Tom Campbell's book is extremely well written. The narrative unfolds quickly, bringing the reader into the mysterious maze of the Viet Cong supply route that belied the powerful bombing capacities of the U.S. military. It is written from the eyes of the teenagers conscripted into military duty, beginning with their grueling boot camp and their seasoned drill instructor. Scenes of the trail are spendidly presented, and readers will find themselved caught up in the suspense of the outcome. The book is an amazingly keen observer of minute details and larger conflictual perspectives. It is not overly sympathetic to either side, but quite human in presenting the nitty-gritty daily decisions soldiers from both sides were forced to make. You will find this book disturbing and stimulating. A high recommendation.

This book was written through the eyes and soul of one Vietnam vet as he faces the daily struggles and tragedies of war. It is very realistic but also very sensitive. After reading this book it is easy to understand how it changed the lives of our young soliders over there and stole their youth. Since Vietnam is the untold story, every American should read this book and give thanks to the Vietnam veterans and the sacrifices they made. I for one believe it is never to late to tell them WELCOME HOME.

This book gives you a very detailed account of May 10, 1972 when the U.S. cranked up the air war machine to send Hanoi a message, that should have been sent many years before. The start of Linebacker I. You will realize the enormous difficulty in mounting raid of this size and the people involved. But there werre no shortages of pilots willing to fly to Hanoi and do what they had wanted to do for years. Gripping detail and human drama.

This book renders all other works on the subject obsolete. Big full color photos make proper identification of medals and ribbons simple. I believe any serious collector of Vietnam war militaria needs this book.

Written by Marc Leepson, book reviewer for The VVA VETERAN, a publication of the Vietnam Veterans of America, June/July 2002 issue:

"Don Truitt's THE ORIGINALS is a bitingly funny semi-autobiographical Vietnam War novel that follows the misadventures of a group of troops at the fictional 516th AG as they wend their way through their year in a war zone--in this case a rear area at Cam Ranh Bay."

Zalin Grant's "Over The Beach" is an account of fighter squadron 162 from the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany during the Vietnam war. Grant does a masterful job of blending the history, with the real lives of the people who were a part of that history.

The reader feels the palpable emotions of the pilots as they "crossed over the beach" on their way to targets in Hanoi and Haiphong. The squadron was incredibly successful, but with that success came great loss. Many pilots were shot down over North Vietnam where there was almost no chance of rescue. The reader also hears from those pilots who became prisoners.

Grant incorporates the history of the air conflict into the book as well. Johnson, Nixon, McNamara, and Kissinger all weigh heavily into this account. The politics of the conflict led to a war fought on confusing terms. But this doesn't read like some history text.

From the terror of carrier landings to the wild frat boy parties aboard the Oriskany, this book covers it all. From the adulterous behavior of many of the piots to the gut-wrenching roller coaster of emotions suffered by an MIA's wife, this book does not hold any punches. It may be hard to find this book (some libraries may have it) but it is one of the finest (and personal) accounts of carrier warfare in Vietnam I have ever read.

Researched over a 9 year time span using information gleaned from hundreds of interviews from Vietnam war POW's, this extensive saga of captivity is truly outstanding in its depth.

John G. Hubbell not only relates the stories of high profile POW's from North Vietnam, he explores the many aspects and rigors faced by U.S. servicemen in the brutal Southern Vietnamese prison camps. In helping the reader to truly understand the entire experience, this being a cautionary note to everyone, torture methods suffered by our U.S. servicemen are described very graphically throughout the text and may be difficult to read about at times.

Included in the superbly written and well researched narrative are maps of the various prison compounds, photographs of POW's and their captors, and the entire list of repatriated servicemen at Operation Homecoming in 1973.

"P.O.W. - A definitive history of the American Prisoner of War Experience, 1964-1973" is a very comprehensive and powerful study that makes for a lasting, memorable, and emotional reading experience. Upon recommending this book to everyone with interests in POW captivity, I would also like to suggest the brilliant and epic work "Honor Bound - American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973".

In Pain and Grace - A Journey Through Vietnam, the outstanding photography of photojournalist Jim Gensheimer illustrate the contrasts that make up modern day Vietnamese life. Gensheimer capture the beauty and quiet intensity of a country in the midst of dramatic change - where the struggles of the past and and hopes of the future are met with courage and pride. Each photograph dramatizes a poignant moment in the lives of the Vietnamese people - a lotus glows in a dusty Koi pond; gentle light on the wise face of an elderly Vietnamese gentleman at tea, children playing in an orphanage in Danang, the meeting of a brother and sister separated for 19 years... These images portray an emotional impact that is familiar to visitors to Vietnam, with a poignancy that is hard to forget.

The Palace File should be number one on Hamid Karzai's reading list! The promises made in secret between one nation's leader and another have little value, it seems. Some would argue that such secret pledges should never be made by the elected leader of a true democracy. "Our" sincere pledges never to abandon an ally and never to waste the blood sacrifices of American troops are well-documented in The Palace File. The documents speak for themselves.

Those who doubt American staying power in the "war on terrorism" will find much ammunition for their arguments in a quick read of this sad tale of failed adventure in Vietnam. Our new but familiarly avid "nation builders" need to study The Palace File before they charge full-speed down the same slippery slope toward ignominy.

I read this book a long time ago, and it impressed me greatly. By providing a series of insights into American approaches to a conflict with enemies of the United States who happened to be foreign, if the press can be believed, and by setting himself up as someone who wished to examine the issue of individual guilt in this context, the author managed to transform himself from a secret server of the system to the most famous domestic enemy of official secrecy in matters relating to national security. Those people who know the identities of the President and Secretary of Defence in November, 1965, might easily guess which one of them sent the other a secret memo expressing the fear that the odds were about even that the future could be worse. If this doesn't make any sense to you, you might gain something from reading this book.