His book "Dispatches," an intense, personal account of his time as a correspondent in Viet Nam, is widely considered one of the most visceral depictions of the experience of war.
In 1967, he persuaded the editor of Esquire magazine to send him to Viet Nam as a war correspondent.
He lived in England for several years, where he became friends with director Stanley Kubrick.
He attended Syracuse University, but dropped out to travel in Europe and write. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve.