3 comments about Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970.

1. A lot of people consider this book a classic on social movements, but it provides no new research, offers no concepts original to McAdam, and sets up strawman opponents. Why is it still in print?



2. We first used this book in Dr. Skocpol's class in Chicago, & it has become an invaluable resource on how to study social movements. I often refer to it in class--along with other now-classic analyses--and a colleague is using it as required reading this coming Spring.



3. If one is interested in the dynamics of the civil rights movement, then this book is a must read. Also a must read for anyone doing research in the field of social movements and especially if interested in the processes of content coding using annual indices.

1 comments about The Man-Eaters Of Tsavo And Other East African Adventures.

1. I purchased this book after watching the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness". The book was very interesting and the movie included more truths than I had thought. It was well worth the read.

3 comments about The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon.

1. HAHAHAHHAA What a funny sub-teacher; Mr. Lam is a fierce general, althought he broke the necks of evil vietcongs, he prefers shooting them up with a machine gun.



2. I bought this book because I was intrigued by the prospect of reading a memoir from the point of view of a South Vietnamese soldier. Although Gen. Lam Quang Thi was a very high-ranking member of the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and attained high rank at a young age, I got the impression that he was one of the truly gifted officers in that army, who was idealistic about serving his country to the best of his abilities.

   Throughout the book, Thi regularly takes issue with the corruption and incompetence of many of his fellow officers, and recounts the political situation in the South, where coup after coup after coup left the country of South Vietnam basically a rudderless ship. He tells of how many of his fellow officers attained high ranks, up to and including senior generals, not because of superior soldiering prowess, but because of having the right political connections. Even he (the author) benefitted a little from the political machinations of some of his superiors. In this regard, the book is an excellent source on the socio-political scene in Saigon in the 1960's.

   However, as a war memoir, I found the book a little light in descriptions of battle and how he and the men under his command coped with the strain of combat. This is why I give the book only four stars. I suppose that as a general, his viewpoints of battle tend to be more detached and "big picture" oriented, which is reflected in his writing. Most descriptions of battles his units fought were mostly like, "We swept the area with the 1st regiment, while the 2nd was held in reserve. After heavy contact, we suffered 25 dead while the VC suffered 100 dead." None of the harrowing descriptions which can be found in many other terrific war memoirs are present here. Since so many of those other types of books have been written by American soldiers, with American perspectives, I was excited to finally be able to read one written from an Asian soldier's perspective. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this regard. All in all, however, I feel that this is a book that most Vietnam War buffs should read.




3. General Thi shares with us the major events of his life, from losing his father at an early age to the Viet Minh, to how his Uncles and Aunts were so instrumental in providing the Extended Family (Confucian) Values that enabled Lam and his brother to pull themselves up by their hard work and many accomplishments in school and later in their adult life.

   We see through Lam's eyes the French Occupation of Vietnam, the reasons for the Viet Minh, the Fall of the French, the coming of the Americans, Lam's Army Career and how he so skillfully plays the hand Life has given him, making the best of what he has, leading all the way to making ARVN Lt. General (Three Star General) at such an early age through his sheer abilities and hard work.

   The book also allows the Reader to see and experience Vietnamese Culture, from Tet (Chinese New Year), the tasty foods (I still can smell the Cha Gio) cooked in celebration of their various Holidays and Occations, to Confucian Extended Family Values of Respect for Elders and a High Premium on Education as the way to get ahead in Life, and how even later on in their lives when he outranks his Older Brother (who was "only" a Two Star General) that Older Brother still made the Final Decision and was obeyed when it came to Family Matters.

   For those of you who did not know, Vietnamese Wives and Mothers, while seemingly docile and obedient, were actually Very Powerful when it came to Family Matters of Finance and Children. Vietnamese Family Values were demonstrated as we watch Lam and his Family when they get to visit with Emperor Bao Dai's Mother, and her demonstrated tenderness towards Children.

   An excellent example of what one Vietnamese Life was like from 1950 to 1975, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

3 comments about One Day in Vietnam: The True Story of an Army Bird Dog Pilot.

1. These experiences of a Birddog pilot during the Vietnam war are told the author and he had recorded them in this book. If you were there it will bring back lots of memories. And for Birddog pilots it is even mor interesting.



2. Bought this for my husband. (we own a birddog). He is picky about what he reads and he could not put this book down. He felt like you really go to know the pilot. The author who was related and wrote the book did a great job. A must read about a young life. A fraternity brother.



3. As a back seat Air Observer with the 220th RAC out of Phu Bai, I was very interested in this book. It was a great read and a good reminder of what I did in Viet Nam. I am sorry this pilot was killed. I also had a pilot killed flying with me and I did get out of the plane after it crashed. All interested in this kind of reading should read it as soon as possible.

1 comments about The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France.

1. The interaction of the local French working with a brave person combined to make this story of individual bravery inspiring. The unoccupied area of France during the first part of the Second World War provided opportunity for some to resist against Nazi oppression. It took those who were willing to take risks for the benefit of others that provides the satisfaction of the read.

4 comments about White Tigers: My Secret War in North Korea (Memories of War).

1. When I received my May, 2002 VFW magazine I was overwhelmed by the story of guerrilla operations that were successfully carried out in North Korea during the Korean War. When I had finished reading Colonel Ben S. Malcom's "White Tigers" I knew that I had read a story that would touch the minds and hearts of all who had been placed in harm's way. I was able to sense his frustration, his anger, his fear, his disappointments, his elation at success, but more important, his love for his country. He dared to expose his depth of compassion and deep commitment to the partisan force placed under his charge. By relating his personal experience, he brought to light the danger for having a short sighted reluctance within the upper echelon of the army in finding merit in unconventional warfare. I am extremely grateful for his leadership and an intimate knowledge of the brave service and sacrifice made by him and members of the White Tiger donkey units. As his story continued to unfold, I was drawn to recall my own expreience that took place but a scant few miles from where Ben's White Tiger operations were being carried out. I had been a member of Operation Broken Reed, an intelligence mission that took place during January, 1952. I was rescued along with two other surviving team members following the mission. I recalled the bitter cold, the fear of being captured and what that would mean, the extreme fatigue resulting from a thirty-mile forced march to the Yellow Sea, the deteriorating physical and mental condition of my two comrades, the difficult terrain and the rescue. As I read Ben's book I realized that the point of our rescue from a ledge overlooking the Yellow Sea was but a few miles from Wollae and Paengnyong Islands, the White Tiger base of operation. When I wrote the colonel in June, 2002 I received a warm immediate reply. He stated that there was no doubt in his mind that "Operation Broken Reed" was a CIA operation. Colonel Malcom's encouragement was instrumental in my publishing the story of Broken Reed that has been published by Da Capo Press. In my estimation, Colonel Malcom's silver star is inadequate to acknowledge the level of his bravery and service. I highly recommend the reading of White Tigers.
   
   Arthur L. Boyd, Lt. Col, US Army, Retired.



2. In the world of foreign military advisors, Ben Malcom's name is not a household word in comparison to Joe Stilwell, John Glubb, Edward Lansdale, and, of course, T E Lawrence. His short memoir of life with North Korean guerrillas during the Korean War deserves to be read along with those of his more famous colleages.
   
   Ben Malcom was trained as a traditional military officer, but was thrust into a highly unusual role as an advisor to a small group of North Korean guerrillas fighting against the North Korean government. Until the 1990s, the missions the so-called White Tigers undertook were still classified. While their contribution to the overall war effort can be disputed, Malcom's lessons cannot be ignored for what they teach us about the US Army and its abiding discomfort with non-traditional warfare.
   
   Malcom demonstrates convincingly that the US Army forgot many of the lessons derived from working with partisan forces from Burma to Greece to France during the Second World War. Those lessons would have proved invaluable to young Lieutenant Malcom as he took on a role he was not trained for, but for which he demonstrated great aptitude. His book takes us from his ROTC days, to instructor at Fort Knox, through his time in Korea, and finally to Vietnam, where he experienced a nasty case of de ja vue. His memoir is short, but exciting and written with great verve.
   
   Much has been written about the current conflict in Iraq and how the the US military is adapting to re-learn the lessons it forgot after Vietnam about insurgency, counter-insurgency, and partisan warfare. Many authors have applauded the adaptability of the US military; Malcom's book is a cautionary tale that shows we have been down this path before and failed to institutionalize the lessons of previous conflict. For that alone, his memoir is worth the price.



3. (Note: Part of the details furnished here are based on my discussions with the author shortly after White Tigers was originally released)

   First, I'll have to say I'm a bit prejudiced toward Ben Malcom. COL Ben Malcom was the post commander at Fort McPherson, Georgia in the late 70's and I commanded his military police company. In fact, Ben was instrumental in my career -- first he allowed me to command a company as a first lieutenant, something his predecessor would not do. Second, he literally pushed my application for a regular army commission through and made sure it was approved. Ben is a true gentleman and was a fine Army officer.

   On to the book. White Tigers recounts Ben's story, from ROTC to the Infantry, and shortly after his commission, to Korea. Ben was scheduled to be a rifle platoon leader in Korea, but was somewhat randomly selected to train North Korean partisans --- behind enemy lines. What was so remarkable about Ben's selection is that he is over 6', has no oriental features, and did not speak Korean.

   Ben found himself behind enemy lines where he trained a battalion-size North Korean force, and managed to get to the mainland on more than one occasion to recruit and do combat -- where he was awarded the Silver Star.

   My favorite portion of the book is Ben recounting how he left Korea after a year wearing the Silver Star, but no combat patch (his unit did not have patch) and no combat infantryman's badge (his unit was not recognized as a line infantry unit that qualified for the CIB). When Ben reported in to his next unit, his superiors asked how it was that he was wearing a silver star, but no combat patch or CIB. Ben's answer: "I'm sorry, I can't disclose that because it's classified."

   And Ben's operations were classified -- in fact, for more than 40 years. Ben had started a book in the mid-50s, but terminated his efforts because of the classification of the operations in which he was involved. Once the operations were declassified in the early 90s, Ben dusted off his 40-year old manuscript, which served as the basis for White Tigers.

   I will have to say that White Tigers is not an accomplished thriller -- however, what it is is a fine personal account of Ben's exploits in a very unusual operation. Many of the activities that Ben was involved in -- and many that he directed ad lib due to the lack of training and doctrine --have become the basis of some special operations today.

   Ben deserves a huge well done for an outstanding effort in documenting a very unusual experience. I would highly recommend his work.

   Charles D. Childers Colonel, US Army




4. This is an interesting addition to the military history collection. The book is an account of indigent intelligence gathering and sabotage operations behind the lines in North Korea. A few U.S. Army Officers and Enlisted men were tabbed as advisors to assist North Korean nationals in the disruption of the Communist forces north of the DMZ. For the most part well written, the narrative is most worthy by demonstrating the reluctance, if not downright obstructionism shown by senior Army members toward unconventional warfare in this period. The young officers selected for the mission generally had little if any training or background for the job and were given minimal support. A good accounting of the initiative and ingenuity of our young college grads when thrown in a difficult position.

No comments about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Primary Source History in Audio).

1 comments about Bread and Rice: An American Woman's Fight to Survive in the Jungles and Prison Camps of the WWII Philippines.

1. This story focuses on the personal experience of 2 Americans and the people who befriended them and sometimes betrayed them. Most of the book deals with the 2 years they were in hiding and then follows them through their surrender to the Japanese, prison life and life in internment camps.
   
   The author was a journalist in China when Japan invaded it and wrote bluntly of the Japanese activities there. When she and her husband were later in the Philippines and Japan invaded, they feared her past actions would cause the Japanese to treat her especially harshly and so they fled to the jungle.
   
