PHANTOM LEADER is the third in Berent's five book saga of fighting men in Vietnam. Berent's series gets better as this author gains experience and insight into the lives of his characters. This book is probably the first one in the series I would consider a "must read". The reason is the story of Major Algeron "Flak" Apple who is shot down in his F-4 fighter early in the book and is captured by the North Vietnamese. His story gives the reader a shocking look at life as a prisoner of war inside the Hao Lo prison, known more commonly as the "Hanoi Hilton". His story continues through the final two volumes. Berent agonizing portrayal of Apple's life of misery and torture inside the prison is dramatic and moving. The story also contains the continuing story of Court Bannister, an Air Force pilot that I believe Berent uses to tell his own story. Wolf Lochert also continues his battle as a US Army Special Forces Lt. Colonel. Berent writes with a similar style to Tom Clancy. This book is really five seperate stories that all intersect at one time or another. Berent's books are much easier to read and have more action than technical detail. The reader does, however, recieve enough explanation of military terms and acronyms to understand the sometimes complex language used by military persons. This books is a surperb action novel, but what makes it great is the amazing and horrifying look inside a prison camp of North Vietnam.

Nghia M. Vo, the author, really loves his people, and in this very
moving and personal account of the Vietnamese experience, the reader
is treated to a rare glimpse of a very special world. It is a world
of deep family ties, a reverence for education and the strength of a
simple, hard working people who have suffered unspeakable
hardships. It is the story of a young man studying to be a doctor, his
escape to the United States after the war and his view of America. It
is also the story of the people he meets along the way.

The
structure of the book takes the reader back and forth from Vietnam to
a variety of regions in America. By the details he chooses in his
descriptions of the lush foliage and climates of New England,
Tennessee and Indiana, his love for this country comes through
too.

Some of the stories of the Vietnamese people are harrowing.
There is the communist takeover and the prison camps that most South
Vietnamese men had to endure for 2 to 10 years. There is the plight
of the poor people who fled in small boats only to be pillaged again
and again by pirates. There is the story of families rounded up in
the middle of the night, forced into trucks and then
"resettled" in a mosquito infested forest with no tools or
food.

Nghia Vo is now a surgeon and the book is filled with keen
observations about medical practice in Vietnam and in various
hospitals and research facilities in the United States. We share his
joys in a satisfying career and his sadness at the death of his wife
and his mother.

As English is not Dr. Vo's native language, there
are grammatical errors throughout the book. But it doesn't really
matter because his voice and his philosophy of life come through loud
and clear.

I heartily recommend this book as a way to expand our
understanding of the legacy of Vietnam from a particularly Vietnamese
point of view. And I thank Dr. Vo for writing it.

These poems focus on leave-taking and return, recording the experiences of rural and urban isolation, dislocation and violence, and the histories of war and reconciliation in our century. They bear witness to the way people endure and continue to love in a time of upheaval.

"Beautiful...Bowen captures the spirituality of Vietnam." --Oliver Stone

"Vietnam. The word has come to define the arrogance of American military power, the mindless violence, the sheer waste and idiocy of the Cold War. PLAYING BASKETBALL is, more than a book, an act of healing and generosity. The war doesn't go on, but the Vietnamese people have survived, and they survive in Kevin Bowen's poetry..." --Harvard Review

Chosen "Pick of the Year" by The Progressive

You could almost imagine what it was like being in 'Nam - hear the ruffle of the leaves, smell the sweat, feel the dampness of the ground and hear the crickets. Read it alone at night and you could easily imagine Charlies waiting to spring a surprise on you. No regrets getting this book!

Wil Scott tells in highly readable, well organized prose, of the politics and controversy surrounding veterans of America's war in Vietnam. The Wall, Agent Orange, combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He identifies major players on both sides of the battle for equitable benefits and honors for Vietnam vets.

Scott, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Oklahoma, and infantry Platoon Leader in Vietnam, offers a mix of perspectives: While this is an academic book, that he was guided by an inner drive is apparent. Highly recommended reading for anyone who is interesed in our legacy of the Vietnam war, academics and other Returning Vets alike.

My son, who is 7, was sick last week and read most of this book to himself, chortling out loud sometimes. I like it because the language is lyrical, the Princess is strong, and the peasants win. It also gives my son some insight and historical context for his Vietnamese classmates.

I also served at Phu Lam.

This is an excellent detailed history of Phu Lam signal site, the location of the largest and most important communications site during the Vietnam War.

The author was an officer at Phu Lam and was selected to write a history while he was there, which was the genesis for this book.

It is a must reading for anyone who wants to learn about the communications aspect of the Vietnam War and for those who served in relay of communications.

It is a must reading for anyone who worked at Phu Lam, no matter for what period of time. The details and remembrances are sure to bring back memories of that place. It sure did for me.

The selected photos really enhance the book.

All material presented appears to be painstakingly analyzed and referenced. It is definately a "professional" work.

Howard Hickman

Oplinger's memoir puts the reader: on-point in the mountainous jungles with snipers in the trees, and in the doorway of helicopter gunships with the knowledge that incompetent officers were , unseen, calling the shots, and it puts the reader in military hospitals surrounded by tortured bodies, and it also puts us on rioting college campuses back home. Best of all this, thoroughly engrossing book puts a memory of the Vietnam experience on the "pass-it-around" circuit. I loaned my copy to my brother-in-law- (a Vietnam era vet himslf). I can't get it back, he's loaned it to another vet. But don't let me give you the idea that only vets want/need to read Oplinger's memoir. During the late '60's I spent my energies in anti-war demonstrations trying to get guys like the author and his platoon safely home to enjoy the decade the way we were enjoying it. This book is also a connector for the vets and those who weren't in 'Nam but who were home working so that no American "boys" had to be there. A bit of history worth re-visiting. Recently I visited D.C. with my teen-aged daughter. We found ourselves walking down the hill towards the Vietnam Memorial. At some point as we neared the Wall, I froze-up with emotions and pain as I discovered I could not approach any closer to the Wall and the memories of that war. Choked-up,I had to wait to attempt an explanation to my daughter. At home, handing her a copy of Quang Tri Cadence by Jon Oplinger, I said something like, "Read this, it'll help you understand the times, the War, and your Dad."

The reader is presented with a wealth of material; illustrations, photographs and maps detailing all aspects of the RAAF during the Vietnam War. Keynote are accurate combat action reports and attention to most every military aviation issue.

The literary style allows for very personal accounts of the heroics of the aviators and the specific of military operations. I was enlightened by the joint Australian and American cooperation depicted. Perhaps the most important use of this book by American military would be the means provided to contrast American aviation problems and issues with those of the Australians.

This volume belongs in every aviation or military school library.

Joseph M. Kralich, MA US Army DUSTOFF Historian (1988-98)

I read "Reading Athena's Dance Card: Men Against Fire in Vietnam" expecting a well reasoned, well written study of American soldiers and Marines in Vietnam but found much more. This book delivers alot more than the jacket comments promise. It contains the expected analysis of Americans under fire in Vietnam and compares findings with the earlier landmark study by S.L.A. Marshall, but doesn't stop there. The book examines core issues using examples taken from historical depth and geographic/national breadth. Comments taken from surveys of American Vietnam veterans are used as a cordon bleu chef uses fine seasonings, with the ultimate result that the human factor, the face of the soldier under fire, is always to the fore. The book also gives great attention to factors such as training and rotation policy, among other things, essentially leaving no stone unturned in this thorough, well paced work. I highly recommend this book for students of military history in general, and those with an interest in Vietnam in particular.