Ten of the poems in this book were wrenched from my innermost feelings... All of the poems are a true experience of the women who were and are touched by entering the man's world of war. I didn't carry weapons, didn't walk the bush, but I saw the carnage and felt the then seeming helplessness of the wounded bought in by dust-off. Intolerant of being helpless, I lived my tour in numbness and left Vietnam as only a shell. Who wouldn't in those conditions? To see and feel the real experience of war - read and know what it's like to walk in this woman's combat boots. N. Griffiths

As one of the many who spent a year in Vietnam wearing olive drab in the late sixties, I've always been intrigued with the land and the people. Most of the combat yarns are not about the sense of place I remember. Ms. Visser writes a wonderful book that captures the essence of Vietnam, especially the differences between the button-downed North and free-wheeling South. She doesn't have an ax to grind about the origins and blame of the war but is nonetheless intrigued with what it all meant to the Vietnamese. Good book.

Daryl Paulson's book, "Walking The Point" is an amazing accounting of not just his personal experiences
in Vietnam,but also a book that covers every aspect of what our Vietnam brothers faced,
during the war and their fight to finally come home. It is an absolute must read for all Vietnam Veterans, male and female alike. While, deeply emotional, it contains some of the most compassionate language yet to be incorporated in any book of its kind. This is a book not just for the Vietnam Veteran. But, also for their loved ones and families. Once read, this book will stay in your heart forever and is a wonderful "Welcome Home" for
all of our Vietnam Veterans.

When War in the Shadows (WITS) was first published in 1975, it infuriated members of the US military. Asprey's denunciation of high-ranking officers' conduct of the war in Vietnam came under intense criticism. Asprey claimed the US military lost that war due to its total ignorance of unconventional guerrilla warfare. Though blackballed by military scholars for almost a decade, he refused to retract his accusations. Instead, he continued to cite 2000 years of guerrilla/terrorist warfare tactics, operations, and strategy as proof the US military violated most, if not all, principles of unconventional warfare. Nineteen years later, he revised WITS, and along with that revision came a newfound respect for his insights. WITS is still the most definitive study of guerrilla/terrorist warfare available and it continues to remind the military of the requirement to fully understand this type of warfare's capabilities and limitations.
Overall, Asprey's work is very edifying. His 30 year research effort brillantly imparts lessons needed today. His reminders to the military about going off to an unconventional theater of war "half-cocked" contain some of the most valuable military thinking of our time. WITS is more than a historical appraisal. It is a usable text of events that, while historically embedded, continue to speak to the contemporary experience of unconventional warfare.

I was glad to see that Wells took the time to present a balanced perspective that took into account the political backgrounds of all parties involved in the events surrounding the Vietnam War. There are some great interviews which allow some behind-the-scene looks at what both sides were thinking and planning during the war era.

From the standpoint of a military history bookseller and as a collector, this book suceeds on many levels. It is obviously a "labor of love" not only for the subject material, but also for the actual layout and execution of the finished product. The author literally spent years researching the subject, investing her time, effort, and money acquiring the finest collection of children's military uniforms from all over the United States, and with this book she shares all of the information with the general public for the first time. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in American history- the book is a time line from the American Revolution through the Vietnam Period, with the author's own very unique perspective. The text is very detailed and observant, and the quality of the photgraphy is first rate. The book will become the standard qoutable reference for this particular field of collecting.Whether you like to read history or you actually participate in the collecting of historical memorabilia, "Wee Warriors and Playtime Patriots" will be one of the most enjoyable finds you will place on your bookshelf this year.

My husband is a combat veteran who served as a sergeant in the Marine Corps during the 77-Day Siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in Vietnam. Ernest Spencer's book gave me the opportunity to learn more about what my husband experienced during that terrible siege.

Welcome to Vietnam, Macho Man put me right there at the Khe Sanh Combat Base. I was on patrol, in the bunkers, and suffering the losses. The language is a bit rough but the message is pure. Ernest Spencer chronicles his experiences as a Marine Corps captain living and dying with our husbands, brothers and sons.

