After reading many individual POW memoirs and similar material, it was immediately evident to me that Honor Bound is the premier and defining work on American POW's in Vietnam. For its sheer scope and immensity, this is the best reference material ever composed on this subject.

Beginning with history of French occupation in Vietnam and the follow on role of United States involvement, an intimate portrayal is drawn of every aspect of captivity faced by U.S. personnel. In minute detail, Northern and Southern Vietnamese POW camps are put under the microscope revealing the harrowing physical and psychological experiences that affected U.S. servicemen in appalling conditions which equated to a daily battle for survival. Also examined is the known information on captivity in Laos which continues to be controversial even today due to the unknown fates of many Americans still missing in that country.

Complimenting the brilliant narrative which leaves nothing to the imagination, Honor Bound contains dozens of excellent photographs, prison maps, generous footnotes, and several appendixes containing Vietnam war data and prisoner information. This book is a lasting tribute to patriots, heroes, and even legends who gave and maintained their very best in continual times of the absolute worst. I highly recommend Honor Bound to everyone interested in accounts of POW captivity. A superb, powerful, and very satisfying reading experience.

Thank you to Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley, for an unbelievable account of the POW's that served in Viet Nam. This is not an easy book to read, but it is a page-turner. As an American, I am overwhelmed by the sacrafice extended for the freedom I enjoy. My praise for the written words and for the service to our country so clearly evident in this riveting book. G.K. Smith Cape Cod USA

A brilliant, highly accessible account of the history of the POWs in Southeast Asia. The text is very readable and concisely written. The photographs alone speak volumes and the maps provide a nice illustrative point of reference.

Before you read any other POW-related book, take the time to read "Honor Bound" cover to cover. Not only will you feel you are getting to know these men - heroes all - personally, you will gain a brutally clear perception of the conditions these men were forced to endure and the way they managed to maintain their honor and dignity in the face of such terrible adversity. The human element is very strong.

This is not, mind you, a book for the weak-stomached. The book is unflinching in its cataloging of the various tortures the POWs underwent, the often rancid food they were forced to subsist on, and the day to day challenges their captors and the climate inflicted upon them.

Surprisingly, however, while the reader is horrified, he or she will leave the book strangely uplifted. It reaffirms one's faith in the human spirit and humanity in general.

War Songs, described as metaphors in clay and poetry, blend these these two powerful forms of expression to forge a compelling glimpse into the ravages of war.

Author Grady Harp and ceramic sculptor Stephen Freedman cast
poems from the Vietnam experience into various forms of
pottery. Pictures of the poem-etched pottery accompany each
page of poetry. The effect is stunning, moving.

The poems alone, told from the perspective of a doctor tending
the war-torn bodies, are soul-wrenching observations. When carved into pottery the words resonate even deeper.

One poem describes the silent path a pool of blood follows as it returns to the earth, ending with the haunting question,
"Whose unwilling soul coffins my loved one's end?"

This excerpt from Poem #16 captures the spirit of War Songs:

"But mostly
I feel sadness
remembering the nights with silence.
hanging tenuously in the air,
holding onto patients,
wishing we had war songs
to lullaby the quiet weeping
of those who survived."

You'll start by reading War Songs, but end up feeling this reflection on the devastation wrought when humanity turns upon itself.

I've started this review a half-dozen times. It's not easy to write about this book. It wasn't easy to read it; I opened it, put it down, picked at a poem here and there, steeled myself and read it all. And read it again. It brought back memories, yes; it put me *there*--in the heat, in the "mild wind," at a bedside where an IV runs into the body of a boy who has died, so the man next to him does not lose hope. It broke my heart.

But damned if I didn't read it again.

War Songs is a simple, elegant little volume of twenty poems--simply, elegantly written poems. There are fine black and white pictures of pottery interspersed throughout--vessels crafted by Stephen Freedman with the words of Harp's poems carved or painted on them.

But there is so much more.

Grady Harp was an intern at the LA County Hospital in 1968 when he was dropped, almost literally, into the thick of the Viet Nam conflict as a Battalion Surgeon. He was not formally prepared for what war does to those who fight it; no one ever is. This slender book is a report from the front, a doctor's memoir. Harp himself refers to it as a "survival kit." It is a distillation of his horror, fear, anger, grief and despair.

