Most books about Laos are boring. By contrast, Back Fire is interesting. As I left Laos in late 1974, I asked myself if anyone would ever be able to describe in plain English and lucidity the absurdity and complexity that became the War (between the United States and North Vietnam) in Laos from 1960 to 1975? Will anyone ever explain why the War in Laos should be chronicled in the Encyclopedia of Human Stupidity? Roger Warner comes closer than any other author. His book, Back Fire, traces the incidents and the players after 1960 in a way that is easy to follow and understand. Warner takes neither a pro- nor anti-war position; instead he lays out the chronology with facts and events and also does a very good job laying out the strengths and weaknesses of the chief CIA, State Department, and, Lao, and Hmoung (Meo) leaders. Vietnam Vets will shake their heads after reading this book -- the overall strategy and implementation of the strategy to sacrifice Laos and its people for Vietnam was more imbecilic than previously explained. While there were certainly heroes in the Laos war, Warner shows us the dolts in higher positions too. Forget assassination laws, our nation needs a law that prohibits any member of the State Department, including Ambassadors and chargé d'affaires, from ever commanding military resources. This book is ripe with example. On a personal note, I want to thank Roger Warner for documenting the true story about the 24 foot tape worms - it's free beer for me forever. If you think racial prejudice is unique to the United States, read Warner's true account about the prejudice among white, green, and blue Meo (the color of a woman's tribal dress trim, not skin color). Warner does a fair job explaining the CIA and Hmoung involvement with the opium and heroin trade. There are weaknesses in the book, Warner mentions but doesn't conclude about the road built by the Chinese Army from southern China through northern Laos to an unbridgeable termination at the waterfalls on the Mekong River - the secret of that road remains intact. He also neglects to mention Colonel John P. Cross, British Military Attaché, and his significant contribution between 1972 and 1976. While Americans were flying to and from in Laos, Colonel Cross walked from border to border, village to village, through government and communist controlled territory and gained more intelligence than all the CIA. Cross may have been eccentric, but he was usually right. (see First In, Last Out, An Unconventional British Officer in Indo-China; Cross, J.P.) The writer briefly notes the presence of Army and Air Force Detachment 404, but neglects to explain it's purpose and activities. The same for COMUSMACTHAI (whatever) and communication intelligence. Individuals involved with unconventional warfare (teaching or planning) and students of Laos should read this book, I doubt if many others will care. And by the way, Warner makes it clear that North Vietnam led and controlled the communist Pathet Lao party, not a Laotian.

It is disappointing to learn that Roger Warner's excellent work is now out of print. He and the publisher Simon & Schuster did a national service in producing "Back Fire: The CIA's Secret War in Laos and Its Link to the War in Vietnam." One can only hope that a softcover edition will be forthcoming.

Good history doesn't spring readily into public consciousness, no matter how well researched or written. The Vietnam War and related events still carry too much baggage for the American public to embrace easily ... perhaps in another generation this will change.

When attitudes do change (and they surely will), Warner's efforts to unravel and explain the events that transpired across Vietnam's western border in the 1960s and 1970s will provide a springboard to understanding and future research.

I found that "Back Fire" answered many questions about my own involvement in the war during those troubled times. One instance in particular that Warner recounts was the secret operation of a radar facility on a mountain in northern Laos, from which fighter bombers were vectored to targets in North Vietnam. The installation was destroyed in a desperate fight after outnumbered and unsupported defenders were overwhelmed by North Vietnamese regular troops. Later, not many miles away, a similar radar system was reestablished on a peak in the northern part of South Vietnam near the A Shau Valley. It too came under attack by enemy regulars and its defenders withdrew after a 23-day siege. (See Keith Nolan's "Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970.")

There are many key individuals that make up this intriguing tale. One of the most interesting is the charismatic Vang Pao, a Humong (or Meo) tribesman who rose from obscurity to lead the only effective Laotian army to fight the communists. Tragically for the Humong, when the U.S. sent combat troops to South Vietnam the CIA lost control of the air war in Laos. Subsequent mismanagement of air assets began the downward spiral of defeat for the tribesmen.

In the end, "Back Fire" is about more than just secrecy. It is about the cruel side of war and about war's illusions. It chronicles the sacrifices of small countries and naive, primitive groups to the hubris of more powerful neighbors and larger countries.

If you can get a copy of "Back Fire," do so. It will be an acquisition the military historian and history buff will not regret.

Buy it, read it, live it. Evenhanded for a change account of a good war -- noble cause, ably fought -- by a very fine writer

This book does a great job of telling the story without the profanity. Good reading for all ages who want to know the soldier's story. A great book for Vets too. the story of a combat Medic.

As a Donut Dollie with the American Red Cross in Viet Nam in 1970 - 71, I found this book to be a great representation of a Viet Nam vet. It is factual, easy to read and entertaining. The book evokes emotions and helps the reader feel the life of the vet. I am currently a teacher and plan to use this book when I teach about the war.

This story follows the life of a young american boy from childhood, through being drafted, sent to vietnam, the 1970 Cambodia invasion, and the after shock of it all. It is written primarily to give the younger generation a first-hand report of the experience, and is suitable reference material for history classes in the middle school years.

I had an opportunity to hear Dr. Coffee speak in California this past summer. To say he left the room speechless was an understatement. Inspiration,patriotism and an acknowledgment of our God were messages he left with us.

The book goes into great detail about the spirit of man and the strength that lies within each of us. His years spent in North Vietnam as a POW and the indomitable spirit required to survive unheard of torture is an incredible tale. Dr. Coffee states that he is an ordinary man much like everyone else - he merely endured extraordinary circumstances. I think not!

This book should be required reading in our high schools. To hear Dr. Coffee speak or to read his book will make one proud to be an American. I strongly urge you all to read this uplifting and incredible saga of an incredible human being.

Gerald Coffee really goes "Beyond Survival" with his seven years of POW experience in a North Vietnamese Prison, (the infamous "Hanoi Hilton") during the Viet-Nam War. Just when I thought things could not get any worse for Coffee, they did. Broken and beaten he continues to survive one day to the next by maintaining his faith in God and a belief that the US Government would someday come to his assistance. Father, Husband, Soldier, and Hero, his story struck deep in my heart. He is an inspiration to all of us to "make each day count".

What would you do if everything you hold dear was forcibly taken away? Jerry Coffee had that happen to him in North Viet Nam. After being shot down and wounded, he spends years in torturous conditions in Hanoi prisons. One thing that moved me most was the fact that even though he was confined alone in a tiny cell, he still gave himself so many chores and educational assignments to perform (such as studying French) that on some days he was unable to finish all of his tasks. Now that is optimism!

Reader's Comment: Blacks in America's Wars, by Robert W. Mullen

U.S. Wars and the Black Struggle

For serious students of U.S. and world history, African-American Studies, and participants in the class struggle to end oppression, this book is must reading.

The author reviews Black participation in U.S. wars from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam. Blacks have always had to fight racism as well as declared enemies. Mullen describes how escaped slaves served under the command of a slave owner, George Washington, during the Revolutionary War against England. Initially the U.S. returned ex-slaves to their owners. That changed only when the British promised to free slaves who joined their side.

Two wars in which African-Americans played a decisive role were the Civil War and World War II. Both wars ushered in gigantic changes for the U.S., Black people in the U.S., and the situation of the U.S. in the world. The Civil War was the last progressive war waged by the U.S. government, as it ended slavery. In contrast, World War II signaled the triumph of U.S. imperialism over its capitalist rivals. Mullen analyzes how Blacks seized upon the hypocrisy of U.S. rulers' stated aims and stepped up the fight against racism both within the Armed Forces and society as a whole, giving rise to the Civil Rights movement. Coupled with the rise of the colonial revolution, the liberation struggle grew, drastically improving conditions for Blacks in the U.S.

A myth has grown up that the military is a pro Black institution that has been a "successful" example of the "integration" of Blacks and other minorities into US society. Mullen destroys that myth in this succinct, clear, and well-documented history. The racist military has always resisted Black humanity, even when Blacks struggled to win the revolutionary victories if 1776 and provided the decisive element in winning the Civil War. The forgotten chapter, the one the most lies are spread about, Vietnam, discloses the real relations between the military and Blacks at a time an ongoing and independent thinking Black movement was rising up. Read Mullen if only for his picture of black radical opposition to the brass, to the war, the whole idea both from within and without the US war machine during the war against the peoples of Indochina.

A concise overview of Afro-American participation and attitudes towards military service, both volunteer and by forced conscription, in two-centuries of U.S. wars. I didn't know a lot of the specific facts, especially about early wars from the 1776 American Revolution on, until I read this book..

Mullen starts from the reality of Afro-Americans in U.S. society, from slavery to Jim Crow segregation, to today's racist oppression. I found especially interesting his discussion of the attitudes of Afro-Americans towards serving in the U.S. military, at times hoping that combat service would help them win equality at home, and later, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, growing opposition to U.S. wars. Also the discussion of the long-standing efforts to fight segregation and discrimination within the military. Mullen's coverage of the views of different leaders of the civil rights and Black power movements of the 1960s towards the U.S. war in Vietnam is well worth reviewing today.

