most horrific and heartbreaking. The parts about Vincent and his son didn't resonate with me. It was too much about drinking, playing sports and paragraphs about home repair and working on a building site. However, I recommend this book because it does brings the reader into the jungles of Vietnam where soldiers never knew if today was the day they would be killed. Very chilling. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

A quick read and quite different than the other Robert Dugoni books I’ve read.

I liked William’s parts the best.

I wish the third POV was the son, but a good read all around.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The World Played Chess is a solemn Coming of Age story about three young men, and the knock-on effects of the Vietnam war. I think it’s a great book, but I didn’t enjoy it, if that makes sense - I found large chunks of it either depressing or boring - it is very American. I don’t like war books, but requested it because I love the author’s Tracy Crosswhite series. It’s taken me quite a while to finish it because I struggled with the subject matter, but am glad I persisted.

Vincent Bianco is a middle-aged attorney whose teenage son Beau is soon finishing school. One day he receives a surprise package in the mail with a letter from William, a Vietnam vet that he worked with as a builder’s labourer over his last summer before college, asking him to read the enclosed journal detailing Williams’s time at war. Vincent reminisces about the events of that summer of 1979, interspersed with the diary entries from 1968, and his observations of his own son Beau’s transition to manhood.

Dugoni is a great storyteller, and William’s story in particular brings the horror and hardship of life as a marine fighting the Viet Cong in a pointless war, where you are urged not to make friends so it’s not so hard when they die. Vincent’s story has rather too much detail about renovating a house and sports, which slowed the pace of the story right down, as well as the idiotic drunken antics he gets involved in with his peers that had me rolling my eyes. I agree with other reviewers that it would’ve been more interesting to hear Beau’s story from his own point of view - even though he comes across as a spoiled brat for most of it.

I’m rating this 3.5 to reflect my own enjoyment of it, and rounding up for the epilogue and afterword, which explains which parts are autobiographical and which fiction, including the references Dugoni used to research the war.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for the ARC with apologies that it’s a week late. I’m posting this honest review voluntarily. The world played chess is available now.

A beautifully written coming-of-age story. Vincent Bianco meets William and Todd, Vietnam vets, in 1976 working construction. As Vinnie's friendship with William develops, William tells his story of Vietnam. Time passes and Vinnie is a successful lawyer with an 18 year old son Beau. He receives a package from William that contains a journal of Willian's time in Vietnam. Dugoni masterfully weaves the three timelines and stories and each story connects to the others with life lessons concerning grief, regret, and responsibility. William's journal is heartbreaking.
Highly recommended for fans of Dugoni and those interested in the Vietnam War from a soldier's viewpoint.
A masterpiece that will tug at your heart and mind. Expertly researched with an extensive resource list and author's notes that are touching.

Dugoni once again delivers his gift of exquisite storytelling. I had recently finished The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and still continue to think about that book and Sam. The World Played Chess, told in multiple timelines, and telling the story of three different 18year old men, Vincent is the common thread among them - William is a Vietnam Veteran he meets while working a construction job and Beau is his 18 year old son. We hear from William in the recalling of Vincent's summer with him as well as from his journals during the war at 18 years old that he gifted to Vincent and lastly Beau as he is transitioning from High School to College. . I appreciate the thoughtfulness and realness to an 18 year old sent off to fight a War (and consequently, the after math) as well as Vincent and Beau's 18year old perspective of live not yet lived and decisions they face. What I enjoyed the most was the clearly depicted profound impact William and Vincent had on one another. I have a feeling these characters will stay with me for a long time.

Robert Dugoni has a story to tell. It is the tale of the era of the Vietnam War, the story of a marine who experiences extreme traumas in the battles of that war, a man who expected to be a photographer of that war. It's also a story of a man, the narrator, who has sufficient privilege to avoid serving and who, instead, attends college and becomes an attorney. The war ended in the 1970s. It is in the 1990s that the narrator comes in possession of the vet's private journal. The story is told with interspersed segments of the narrator's perspective and the vet's perspective via the journal, kept while he was serving his country.