Yet, these poems are so well written that they neither cry nor shout; rather, they condense and crystalizes small but important pieces of Harp's experience. The reader is left to walk around, observe, come closer, touch. Each poem is brief, a small collection of words, but words so aptly chosen that the scene they present is rich, three-dimensional, and gut-wrenchingly clear.

In short, these poems are excellent. They are written without a spare word; they paint harrowing pictures; they have an impact. They made me cry. They are real, and they tell it like it is. This book is a thing of painful beauty.

Susan O'Neill
Author
Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam

Praying for peace? Sit quietly with this small book of poems written by Grady Harp in 1968-1969 as a young Battalion Surgeon in Vietnam. Read it as a meditation. Read it to stand witness. Read it as a reminder. If you're too young to remember Nam, read it as a primer of the most personal sort. It feels like a prayer.

Sent to Vietnam as a healer, Harp adds a gentle poet's heart to all the heartbreaking stories of reluctant warriors. This poetry took me back to summer days spent building forts with a dozen rowdy neighborhood kids, back to KoolAid, and forward again to Budweiser and the Beatles. Then a bomb exploded on the page. Filled with heart and horror, and written with the terrified intensity of a young man trying to press the world to the page with the nib of his pen, these are war songs for the boys who went to Vietnam singing Hey, Jude.

Fans of Tim O'Brien will especially appreciate this collaboration in which Harp and artist Stephen Freedman "remold the pain" into "Metaphors in Clay and Poetry" - into the art of war. It's a prayer for peace.

Jean Harfenist, author

In Dec 1966, I was privileged to have been picked by the Div G2 to assist Capt James as the team leader for an experimental team which if successful would evolve into the development of more teams. In 1966, Capt James and I were the only two individuals in the Cav's Lrrps. As I read this book, I was amazed at how the author put this all together and as I continued to read, I wondered where I had been during all that time when I and James were the first two soldiers in the Lrrps. This book describes a unit that I did not serve with nor did I have anything to do with yet my name is mentioned in the book. If this is the unit I helped James form, then this book is a novel and should not be considered a nonfiction. I would like to however, compliment the authors writing abilities.

Read the book - thought it was well written and fairly accurate. Jorgenson scores again! Despite what some "wanna be's" say about the book, the professional leadership of Capt James, LT Hall,1st Sgt Kelley, and OPS Sgt Campbell, made the 1st CAV LRRPS a reality. Team members shared the same risks and dangers regardless of their team number. Recommend reading!

I would just like to Thank You, Kregg, for telling our little part of the war, which was now so long ago, and so far away. We improvised, adapted and overcame and did what we could with what we had.

He, who on this field, this day
Sheds his blood with me
Will be my brother

Frank Anton's story of captivity in unique among Vietnam POW tales. Most previous Vietnam POW stories have been written by Air Force or Navy pilots shot down over North Vietnam and held captive in Hanoi jail cells. Anton was captured and held in South Vietnamese and Laotion jungle prison camps for 3 years. He then made the long march north to Hanoi where he was captive for another 2 years. His experiences with other American prisoners held in jungle camps (average group of 17), many of who did not survive, is heart rendering and obsorbing. In spite of the title the book is not a political essay on the conduct of the war, or a bitter tirade about not being rescued. This is a warm story about the human suffering of a small group of US soldiers who spent a part of their life in hell. Paul J. Kratz, US Army (retired) Vietnam '66-67, & '70-71.

Frank Anton was captured by the VietCong when his helicopter was shot down by deadly accurate anti-aircraft fire. He was held prisoner in three of the worst death camps in South VietNam, and was able to survive three years of jungle captivity while ten of his fellow prisoners died of disease, starvation, and torture. An aramda of American rescue helicopters approached his jungle prison but didn't complete the mission - why? It would take years after his release from an additional two of years of being a prisoner of the North Vietnamese in Hanoi before Frank would know why they didn't get him out. A powerful book, one that will bring most readers to tears as even the strongest men give up the will to live another day in their jungle hell

In January of 1968, helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Frank Anton was shot down in Southern Vietnam and spent 5 years in captivity. Many prominent books have been written of U.S. POW's in Hanoi's prisons but this story is a riveting look at POW's held in prison camps in Southern Vietnam which may have been worse.

Frank Anton has written a very detailed and graphic account of severly brutal conditions and treatments he and others suffered at the hands of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. For 3 of his 5 years in confinement in the south (he spent time in 4 different camps), he weaves a harrowing tale of torture, starvation, non-existent medical treatment, disease, and barbarity suffered by prisoners. He further adds that during his confinement, he was witness to many Americans dying in the camps and also of betrayal and enemy collaboration by one of their own.

After 3 years of confinement in the south, Anton and the surviving members of his camp, in an incredible display of courage, strength, and determination, are forced to march on foot for an astonishing 6 months to one of Hanoi's prison camps known as the Plantation. For an additional 2 years, this was Anton's new home before being released from captivity in 1973.

Upon arriving home, Frank Anton was debriefed by the military and he eventually found out, to his dismay and horror, that our government know exactly where he was the entire time he was being held and that no serious attempts were considered to rescue him or his fellow soldiers.

In the last chapter of this book, which is absolutely astonishing, you will find out why no attempts were made to rescue many POW's. Additionally, you will learn the current fate of large numbers of POW's that were left behind and are currently unaccounted for in Vietnam. This information is highly disturbing and tragic and paints a very callous and unscrupulous portrait of our government with their regard to our missing servicemen.

This book is exceptionally good and comes highly recommended. As a side note, Pfc Robert Garwood (possibly the most notorious U.S. POW collaborator of the Vietnam war) is featured prominently in parts of this book. For those interested in the complete story of Robert Garwood, you would be well rewarded by reading "Conversations With The Enemy: The Story of Pfc Robert Garwood" by Winston Groom and Duncan Spencer.

Franklin Rast's memoir Don's Nam is a coming-of-age story set in the context of the Viet Nam war. A lot of these have surely been written, and quite a few published. This one, however, is unique. It's subject and structure make it the ideal introduction to the Viet Nam experience for the uninitiated.

The "war" part of the book has an unusually effective structure. The author was a lieutenant (translation: a member of the one class of officers who actually had to get out in the field and do the dirty work) in the transportation corps during the war. He tells the story of leading repeated supply convoy trips into the depths of Vietnam's jungles. Sometimes these are funny. Sometimes they're routine. Occasionally they're harrowing. Whatever the details of the individual trip, however, the familiar context of truck driving, an almost mythical American activity, is always there to "anchor" the story to something familiar, even as events veer into the exotic, the bizarre, or the terrible. The recurring element of sudden, unpredictable danger characteristic of war stories isn't undermined in this book by the sense of unreality that readers with no military background often experience when they read of such events.

And in between the convoys there is downtime at the base. Here the familiar American culture,60s style, reasserts itself, incongruously enough, in the middle of a Far Eastern jungle. As officers, non coms, and men interact through the course of the memoir, Rast gradually uncovers the incredible tensions that existed inside this insular world - above all the clash of interests and values that took place every day between "lifers" and draftees. The memoirist, an unusual combination of north Louisiana "good old boy"/ROTC zealot and budding '60s cynic, moves adroitly between the lifer and draftee subcultures, and it is amusing to watch his language, and even his attitudes, change to meet the demands of the moment.

In these scenes, as always, the dialogue in the book is excellent! Mr. Rast has a fine ability to reproduce everyday American speech, especially the half-humorous, half-hostile exchanges of men who live and work together in constant fear of their lives. He also masters the much more difficult task of rendering the voices of the VietNamese whom he encounters with clarity, sympathy, and dignity. In fact, this is one of the joys of the book Rast's exploration of a culture and people that he does not know yet always respects.

What finally becomes apparent as one reads Don's Nam is that the memoirist who manages to pull off these difficult feats is an unusual man. He's full of contradictions. He's a regular guy from the redneck part of Louisiana who possesses an abiding interest in philosophy and eastern religion. He's an extravert with has a natural ability to relate to people of all classes and nationalities, and at the same time he has an alert and questioning mind that takes everything they say with a grain of salt. In the course of the book he builds a preliminary understanding of the world and the war from all of their inputs, particularly that of the Vietnamese, and learns to live with the ambiguities that remain

Leonard W. Martin Editorial Excellence (freelance editor of literary, academic, business and legal manuscripts)

Even though I was just a young kid when America was fighting the war in Vietnam, the subject always fascinated me. Guess I've read about every book regarding Vietnam that shows up on the bookshelf, each time getting more of the same thing-firefights with statistics, people who got killed or wounded coupled with how many of the enemy we wiped out in the process; frustrated military leaders held back by the red-tape, evasive politicians misleading the public into thinking the war was to support a democratic Saigon government. This is all just great but somehow the true feelings, bitterness, sorrows, fears, humor and doubts evaded my conception of the war until I read Rast's story from his diary along with the pictures he took. The events he describes stayed with me and they stuck, I felt like I was right there with him and I kept going back to chapters in the book and rereading them with different feelings each time. Theres a little bit of all of us in his characters and the situations and emotions they display: maybe that is why it feels so real to read and see something about the war I never experienced before.