Don't miss the many photos and illustrations: they certainly help bring the issues and struggles covered here vividly to life.

This is simply the best book written by an American about war. Mr. Terry interviewed grunts who more often than not had been to Hell and the book captures the flailing, coughing evil of the place. Terry avoids the B.S. that goes with military ambition. His men were Black soldiers with no sense of "pro patria mori" and varying loyalty to the greater patriotic cause. This book is a dead-down opposite to William Manchester's "American Caesar," a first-rate biography of Douglas MacArthur, who is deservedly revered as a courageous soldier and brilliant general. Terry's "Oral History" reaches down into our humanity and finds a core of emotion that must have been with us when we lived in caves, fearing wild beasts. ****** The challenge is finishing "Bloods." Hell is impossible to visit; "Bloods" is as close as you're going to get. ****** This reviewer carries a VA "purple card."

I have bought this book twice and through cross country moves I have unfortunately lost both copies. It is a true tradegy to me that it is out of print. It is a sterling example of bravery, discrimination, and heart in a "tell it like it is" format. It should be required reading.

Racism in the American military helped to prevent American political objectives in Vietnam from becoming a reality. The enemy exploited white racism to the point it divided our forces and reduced our military ability to exert its full capabilities... too many Americans left the Constitution at home. "Bloods" tells it like it is. A superb collection. I applaud it.

Once you start this book, it will be hard to do anything else until you finish. Gripping, moving account of the Thud airstrikes over NVN. Newbies to the Vietnam war will feel admiration for the pilots, and anger toward the war leadership that put politics over lives.

Although Harrison develops his charactors carefully, the reader is pulled rapidly through the unfolding story with its tragedies and triumphs and - surprises.

If you can find the book, get it. But make sure you have a clear couple of days to get through it.

I have read this book several times and I can't get enough of it. The action is non-stop. And the air battles are as real as my flight-sim. This book is right up there with such authors as Dale Brown, Joe Weber, and Leonard B. Scott. I score it a 10. I just wish he would write more.

This is a superb novel based on the Republic F-105 Thunderchief (THUD) pilots in Vietnam. Astounding level of accuracy

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the black operations of special forces and the dedicated pilots who supported them. The stories of heroism and sacrifice in this book need to be heard. The author has a gift for making the reader feel they are in the cockpit experiencing the challenge and excitement of life and death combat. This is a keeper.

in my opinion these true stories of the vietnam airwar are the most gripping and entertaining i have ever read. i was so impressed by this book that i honestly wanted to travel wherever to met this man and shake his hand. i have worn out my paperback copy of this book. i can't imagine any aviation buff not thoroughly enjoying this read.

This would have been the best book I have read on the air war in Vietnam if I had not disovered "A Lonely Kind of War" by Marshall Harrison. Both books are written by former Foward Air Controllers that served in Southeast Asia (more than Vietnam).

Da Nang Diary is a fascinating read about the lives of the pilots and crew that operated from Thailand and flew into Laos and Cambodia to support US and South Vietnamese soldiers. Tom Yarborough manages to do a very good job of drawing the reader ito the story during the action, but doesn't do as well when he is not talking about the flying.

All in all a very good book that should be read with "A Lonely Kind of War" by Marshall Harrison to get a better understanding of the situation that our pilots faced in Southeast Asia.

One, of not the only book, I have ever read about Conscientious Objectors in the military. Each of the stories told in the book bring to life the Viet Nam war itself, but the war in the minds of the men themselves. It is a different kind of bravery that is revealed here.

I was in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 1980's doing some painful rehabilitation work. My psyche was only a shadow of what it once was or what it became later with a renewal of my faith, insight, and energy. I was browsing through the library and saw an ad in the back of "Mother Jones" anout this book in the making. I contacted the author and was interviewed via telephone for a couple of hours. It was at a pay phone and I literally screamed my way through the interview. It was a return to the roots of my dissent. And a healing.

The author has captured a fragment of the in-service dissent during the Vietnam War. When I started my dissent action, I was alone, and endured lonliness. This book has cemented us together in a deepest solidarity. Now I am available for support to others in this dilemma, should the need arise. Heaven forbid. What a nightmare. What a journey. What hope!

"To hope til hope creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates."

Shelley (peace sisters and brothers)

This book is very real, it emits an aura of what it's really like to fight in a war. Great for all people interseted in the military.

This is powerful poetry, so much that when I read it I feel like I'm there, watching him and the surroundings that he witnessed in his mind so well.