If you ever wondered what life was really like and I mean truthfully, Spencer's book gives an account of daily life in the business of war--sometimes funny, sometimes frustrating, and many times heart breaking. Spencer tells us what they saw, how they felt and how they managed a reality that was so totally different from their expectations

Certainly, Welcome to Vietnam, Macho Man--Reflections of a Vietnam Vet is the author's personal catharsis erupting from the stupidity and senseless loss of so many young Marines. As I read the book, I knew it was the real deal. No exaggerated heroics or glamorized fiction fabricated to enhance the author's persona.

I highly recommend this book to any family member of a combat vet seeking the truth about the war in Vietnam or the siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base.

I first came across this book when preparing for a Veteran's Day presentation. As a Vietnam Veteran it was difficult for me to sum up my feelings about that time (my time) in history. I really struggled with what to tell Jr High kids about my experience and war in general. Bill McCloud's efforts to collect and record thoughts from some of the major and minor players of those difficult days in American history was invaluable to me. In my view the book captures the essence of the mood and thoughts regarding the "Vietnam experience."

Can the Vietnam War Ever Make Sense?

Where the Domino Fell, by James Olson and Randy Roberts, St. Martin's Press, 1991. Contemplating this book brings me a curious and unexpected reaction: I feel optimistic and reassured that such a clear history of the Vietnam Wars cannot but help educate future generations against repeating such an impossible adventure as was the US intervention in Vietnam.

Previous histories of the war had only left me disgusted and mystified as to how the American rulers could have continuously dug themselves deeper into the quicksand of resisting Vietnamese independence and revolution. For example, George Herring's America's Longest War portrays American involvement not as a product of policymaker errors or personality quirks, but rather as the logical outgrowth of "containment." Since I was never satisfied with containment's simplistic conception of the breakup of the colonial world, the war always seemed a mysterious product of d! ark and hidden motives of US policymakers who were ethno-centric, competitive imperial managers incapable of comprehending the commitment to liberation and independence of the Vietnamese people, or of even entertaining the possibility that the USSR was a legitimate civilization or at least the product of historical forces. William Duiker's Sacred War, documenting the Vietnamese experience of the war, only confirmed my despair over the stupid arrogance of the American ruling class. Ho Chi Minh was so obviously right that only the devil himself could have guided America's hand.

Then I read Olson and Roberts' Where the Domino Fell. The authors don't really offer a new perspective on any of the particulars, but they achieve a balance of all actors that make the whole monstrosity at least seem plausible, the stupidity at least understandable. American oversimplifications find their place in the larger constellation of factors, and the war begins to be comprehensible. Vietnamese nationalism is given its proper context of twenty centuries, showing an Asian sage's sense of time and history that the nouveau-riche kid named America couldn't appreciate. The French are shown for the brutal and greedy colonists they were, first accepting huge US subsidies for their war to keep the Indochina colony, and then assuming the "I told you so" attitude once the Americans adopted the war after Dienbienphu. The American war in Vietnam is shown from the perspective of both sides, which really amounts to showing the many sides --from Diem to the Buddhists to the Khmer in Vietnam, from the hawks to the anti-war movement in the USA, the multiple perspectives are concisely explained in all their mutual relations. Whatever judgements the authors place on the merits of these perspectives, they don't allow their own opinions to eclipse the facts, which are made plain to all who will read. Even the American psychological recovery from the war is covered, with an insightful history of Hollywood Vietnam movies linked t! o the larger political evolution of these United States.

One problem with the book is the lack of footnotes, obstructing any direct investigation of the quotes and their context. The sources used seem to be all secondary, but there are no claims of original research here. The book is rather the best survey of the war I've seen, complete with a careful bibliographic essay directing the reader towards the right source for any questions provoked by this introductory book. Also included is a useful chronology, glossary, and a few interesting photos. Highly recommended reading!

The poetry by Jack Thomas brings back vivid memories of a time that many of us wish we could forget but these memories will, unfortunately, follow us to our graves. While reading the poetry I could feel the compassion that Mr. Thomas felt for the Vietnamese and for his fellow soldiers. Anyone who wants to feel what the Vietnam war felt like should read this book.