What a remarkable experience. "Don's Nam" was an eye opener for me. I am a retired Navy Veteran of twenty-years. I enlisted into the Navy after the Vietnam war, and didn't know much about it. What an eye opener. It's a book that you don't want to put down. Don's vivid accounts of events and experiences was remarkable. Orient Express is must reading for everyone who has even the remote interest in the Vietnam War.

The title of this book was appropriate for me, since it was the first memoir of the Vietnam War that I have read. It was my 'baptism' into seeing the war through the eyes of combatants rather than historians and journalists. The story details the experiences of one of the thousands of heroes who served their country in some of the worst conditions imagineable. I found myself feeling very grateful for their sacrifice, and thankful that I was born a generation too late to serve in this hellish conflict. From humping through a rice paddy to facing death at a 'hot' LZ, I was astounded at the stamina, fortitude and bravery of our troops. Hats off to Lt. Gwin and all who served in Vietnam. And thanks! A must read, ESPECIALLY if, like me, you weren't there yourself.

One of the few narratives to come out of Vietnam that digs deep under the camouflage of a sensitive yet tough infantry officer.AUTHOR Larry GWIN took over thirty years to reveal this wonderful memoir,and readers will surely feel the wait was worth it. BAPTISM is not merely an I-was-there war story,even though it blasts its way through some of the bloodiest encounters of the war. Rather,this book is the haunting story of a man who was proud to answer his country's call to arms,urged on by family history and the single mindedness of Yale ROTC training (ranger,airborne all the way).To such an idealist,the mud-and-blood sacrifice and idiotic blundering inherent in war was almost certain to offer a very painful baptism indeed.Whether he is describing the anguish of seeing comrades blown to bits by friendly fire or an act of cruelty imposed on a boom-boom girl,the author's eye is merciless and all revealing.Gwin deals with the twilight of war,bringing those of us who were grunts back to the alien landscape we struggled against but did not understand.His book is lyrical at times,all about the death of valor and the angry rebirth of an American fighting man,"doomed from here to eternity". VETERANS will recognize the honesty of this book,while civilians,especially women,will better understand the flak jacket that conceals every combat soldier's heart. A MAGNIFICENT book. It should be enjoyed along with Joseph Galloway's and Hal Moore's WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG,a best seller that provides a big picture of the FIRST CAV in combat, and covers some of the battles and firefights so poignantly described by LARRY GWIN.

After reading the first chapter of Larry Gwin's book, I was hooked. This memoir, a story of a naive 1st lieutenant who is sent to Vietnam, survives a nearly disastrous battle, then is horrified by the reality of war and death and suffering, is well-written and spellbinding. He writes openly and honestly about himself, warts and all, as well as his fellow officers (the good, the bad, and the cowardly) and the "grunts" in his platoon. Many of the NCOs and enlisted men who go into battle with lieutenant Gwin prove to be brave in the face of death and loyal to their buddies who are either wounded or dying..."No one is left behind." I felt as though I was there with lieutenant Gwin as he and his men are airlifted into a hot LZ, praying to come out alive and in one piece. While this is a story about the horror of war, there are quite a few light moments which are humorous. All in all, this book is a real page-turner. Perfect for a rainy afternoon's read in a comfortable chair.

There have been many combat and recovery stories about Vietnam, but no one before has written from a woman's perspective such profoundly disturbing and darkly humorous insights, with a tough and unsentimental grasp of the horrors, ironies and psychological pressures of a war that still haunts America.

O'Neill is the kind of writer that I look for constantly and seldom find. I was sorry when the book ended.