Dugoni captures the dichotomy by including two perspectives and two very different lived perspectives. It's quite an effective technique. The reader feels the immediacy of the marine's experience and the distance from the war that the attorney lived.

The novel is probably one of the best proofread books I've come across in a while. Hooray for that! It's shortcoming, for me, was the interjection of explanations that would only be necessary for a reader who has no idea whatsoever of that era and the harsh, violent reality of that war, a reader who might need the explanations in order to understand the text. I believe those explanations were unnecessary.

This war took a horrible toll on everyone who served and those who loved them. Those who returned with no visible wounds mostly came home with severe post-traumatic stress symptoms. It can, I believe, be read as an object lesson in the futility of wars. However, when those warriors returned, they were ignored, at best, and, too often, scorned by those with no empathy in their hearts.

The World Played Chess is a story of growing up and becoming an adult and realizing the meaning of life and death. It's a beautiful, however, heartbreaking story that might have been real-life for so many youngsters that were sent to Vietnam to fight. One day they were playing football and drinking beer with friends the next they were in the middle of the jungle fighting people they had nothing against in a country they were not familiar with. For those who returned home, it was unbearably difficult to fit in and leave the war in the past, most of them had no help and simply slipped through the cracks in the system as a society could not understand them anymore. This story is a punch in the stomach and a great reminder that wars should be avoided at all costs, that we should not allow generations of young people to be lost as it happened in Vietnam and other wars. This is not an easy book to read but it makes great reading and provides food for thoughts on life, family, friendship.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for gifting me the latest stand-alone novel by a must-read author for me, Robert Dugoni. 5 stars for a gripping, raw story that I couldn't put down.

Spanning three different time periods - 1967, 1979 and 2016 - focusing on three individuals - William, Vincent and Beau. In 1979, Vincent has just graduated from high school and gets a job on a construction crew to earn money to attend college. There, he meets William, a Vietnam vet, who teaches Vincent crucial life lessons as they are working, lessons that Vincent tries to impart to his own son, Beau, who is set to leave for college in 2016. We learn of William's time in Vietnam through a series of journal entries that he passes on to Vincent.

Robert Dugoni has once again proved what a master storyteller he is. If you haven't read his Tracy Crosswhite or Charles Jenkins series, you must, as well as The Incredible Life of Sam Hell. All are 5 star reads. The World Played Chess is a gritty look into the Vietnam War from the very young men who were sent there to fight it, as well as the wounds they brought home with them. There are so many life lessons in this book - it should be a must read for every high school senior and/or college freshman, especially males who sometimes struggle with the transition from boy to man. Absolutely a must read!

I didn't love this as much as The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (one of my all-time favorite books). This is definitely a guys story. Though an interesting topic (Vietnam War), it just wasn't great for me. I will continue to read Robert's books as I find him a very gifted storyteller!

3.5 stars

"Growing up is a privilege not a right"

I am still a new Robert Dugoni reader, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell was my first and an awesome audio read.

The World Played Chess is told from a couple different angles. Vincent when he is an 18 years old fresh out of high school and then again when he is a dad to an 18 year old. Much of the story is told from his POV. The other part is through a journal.

I haven't read many books from that era and I can't recall any with Vietnam playing a central part. But I did enjoy the year 1979, it's the same year I graduated high school, it took me down memory lane. The book blurb really doesn't give too much of the story away and I like that, though dealing with Nam I knew it would get emotional and heartbreaking.

Even though I felt the first half of the book rather slow the last part picked up speed with a nice ending. Learning first hand of the experiences in Vietnam was hard to read at times but it was nice to witness the journey Vincent went on through the years. The author notes gave his inspiration for writing this book which reflected a bit of Vincent's life giving more emotion to the story.

Though literary fiction really isn't my thing I enjoyed this one and one of these days I will check out more of Robert Dugoni's books.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a digital ARC (via Netgalley) in exchange for a honest review.

5 brilliantly blazing stars for this incredible story, not only of a soldier’s journals from Vietnam, but also about what it means to become a man, and how men relate to one another; as family, fathers, sons and friends. This book was deeply emotional and I was moved numerous times to tears. I’m left grieving for all of those kids who went to fight and senseless war, a generation lost; but I’m also left feeling deeply touched by the male relationships in this story; by the unspoken brotherhood of men.

