I have a feeling this book is going to be hard to get ahold of pretty soon. It's selling like hotcakes at Denny's and for good reason. Bill Goshen served with Company F, 52nd Infantry (LRP)/I Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger) for the Big Red One. It's a miracle this guy is still alive. Grievously wounded in early 1969, Bill spent many months in hospital recovering from wounds. At Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, Goshen was awarded the silver star. Others weren't so lucky, like Sp4 Bob Law, who threw his body on an enemy grenade to save his comrades in arms. There's plenty of action here, but more significant is how Goshen views the war from the grunt's perspective. Why did our political leaders throw the best of the baby-boom generation into a war in which the enemy was awarded sanctuary bases from which he could attack and to which he could retreat, lick his wounds, and return to fight again? Goshen's anger toward ticket-punching Army higher-ups and the Johnson Administration's ineptitude and disregard for the American soldier serves as biting subtext to Bill's well-written LRRP memoir. By the way, Bill's Postscript is the shortest but most beautiful chapter in the book.

Bill Goshen's new book, War Paint, is well written and comes from the heart. Though I served in Co.F/52nd Inf(LRP) and had DEROS'd before he arrived, I served with and knew many of the men in the stories and have since met others at our unit reunions. I would have proudly served with him as well. Bill does a great job of describing LRP/Ranger tactics, vividly recreates events in which he and others participated, and well describes both the best kind of patrols, and those that went badly. His book also shows how well teams fared when they received great support (which was usually) as well as how lonely 5-6 LRPs/Rangers could be when left entirely without adequate support. In either case, they "carried on with mission". War Paint is an even-handed presentation of the day-to-day lives of our teams, without being macho or macabre. It also depicts the post-war struggles which he has overcome. A good read for those who also enjoyed Gary Linderer's books and the other great LRRP/LRP/Ranger memoirs that have appeared over the past 15 years.

Winter Soldiers: An Oral History of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War-Richard Stacewicz

Bringing together the voices of 26 former members of VVAW, Richard Stacewicz offers an exciting account of the impact of the war on the lives of young American soldiers. Winter Soldiers traces the lives of Vietnam veterans from their childhood and education in the U.S. through their experiences in Vietnam and back to the world and the "war at home". Rather than offer his own interpretation of the history of VVAW, the author lets the individuals (men and women) speak for themselves. In each chapter we learn a little more about the characters and are drawn into their conversations. The book does a good job of presenting the history of VVAW and some of its most important battles: Dewey Canyon III, Operation RAW, the Winter Soldier Investigation. It covers the ending of the war, and the struggle within VVAW over which direction the group should take: Some wanted to concentrate on anti-imperialist issues (developed into VVAW AI), others primarily on veterans' issues (developed into VVAW Inc.) The author allows VVAWers to bluntly discuss the internal disagreements - over tactics, politics, leadership. Participants on both sides are given an opportunity to express their positions in the book. The book's style is refreshing, conveying an impression of dialogue. Each chapter focuses on an important piece of our history. Joe Urgo, founding member of VVAW, currently in VVAW AI is one of those interviewed. Good job, Joe!

Winter Soldiers traces the lives of 26 Vietnam Veterans from their childhood and education in the US through their experiences in Vietnam and back to the world and the "war at home." The eloquent voices of these men and women are the most compelling part of this history as they explainhow they moved from Goldwater republicanism tothe radical left as a result of their Vietnam education. This book shows a part of US domestic and military history in a personal and often tragic manner. Also contains one of the best concise histories of the US and French involvement in Indochina that's ever been written. A tremendous read.

This book is not just a " Story", but is a series of interviews from women ( now) who were young Girls ( then).
The pain, horror, and yes, anger, that these women feel now is evident in each one's story. None of them HAD to go to war--
They were all volunteers. They went for their " Brothers" who needed them. How selfless !
These women, today, continue to suffer from the aftermath of their selfless duty, yet the American Public STILL does not even recognize them as those who saved lives and sanity of the boys who served.
Mr Steinman did a remarkable job

This is indeed an Oral History told by the women who volunteered their time to go to Viet Nam. Most were not "women" at the time, but just young girls. Their stories were just recently told, and they seem to share a common thread in their telling: The desire to HELP their Country and the young soldiers in America's longest war. Mr. Steinman's Introduction is masterfully done.

Books in the "American Decade Series" are designed to give its readers a glimpse of American history decade by decade. "The 1970s" is no exception. Historians often balk at the amateurish approach of presenting history decades by decade. While this approach may be somewhat simplistic, it can serve as an excellent teaching method for introducing new material to students.

"The 1970s" starts with a well rounded introduction, it then presents its thirty essays, or chapters from other books, on various issues prevalent in the 1970s. These topics are further broken down into international issues in the 1970s, national issues in the 1970s, environment, energy, and automobiles in the 1970s, popular culture in the 1970s, women's issues in the 1970s and from the 1970s into the future. The makeup and selection serves as a well-balanced approach to understanding the decade. No particular area is over represented. Each essay includes a brief bio of the writer. Additionally, the book is well served with an excellent chronology of events, recommendations for further study and an index. At 320 pages, "The 1970s" is a good choice for honor students in high school or possible a good textbook for a college level course on 20th century America.

Excellent personal account of a combat pilots view of the vietnam war.Accurate,humerous and honest.

This and The Killing Zone are highly recommended reading for an understanding of the combat soldier in Vietnam and the trials and tribulations associated with this war and it's aftermaths! This is a tale which should be mandatory reading in college history classes and even high school AP courses. Read the books in order, you'll be pleasantly surprised...but it is NOT a happy tale!

Khiem is a writer and editor-in-chief of a publishing house in contemporary Vietnam when he is attacked by a clique of conformist writers. The result is the banning of his book. His lover, Hoan, is slandered and sacked from her job, necessitating her leaving Hanoi and becoming caught up in opium trafficking resulting in her arrest. Khiem's wife is a smuggler, has an extra-marital affair and dies during an abortion. His best friend is sent to Angola as a health expert and dies there. After a long period of suffering, Khiem and Hoan are finally reunited. This is the bare bones plot summary of a deeply engaging, superbly written, highly recommended novel of friendship, love and betrayal played out against a background of Vietnamese culture and politics in a state of rapid transition and change. Ma van Khang's remarkable novel is aptly translated into English by the collaborative efforts of Phan Thanh Hao and Wayne Karlin.

Andrade has eloquently captured the details and meaning of the final campaign involving US Forces. In particular, he wonderfully details the herculaean effort of John Paul Vann and his outstanding Deputy, BG George Wear, USA. I served at Pleiku under these men, and sincerely appreciate Andrade's superb tribute to them--well done, Mr Andrade.

I teach an AmCiv course at the college level on the literature of the Vietnam War, often to students who don't know much about the war and the period. So I am constantly on the lookout for a good, concise general history of the war, written without a political ax to grind. This is it. It won't win the Pulitzer Prize in history, but it won't take you six months to read either. It covers all the essential bases in a readable fashion. I was happy to find it.

Taylor portrays the dynamics of confusion in large organizations quite
accurately, and has tested his model by forecasting events in the
Balkans. One of those forecasts, that conflict would not end with the
cessation of the US/NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, seems amply borne
out. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in
understanding the complexities of geopolitics from a fresh perspective.