   The first chapter and part of the second are written in a stream of consciousness manner, but don't let that deter you. Part way in the second chapter she begins writing in a narrative style that continues throughout the book. From then on, it's hard to put down.

5 comments about John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography (Bluejacket Books).

1. The book is very interesting, well written by an author clearly concerned with facts not myths as he differentiates between tales surrounding the subject and actual events.
   Too bad the book is missing pages 77 thru 92. (At least my copy is, anyone else come upon a similar print? If I keep it will it turn into a collectable?)



2. John Paul Jones is one of those figures on the fringes of the American pantheon. Most educated people have heard the name, but few know anything about the man beyond, perhaps, that he proclaimed, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Much to my surprise, after reading this classic biography (winner of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Biography) by Samuel Eliot Morison, the godfather of US Naval history, Jones' exploits are both relatively unknown and relatively modest. There is, however, nothing relative or modest about Morison's biography, which is an excellently structured and wonderfully written piece of history that is a pleasure to read.
   
   How did Jones attain immortality for his role in the American Revolution while other leading military figures of the period (most notably, in this reviewer's opinion, General Nathaniel Greene) have nearly vanished from history? Jones' attachment to the United States, both as a nation and a cause, were slight, even dubious. He was born and raised in Scotland and didn't arrive in America until roughly 1775 (on the run from a murder trial, no less, which also prompted him to add the alias "Jones" to his birth name of John Paul). He never owned a home or even maintained a permanent resistance in his adopted land, and instead lived with friends or at hotels at government expense. During his forty-five years of life, Jones only spent about three of them on American soil -- and that time was divided among four brief visits. His commitment to the principles of the American Revolution are a bit suspect, although he did frequently claim to be a citizen of the world engaged in the fight for liberty. Nevertheless, when Catherine II of Imperial Russia, the ruler of the most despotic of European monarchies, dangled a much coveted flag officer position before him in 1788 Jones quickly jettisoned his liberal pretensions and jumped at the offer.
   
   If Jones lacked the deep American roots of a John Adams or the strong ideological convictions of more recent immigrants like Thomas Paine, he was at least a military hero, right? Well, sort of. Jones' major military exploits during the war can be summarized as follows: a partially successful raid on his hometown port of Whitehaven, Scotland followed by a botched kidnapping attempt and then the capture of a modest-sized British warship while cruising the Irish Sea aboard "Ranger" in 1778, and then the famous defeat of the "Serapis" off Flamborough Head in September 1779 aboard the "Bonhomme Richard." Like Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo in 1942, the military value of these actions were minimal, but the psychological impact -- both at home and with the enemy -- was enormous. The British home islands had, afterall, been inviolable since a Dutch raid in 1667. Thus, Jones stands alone as the man who brought the American Revolution home to the British Isles, albeit in a way that caused little material damage.
   
   So, through a combination of moxie, luck and the general absence of anything else to cheer about, John Paul Jones -- one-time slave trader, murderer, Imperial Russian admiral, and alleged rapist of a 12-year-old (in his defense he swore, foreshadowing a future American scandal, that he "did not have sexual relations with that [girl]," although conceded that other amorous relations did occur) -- emerged as a bona fide hero of the American Revolution. Jones died alone, indigent and forgotten in Paris in 1792. But today his remains rest in an ornate tomb (modeled on Napoleon's) at the US Naval Academy and he is widely regarded as the father of the US Navy, which has become the global juggernaut he dreamed it would be.
   
   In closing, Morison does a remarkable job in capturing not only the essence of his subject-- Jones' native intelligence, egotism, insecurity and opportunism -- but also the pulse of life on the open ocean in an eighteenth century sailing vessel. The skill, experience, fortitude, and endurance it must have taken to guide these ships in battle and in treacherous seas with a motley collection of mutiny-inclined men as a crew is difficult to fathom. That Jones did so with such obvious success is, indeed, impressive. For readers with an interest in naval affairs or simply a love of sailing, this book would be a welcome addition to your library.