As a former special forces combat medic in RVN, I can honestly
say this is one of the finest collections of short stories
about Vietnam in the war years I've read. I was suprised by the clarity and honesty of O'Neill's work and appreciated the
humor and intentions to tell a good story. Congratulations to
the author. To those drowning in the Brokaw/Ambrose/Spielberg commercial tsunami of fawning appreciation of the gabbiest generation, this book is a lifeboat. Buy it and read only one story a day.

This collection of fiction shows that Susan O'Neill is a talented writer first and foremost - and not just a woman veteran of Vietnam. O'Neill's stories capture the very essence, the distorted waking dream quality of the Vietnam War. The stories are like the discrete vignettes of a Hieronymous Bosch painting: in one corner a sadistic doctor is torturing a wounded North Vietnamese by giving him insufficient anaesthetic during surgery, in another corner a major's pet monkey is trashing an operating room, further on a Vietnamese ghost squats on an abandoned grave mound next to the mess hall, meanwhile Bob Hope strides the Xmas show stage swinging a golf club. O'Neill encapsulates the haunting horrible aesthetic of Vietnam with more deftness and subtlety than any writer so far. For this reason, the stories gain from repeat readings. O'Neill always treats this war, tragic because of its pointlessness, with seriousness and dignity. My favourite story from the collection was 'Prometheus Burned'. O'Neill's Prometheus is a former pre-med student who is educated enough to understand, not only the Prometheus pun, but also the fact that he is dying from third degree burns. Susan O'Neill's stories are for thoughtful grown-ups, not gung-ho flag wavers. At best, they will turn the latter into the former.

This book covers the year time period after the Tet offensive during the Vietnam War. Given the title of the book I was prepared for a page after page description of savage combat. What I found was that the book was not just a description of one firefight after another, but a comprehensive account of the Vietnam War effort during this one-year period of time. The author does a great job of describing the experience of American soldiers in the Vietnam War during the year after Tet.

The author provides the reader with a brief, but complete and readable historical background for the war up to 1968. He also gives us very clear and vivid descriptions of the battles and everyday life of the foot solders. We also get a good run down of the South Vietnamese corruption that worked against the American effort to save their country. This was the part that really surprised me the most, it seamed like the South Vietnamese wanted and needed the war to continue to keep the profitable drug trafficking, smuggling and protection rackets going. What made me furious were the details of the United States supplied food, gasoline, and equipment that the South Vietnamese were selling to the North Vietnamese.

The author also spends some time talking about the drug use by the soldiers and the difficult race relations. This section of the book was not as surprising given that was the same environment in the states at that time. Overall, this book is a well-written and informative, but not a rundown of overly descriptive bloody fights. He does a wonderful job in describing the environment, how hot it was the difficulties in moving through the country, the differences in the front line and the support areas. This is a good book and a great way to introduce yourself to the Vietnam War.

This exceptionally comprehensive and readable book is a "page turner." I couldn't put it down! Highlighter in hand, I penned marginal note after note, comparing my own memories and observations as a Navy doctor ashore in I Corps in 1968 and '69 with those of the author. In the introduction Spector asks: "How did we lose the war? Why were we there?" Then he adds: "In a sense we have no real history... instead we have controversy, myth and popular memory." He then proceeds to skillfully weave historical background, Vietnamese and American, with vivid descriptions of battles, skirmishes, debates, intrigues and campaigns... providing vignettes of personal experiences balanced from many viewpoints: the young American draftee, the college OCS-trained officer, the Viet Cong soldier... generals and politicians, presidents and negotiators... Vietnamese and American. "After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam" will be placed, along with Frances Fitzgerald's "Fire in the Lake," Neil Sheehan's "Bright Shining Lie," Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" and Bernard Fall's "Street Without Joy," as an irreplaceable, imminently re-readable reference on the Vietnam War.

Almost thirty years after the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, there is still a considerable amount of debate and controversy concerning our failure to win the war. There are no widely accepted answers to this question. Roland Spector makes a valiant attempt at trying to answer this question with his book After Tet.

Spector, who was a U.S. Marine attached to the III Marine Corps Amphibious Force in South Vietnam in 1968-69, offers compelling evidence which indicates that the turning point of the war took place during the nine months in 1968 following the Tet offensive and President Johnson's announcement that he would halt most of the bombing of North Vietnam and would not seek re-election. This was a period of some of the most intense fighting of the war. It was a period of great disarray for the American forces. They were growing increasingly frustrated with their South Vietnamese ally "with all its chronic weakness and corruption, (who) would weather the storm but emerge with its fatal flaws intact and as unchangeable as ever" (25). Spector also paints a vivid picture of the inner turmoil of the U.S. troops, who were not only plagued by growing frustration and discontent on the front but also by strife back home.