Some of his metaphors are almost magical in their quality, their effusiveness, and ability to draw you in. It's also helped by the fact that very few poets write about war like this. Sure, there've been the I Rhyme, You Die poets from the civil war or other periods of history, but nothing like this.

He talks about the soldier's main preoccupation: women, home, warm smiles, grenades, RPG's, and dying--of course. All the while you know that there's this inherent sadness he can't talk about while he's a soldier. That's what makes these poems run so deep. I especially liked the poem "Thanks". It was heartbreaking for me.

It's beautiful reading about these scars, sad as they may be. Being a Soldier is a tough man's job, and hopefully people will read this book of poems and realize that.

I read this book of poems for the first time in a literary analysis class in college. I hadn't really enjoyed or understood poetry up to that point and certainly didn't imagine it would be something that I would want to focus my studies on. This collection blew me away. I ended up doing my honors thesis on Vietnam War Poetry, using this book as a standard by which I judged others. Most war poetry is very boring because it represents a heroic look back in attempt to glorify war. This book is nothing like that it is an incredible adventure into the realities of war and its effects on the psyche. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND ANYTHING ELSE BY KOMUNYAKAA. He is an incredible poet. I would also highly recommend the works of BRUCE WEIGL. I wrote of his work in my thesis as well. They are both incredible writers.

When I was nam I never really examined much of my emotions consciencly. It was not until I got back, where I realized the scares it had left. Thank you for showing me your scars.

Roberto Loiederman and Richard Linnett take the reader on a fascinating voyage into a little-known chapter of the Vietnam era. Meticulously researched, the authors manage to pump prose into this account of an armed mutiny aboard an American ship carrying napalm. A former merchant marine, Loiederman lends authenticity and precision grounding to this sea-going narrative. Here is a rare opportunity to get a glimpse into the mind of a mutineer. Move over Bounty - the Eagle has landed!

Thirty-one years ago was way, way back! Another century. Yet Linnett and Loiederman recreate the intensity and frenzy of that era and make it wholly coherent and contemporary. This fresh, comprehensive, recall reveals a turbulent Vietnam era that is both exotic and accessible.

A fantastic story--incredibly true though it reads like a thriller movie--this mutiny not only happened as described, but becomes a metaphor for the political and social transition that color an entire generation. And like Melville, Conrad, London, Nordhoff and Hall, Wauk and O'Brian, Linnett and Loiederman make of their ship, and it's mutiny, a floating cosmos, where the rules are both observed and bent. Where too, morality is debated and diverted.

We are given two young men coming of age in the late sixties. While both wind up as merchant seamen, Clyde slips in from a life of adventure and twilight while Alvin pushes on from the mainstream. The authors bring those hyperbolic days with their hyperbolic people alive in the same way Clyde and Alvin found them vivid and attractive.

And the Columbia Eagle becomes their crucible as the world and the war plunges forward. The powers play the grand game and, in isolation, the mutineers carry out their plot, ignorant and unaffected. When they finally emerge with the ship and its cargo of napalm in Cambodian waters, players are about to change sides on them and their act of protest is swallowed up in the upheaval, the coup that deposed Sihanouk three days after their arrival.

What follows is a tale of increasing strangeness. The relationship between Alvin and Clyde deteriorates. Their capture, incarceration, escape, disappearance and reappearance are all traced. The inscrutability of both U. S. and Cambodian officials concerning the mutineers' fates, gives rise to conjecture. We're also given an overview of the huge cast of anti-war journalists, Thai and Cambodian peasants, soldiers of fortune, scholars and movement people who cross paths with the mutineers. These were dizzying, heady times, and the authors bring them to life with persuasive, exhaustive research.

At last, we are left with a portrait of an age, a time and a set of personalities shaped by that time. Way back, when passions were enough.

Fascinating research by Roberto Loiederman and Richard Linnett into the little-known cases of a trio of American would-be revolutionaries, two of whom later escaped loose detention in Phnom Penh and set off to join the Khmer Rouge. After falling into the custody of Mam Sabun, a Khmer Rouge district chief, their fates become confused with those of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, the most famous of the American journalists who disappeared in Cambodia during the 1970-75 era of conflict. This work is a valuable addition to Tim Page's ongoing research to resolve the fates of those who remain "unaccounted-for" in Cambodia. Roberto Loiederman's stunningly detailed account of life aboard the the ship make this story one which anyone who loves the sea will find spellbinding. While this book deals with so-called collaborators, those outside the government who remain interested in the PW-MIA issue will find "The Eagle Mutiny" contains some information which provides new insights.