Excellent story! I have read the entire Tracy Crosswhite series and the extraordinary life of Sam Hell by this author. Sam Hell has definitely been my favorite but this would be a very close second. I really enjoyed the story alternating between the summer of 1979, present day and the journal entries from the Vietnam war by William. The ending is amazing! So many emotions throughout these pages! An excellent story that is very well told and written. Keep reading at the end through the acknowledgments, good information on there too. Definitely recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley for the privilege of reading this book for free for an honest review.

‘The World Played Chess’ by Robert Dugoni (Lake Union Publishing, Sept. 14, 400 pages, $24.95)

Although known for his thrillers — the Tracy Crosswhite series is the reader’s gift that keeps giving — there’s a reason why Robert Dugoni’s new novel, “The World Played Chess,” is currently the top seller in the category “coming of age fiction.” One of those reasons is his 2018 novel, “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell,” another non-thriller that Dugoni cut his authorial teeth on. After his high school graduation in 1979, Vincent Bianco finds a fleeting job as a day laborer, working alongside two Vietnam vets, one with PTSD, who open up to the young man and offer an education he could get no where else. Now, 40 years later and with his own son heading off to college, Vincent encounters those early lessons from his own last summer of innocence. The result is both subtle and shattering in shaping the destiny of a man’s life. The title, tweaked from the saying, “I’m playing chess while you’re playing checkers,” is wonderfully apt for this engrossing novel. Dugoni’s bandwidth keeps getting broader and broader, and “The World Played Chess” will go down as one of his finest.

This was my first time reading a book by author Robert Dugoni but most definitely will not be my last. The World Played Chess was a very emotional read for me as well as very enlightening. I learned so much from this story as it centers around a mans life in the Vietnam war. I was very young at the time and was not really aware of what it was like for our servicemen that went over there but now I see a little more clearly of what they went through. This story is told from the 2 main characters view points, that of William, the man who was sent to Vietnam and of Vincent, a younger man who becomes friends with William while working a summer job on a construction site before he heads off to college. I found there to be many life lessons within the storylines of this book. I also felt like I got a really good glimpse into what it was like for our servicemen as they served their time in Vietnam. I advise you to have tissues close by as I myself teared up in several parts of the story. This was a very enjoyable read and a book I recommend to others. I’m also happy to have found a new author to enjoy and will be reading more of his work in the future. I’d like to thank Megan Beatie @ MB Communications for the invite and NetGalley for the arc to read, review and enjoy. I’m giving this a 5 star rating!

4.5 stars

Yes, the world did indeed play chess while we played _________________(fill in the blank)

This beautifully done story pays homage to three men trapped in the world of being an eighteen year old boy, thinking they were invincible, men about to embark on life but little did Vincent Bianco realize that his life would be surely effected by two Vietnam vets he worked with. The education he thought he would attain in college was really pushed aside by the life lessons he learned by working side by side with these vets.

Vincent is brought back to memories accumulated forty years ago, when his son is about to leave for college. Received in the mail at the time of Vincent's son, Beau, journey to college, Vincent thinks back to the men particularly William. In the diary, Vincent learns the horror of being eighteen in a place where death lurks behind every blade of grass. The loss of life is ever so poignantly presented by the author as William learns he should never make friend nor talk of home. It's a little over a year that this marine must be in country, a year of hell, or not even knowing why his own country was there.

One can't help seeing the parallels between Vietnam where 282,000 military deaths occurred and Afghanistan, where it seemed they played chess while we played Go Fish where 2,448 people serving their country lost their lives.

This story gave me goosebumps as we think of those men and women, so young with their path of life cut ever so short. As William says to Vincent at a point in the stoy, "Growing old is a privilege." These servicemen and women never got that chance to grow old.

I definitely recommend this moving and tender story of three generations of men. The lessons they learned could never come from a classroom, for life is an eternal teacher, perhaps the best teacher of all. My heart continually broke for all those who have lost their lives to fight useless wars.

Thank you to Robert Dugoni, Lake Union Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this story which published September 14, 2021.