Spector deserves to be commended maintaining a considerable amount of emotional distance in his documentation of combat. As a Marine stationed in the northern provinces of South Vietnam, it is highly likely that he either took part in combat or at least witnessed the gruesome aftermath of battle. His accounts are devoid of prejudice or emotion and thoroughly documented. He is able to provide a vivid and realistic portrayal of some brutal battles without resorting to gore or sensationalism. The battles reported are at times quite harrowing, but Spector does not aim to shock the squeamish or titillate the bloodthirsty.

Nevertheless, the stories of combat will arouse many emotions from even the most remotely patriotic reader. One can't help but feel frustrated and fearful for these overwhelmingly young troops campaigning in "temperatures (that) could often exceed 100 degrees" or braving the torrential wind and rain of the monsoons(47). Not only did they were they forced to face an enemy that could be incredibly difficult to identify, but they were thrust into an environment that was incredibly hostile. Not only did they have to worry about the heat or the monsoon, but "mosquitoes, leeches, and red ants ... seemed to thrive everywhere in Vietnam" (48). There were also high numbers of poisonous snakes and hungry rats. Last but not least, there was the elephant grass "eight to fifteen feet high, so thick as to cut visibility to one yard, possessing razor sharp edges. Then try to imagine walking through it while men all around you are possessing automatic weapons and trying to kill you" (47). Spector never forces the reader to accept a "you are there" scenario, but I couldn't help but be drawn in with his vivid descriptions of the environment.

Spector effectively conjures up a vivid portrayal of the South Vietnamese government, exposing many of their faults and shortcomings. But he never points an accusatory finger at the South Vietnamese, who were "by 1965 ... openly and directly moving towards a military dictatorship" (95). Instead, he cites a wealth of sources who overwhelmingly agree that a vast majority of the high ranking officials in South Vietnam were incompetent, nepotistic and driven more by the prospect of graft rather than defense of their own country. They "did not want the war to end - not while it was protected by half a million troops and a golden flow of money"(299). All of these factors led to the festering frustration of the troops. They were trapped in a miserable tropical environment, fighting an enemy whose unorthodox methods were a perfect counter to their own command's strict adherence to convention, supporting an ally who "had learned ... too little about how to fight" and were troubled by the clashes back home (116). For the first time in the war, many soldiers began to question the war's motives. Cracks were bound to surface.

It is well documented that "out in field blacks and whites got along a whole lot better than in the units that was way back" and "that the greater the degree of danger and discomfort for the combatants, the greater the racial harmony and solidarity" (259). "The closer life in the rear approximated life in the United States, the more likely it was to mirror stateside racial tensions as well" (257). Racism was not the ugly aspect of life abroad that surfaced due to the culmination of fear, boredom, frustration and loneliness. "More and more GIs were turning to drugs" such as marijuana and heroin (276). Spector shows several surveys taken, which claim incidents of drug abuse ranging from 30-75 % of the troops. Spector is neither scornful nor sympathetic towards this dilemma, forcing the reader to draw his own conclusions on this and many other issues.

Even though Spector was himself a combatant during the time documented, he is able to do a masterful job at remaining dispassionate with his text. He is ableto provide a well-crafted history and does not cloud or distort the text with personal feelings. Instead of using personal experiences to add shadow and light to the work, he employs a wealth of resources. The finished text is able to provide a fine source that provides an accurate reflection of our vets' hopes, fears and struggles.

I suppose my only complaint is that Spector only gives a cursory acknowledgment or fails to mention the thousands of servicemen in Thailand, the troops secretly inserted in Laos and Cambodia and the sailors stationed in the East China Sea during this period. All of these men were in harm's way and all deserve mention. Nevertheless, this was a very enjoyable and informative read.

J.D. Wetterling gets right to the action and adeptly builds the characters through experiences. This is not just a man's book but one women would thoroughly enjoy. It certainly shed some light on understanding the pilots we love. Just as you are almost lulled into expecting a predictable ending, you receive a blow to the solar plexus. There is a message here that goes far beyond the written word...a message about the casualties of war and the remnants as well. Bravo!