3. A hero of my youth, this book appears to tell the full story. This is a scolarly work which reads easily. I only wish I would have read this book in my twenties. There are some wonderful life lessons in this biography. If you read it you will learn his flaws, his good and fine attributes, and some mysteries. This is first-rate biography and detective work by the author. I recommend it.



4. It has been said that most great men are bad men. Samuel Eliot Morison's superb biography of John Paul Jones supports, if not proves, that proposition. Jones's greatness is undeniable: Although he was the son of an obscure Scottish gardener, he virtually founded the United States Navy, he won one of the most important sea battles of the Revolutionary War when he was only 32, and he later commanded ships in the service of France and Russia. But Jones also was extremely temperamental, excessively vain (after receiving an honor from France, he liked to be addressed as "Chevalier Paul Jones"), and he had mistresses in practically every port. Morison, a longtime professor at Harvard and the author of the authoritative, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Christopher Columbus, as well as a massive, multi-volume history of the U.S. Navy during World War II, reports all of this in a matter-of-fact fashion. Morison's Jones is a great sailor and a man of the world in every respect.

   According to Morison, Young Jones was highly ambitious and went to sea at age 13 "as a road to distinction." During the next 15 years, he learned well his trade and he also became an American patriot. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Morison writes that the American navy was "only a haphazard collection of converted merchant ships," and the Royal Navy was probably the most powerful in history. But General George Washington, according to Morison, "had a keen appreciation of the value and capabilities of sea power," and, in October 1775, Congress appointed a Naval Committee of Seven to manage the colonies' maritime affairs. In December 1775, seven months before the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, Jones accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the continental navy.

   Although Morison is primarily interested in Jones's activities during the Revolutionary War, he makes a number of more generally cogent observations. For instance, the United States government was in a state of nearly constant impecuniousness and was able to afford to build only one of the largest class of naval vessels, a ship of the line, during the conflict. In Morison's view, this was the status of the war at the time of the battle off Flamborough Head in September 1779, which secured Jones's fame: "The War of Independence had reached a strategic deadlock, a situation that recurred in both World Wars of the twentieth century. Each party, unable to reach a decision by fleet action or pitched land battles, resorts to raids and haphazard, desultory operations which have no military effect." That deadlock continued, according to Morison, until 1781. Morison also writes that Britain took the position "since the United States were not a recognized government but a group of rebellious provinces,...American armed ships were no better than pirates."

   Morison appears to be deeply impressed by Jones's technical competence: "One of Paul Jones's praiseworthy traits was his constant desire to improve his professional knowledge." That passion for self-improvement reached fruition September 1779 off the Yorkshire coast of east-central England when a squadron which Jones commanded from the Bonhomme Richard defeated the H.M.S. Serapis in a three and one-half hour battle during which those ships were locked in what Morison describes as a "deadly embrace." (Bonhomme Richard sank during the aftermath of the fierce fighting.) It was during this battle that Jones defiantly refused to surrender with the immortal phrase: "I have not yet begun to fight." According to Morison, "[c]asualties were heavy for an eighteenth-century naval battle. Jones estimated his loss at 150 killed and wounded out of a total of 322." Morison writes that Jones was at his "pinnacle of fame" in late 1779, and, when he visited France, which was allied with the U.S. during the Revolutionary War, in April 1780: He became the lion of Paris, honored by everyone from the King down." When Jones returned to the United States in 1781, however, he was unable to obtain what Morison describes as a "suitable command," and he never fought again under the American flag. In 1788 and 1789, as "Kontradmiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones" he swerved in the navy of Catherine II, "the Great," Empress of Russia. When he died in 1792, he was buried in France, but, in 1905, his body was returned to the United States and now rests in the chapel of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

   Jones's nasty temper is frequently on display. Morison remarks on various occasions that his crews were "disobedient," "sullen," and "surly." Which was cause and which was effect is difficult to ascertain. Jones clearly was an overbearing commander, which may explain, though does not excuse, his crews' bad attitudes. On one occasion Jones had one of his officers "placed under arrest for insubordination [giving the officer] a chance to clear it up, and Jones was unwilling to admit his error." It is not prudent to compare events during war in the late 18th century to the peace and prosperity of our own time, but no reader of this book will be impressed by Jones's interpersonal skills.

