[2] Originally trained as a small arms repair technician, Russ requested and eventually received a transfer to a combat infantry unit.
[6] J. D. Salinger called it “a very legitimate, sinewy, authentic war book”;[7] The New York Herald Tribune called it “Top rank among soldiers’ war records of all time.”[3] Kirkus Reviews opined that Russ was "a hugely gifted young writer", while noting that he was "in his jagged, haphazard way, wonderfully assassinating the King's English by any verbal somersaults he fancies.
"[10] Breakout, which documented the Chosin River campaign of the Korean War, was described as an "outstanding history",[11] "thoroughly researched"[12] and "engrossing.
"[13] Written during the Vietnam War, Happy Hunting Ground included an account, told to Russ by a third party, of Australian soldiers threatening a Vietnamese woman with torture.
[14][15] Kirkus Reviews praised Showdown Semester for its "very sound and mostly amusing teaching tips" and found it "certainly worth a browse by anyone involved in this daunting profession.