Son of Thunder is a fast moving novel centered on the life of Lt. John - a fighter pilot. His thoughts, struggles and loves are opened up with honesty.

I read this book in a 3 day span, and having 5 children, that means that I couldn't put it down.

The thoughts of Lt. John on the Vietnam War, loyalty to friends, on death and living, hope, and the difference between thoughts that run through your head, and the calm words that are uttered between friends (or fighter pilots) were just as thought provoking as enjoyable. This book has impacted my thoughts on Vietnam.

I have enjoyed all of the Tom Clancy novels, and thought this was on par with the best of those - (and not as drawn out).

Five Stars - get it quick.

I was having a cup of coffee the other morning when I began to read >the first few pages of Son of Thunder. My wife entered the kitchen and >asked what I was reading. I looked up at her; I could not speak; the >chills were running up and down my arms and spine; my throat was in >spasms; my eyes were tearing; I could not talk; she has never seen me >in such a condition. > >Son of Thunder is so very, very special; it is the catharsis for the >Vietnam fighter pilot-the modern day Red Badge of Courage. This story >is the equivalent base for a sequel like Herman Wouk's W.W.II story of >the United States Navy, War & Remembrance and Winds of War, but of the >era of Vietnam= > >I am astonished; J. D. Wetterling has captured on paper the sentiment, >interaction, norms more exacting than if one were >actually serving a tour and flying each mission. If you ever flew >missions like the F-100 pilots {and others} did, in order to function, >you had to suppress the human emotional content so deeply that it may >never resurface again in one lifetime-that is, until you experience >JD's vivid story, Son of Thunder. This is a Steven Spielberg, Ken >Burns, Oliver Stone level undertaking; I wonder who will obtain the movie rights? > >Stewart R. Gable >Colonel USAF [Ret'd] >csrgable1@uswest.net >srg4444@primenet.com

The Land I Lost, by Huynh Quang Nhuong.(Reviewed by a 7 year old girl) This is a well written book, but still not my favorite book in the world. These stories from the author's childhood memories are fun, funny and sometimes heartbreaking. The book takes place in a small hamlet in Vietnam before the war. The author remembers adventures with the villagers and with various animals, particularly a special water buffalo named Tank. The several pictures in the book help to bring out the story. There is a great scene where the author and his sister catch some little birds. I won't tell you any more. Oh, if you are not comfortable with the death of animals and some villagers from snake bites and wild boar attacks, then I wouldn't recommend this book. All in all it's a pretty good book.

The Land I Lost

By: Huynh Quang Nhuong

Review by: Mary Cheung

The Land I Lost was a very interesting story. It reflects on the authors' memory of his childhood in Vietnam. It was well written and each chapter seems to be a section or story in the authors' childhood. It really showed some of his thoughts and feelings towards many things. Some of the chapters in the book were quite exciting, such as the snake and wild boar hunts. The descriptions were quite vivid and the stories were beautifully told. I give this book, five stars.

"The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam" is written by Huynh Quang Nhuong, and includes illustrations by Vo-Dinh Mai. A short author bio at the end of the book notes that Huynh was born in Vietnam and eventually moved to the United States. This book is a wonderful account of growing up in rural Vietnam.

Huynh describes his life in a village on a riverbank, with a jungle and mountains nearby. The book is divided up into several short vignettes that describe the lives of the people and animals of this world. Although the danger and violence of some sections may be upsetting to some readers, I get the sense that the author is trying to present a truthful portrait of rural life.

There are accounts of many interesting people, such as Huynh's opera loving, karate fighting grandmother. But I was particularly fascinated by the many accounts of the domestic and wild animals of Huynh's homeland. I loved the descriptions of animal behavior and the accounts of the interactions between animals and people, between animals of the same species, and between animals of different species. We meet monkeys, otters, a fearsome crocodile, and many other creatures. It's a rich tapestry of life that is described vividly by the author. One of the most memorable animal characters is Huynh's water buffalo, Tank, a creature of great strength, loyalty, and courage.

This is a wonderful book that is written in a very effective, straightforward style that is ultimately quite poignant. It's sort of like a Vietnamese response to Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved "Little House" books. I recommend "The Land I Lost" to readers of all ages.