As an amercian trooper with "B"Btry 1/44th "Dusters" on this operation FSB Lao Bao, this is a great book. All the details.. all the units.. I have an interview of myself on CBS news.. and can place the book right to the film. Amazing! This book is Lam Son 719. Great research on the part of the author. If you were there.. this is the book to read. If you were'nt.. this is a great book to get a feel of what being in this part of the country and war was all about.

Very often the American public has tended to view Lyndon Johnosn as the evil villian who escalated America's involvement in the warr in Vietnam. However, few people, including historians, know how the escalation came about. In this book Brian VanDeMark does not try to justify the decisions that were made between 1964 and 1968, but tries and explain how those decisions came about. VanDeMark also shows how Johnson slowly and reluctantly led the United States deeper into what has often been called the "quagmire" of Vietnam. VanDeMark balmes the American Policy maker's ignorance of the culture and politics of Southeast Asia for the slow deepening of the conflict. VanDeMark gives teh reader a very good view of how this happened by carrying the reader through almost every major decision made by the Johnson administration throughout this time period. Writen in a very readable style the near day-to-day account helps to emphasize the snowball effect of the events. The author uses a good range of source material for this book. THere is a strong reliance on government manuscripts and primary sources of the administration. He also includes oral histories and interviews. It is by using these sources and many quotations that VanDeMark is able to carry the reader through the day-to-day accounts of what happened. This book is very important for anyone interested in the VIetnam war or American foreign policy.

Howard Olsen, an artilleryman in Vietnam during 1968, explores the impact of the Vietnam experience upon his moral belief system in "Issues of the Heart."

Olsen begins his memoir by describing himself as a tough, trouble-prone teenage loser. Although his lack of respect for authority lands him in trouble during boot camp and later, it is his ability to think for himself that leads to the fascinating development of his moral character.

In his early weeks in Vietnam, Olsen clings to the patriotic attitudes that the military has ingrained within him regarding the threat of communism and the need to kill gooks. But gradually, as he observes the behavior of those he encounters, he becomes aware of an inner dignity to the men he works and fights with, a dignity that is too often discounted by military regulations and those in leadership. As time progresses, he discovers this dignity--the sacred nature of humankind--within a broader group, encompassing black American and homosexual soldiers, women who prostitute themselves, and even the Viet Cong.

Olsen subjects himself to much soul-searching and suffers much as he tries to reconcile his new moral code with the job he has feeding death. On the brink of a nervous breakdown as he becomes increasingly short, his torment is unexpectedly eased when the command decides that his pacifism, in concert with the high respect that other soldiers have granted him for his high-quality and humane leadership, make him too dangerous to their mission to leave at the front.

This book (tape) Was my biggest therepy after coming home. i wouldnt be here today....without it

This is a great book for all the children whose lives are touched by adoption. The wonderful illustrations accurately capture the beauty of Vietnam. We are thoroughly enjoying this book!

An excellent book for the Knife collector, Vietnam era militay buff,or anyone with an interest in U.S.involvement in Vietnam. Excellent photography of a sampling of knives used by our forces with a short paragraph of maker and history. Also included are various patches, plaques, hats/berets and awards. The premise of this book is a pcture is worth a thousand words...and it is. I found the book excellent reading!!!! It is primariy pictures of an excellent quality. Recommended for the fighting knife, or military buff.

I simply must be honest, and tell, I have not completely read "Landing Zones". But Iam currently very close friends with two men who were focused on in the book. William (Bill)Tant, and Donald Whitfield. That is why I have been searching for this book, as it is part of my x-mas present to each of them this year. Bill Tant, came home and worked the River Boats for years, you have to love bill, as he is smart, charming, egostitical, and will always supply you with laughter. Nam still remains with him though. Donald Whitfield, (Bro. Whit)wasn't as lucky as others, mentally anyway, he purchased some land in the country and surrounded it completely with 15 foot high bamboo. You have taken your life in your own hands, should you try and go in his camp, without his ok, or prior knowledge. He allows very few in, so I feel fortunate that he trust and accepts me. He is a smart wonderful, very handsome man, who never married and doesnt want to. But a better political DEBATOR has yet to be born. There is absolutley nothing that Bro. Whit cannot do, he's an ace mechanic, builder, draftsman, organizer, a true GET THE JOB DONE MAN. I personally have been searching for Landing Zones as part of a project I want to accomplish and give to both gentlemen this christmas (2000). Both are in good health and spirits and I thankyou for listening to me. Sincerely Robbie Blissett Gowin

Robert Flynn's view of the Vietnam war through the eyes of journalist Sherill O'Connell is a scarily good look at war. It is a must for anyone who thought that John Wayne movies accurately portray war, and a must for anyone who ever wondered what the media looks like from within.

Modern poetry has become more and more obscure and increasingly obtuse. Last Lambs is a refreshing movement away from the didacticism of most recent poetry and offers much insight into the personal experience of participating in the Vietnam War. The "ghosts" of that war will be with us in nightmares for most of history. To have these poems at hand might well remind us that there is no reason to repeat our mistakes. Bill Bauer captures that less than admirable experience and presents far reaching considerations. All those who read "Fragment of a Letter" might take to heart the promise "they'll write when they get home." This book is the keeping of that promise. Readers would be advised to also write after they read this break through poetry. It is historically accurate, personally exact, and well intentioned. "...the man who was robbed of his laughter by the killing searches for it everywhere" leaves us all searching the"barrel" of our historical "throat" and the title to those lines, "Joy", reminds us that complacency might well be the greatest thief to joy. In "Side Glance", Bauer states "I am the bastard boy/of the World Wars " as are the multitude of senior citizens and the two generations after them that occupy the United States. Bauer does not trivialize the price paid for those wars. He does not trivialize the price paid for Vietnam. In "Warning" he explains it to vandals- "Let this wall be./It belongs to them./They paid for it."- and the reader knows that this would be true of any of the war memorials. Bauer in that same poem advises the would be vandals, "Slide your fingers over their names/and tell me you can't hear/the echo of their voices/chanting peace, peace." The poems in this volume allow us to slide our fingers and our minds over the names and the unknown names of those who gave their lives in Vietnam. These poems also allow us to "slide our fingers" over the names of those we know who returned from Vietnam and tried to retreive their former lives. The ghosts of those lives haunt those verterans daily. These poems allow us to look at the ghosts and enable us to identify with them. They allow us to look at the "ghost" that guides us and, in the sense of clear, precise, excellent poetry, provide us with much to contemplate.

Since this book came from its author's Doctoral Thesis accepted with Honor at the University of Paris, all its contents are based on French Foreign Ministry and French Navy Department official classified documents never released to the public before its publication as a book. At this moment, mid-2001,when freedom for religion,especially for the Christian Church,is a very hot topic indeed aimed at the Socialist Republic of VietNam from critics more or less "politicized" this book if read with a clear-minded,un-biased spirit might help the reader better understand this particular sensitive subject about religion freedom versus national sovereinty,and to some extent,to clarify another topic not less frequently discussed among oversea Vietnamese which is human right against social order and national security.