   Morison makes numerous references to "prize money," the curious, but apparently then-universal, practice of rewarding captains and their crews in cash for capturing enemy ships. The fact that Jones pursued prize money with vigor may raise additional doubts about his character, but I would guess Morison believed that Jones simply followed a custom which probably motivated many successful naval captains of his time.

   Morison held the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Although the degree of detail in his narrative is fascinating, I found some passages too technical, and I suspect some other lay readers may be baffled as well. (The book's charts and diagrams were, however, very helpful.) But that is a small price to pay for a wonderful biography of one of the most intriguing figures of the American Revolution.




5. As someone who had recently seen the "John Paul Jones" movie that was made in 1959 with Robert Stack, I was curious to learn more about the man who put the U.S. Navy on the map. Of course, most know him as the one who coined the immortal, defiant phrase "I have not yet begun to fight!" This book delves beyond that, as Morison shows Jones as he really was, a human being born in obscurity in Scotland who developed a love for the sea at an early age. He was simultaneously a shrewd combatant with a quick temper (in many ways the American equivalent of the great English admiral Nelson,) and a gentleman who enjoyed the company of numerous lovely ladies ashore. Morison leaves no stone unturned as he takes the reader on a detailed, captivating journey (from page one, the reader is hooked.) He sailed the waters that bore witness to Jones's battles and drew extensively upon the naval archives of the four primary countries that figured in Jones's life. To give you some idea, the engagement with H.M.S. Serapis is fleshed out in such marvelous detail that one can almost smell the gunpowder, but Morison goes beyond that, explaining what happened before, during, and after, most of which one would not learn in history class. In fact, I would make book that at least ninety percent of what one will read in this book would not be learned in history class. Morison has included pictures, charts, diagrams, excerpts from letters (some of which are in French with English translations), and has deftly blended them and the text into a perfect biography. For anyone who wants to learn more about Jones, this is required reading.

5 comments about Bury Me With Soldiers: One Grunt's Honest Story About Vietnam.

1. Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. I know a number of people who served in Vietnam but never talk about it. I found this book to be a real eye-opener. It's a very candid, honest and often humorous account of Vietnam. It made me proud of our soldiers and ashamed of the way we treated them and welcomed them home. As a mother of a recently returned Navy Corpsman who served with the Marines in Iraq, this book made me even more determined to make sure our soldiers are taken care of, no matter how we feel about the war or the president.
   Loved the book and highly recommend it for everyone.



2. This is a rare find indeed, but alas it can happen. It is not often in my life that I have found a book where the story is told with such integrity and can still hold my interest. This book is the perfect combination of these qualities. This book confirms my belief that honesty is the only policy and that reality is more interesting than fiction.

   Coming from a generation behind the author I can truly say I am proud to be the recipient of the legacy that will be left as this generation matures. I hope my generation lives up to this legacy and maintains the respect for this country and its ideals that the author and many like him have.

   This is the type of read I long for in my neverending search for good books.Although I have little time to sit with any book this particular one forced me to sit with it until I was at the end.




3. Book Review: Bury Me With Soldiers
   Author: C. W. Standiford
   Publisher: 1stBooks
   ISBN: 1-4033-9523-3

   From the Valley of the Shadow... by Bob Gray

   I've spent the last thirty-five years avoiding books and movies about Vietnam. The few I was exposed to infuriated me for their absolute refusal to see any good in what we did, or to appreciate the sacrifice our soldiers made. It never mattered to me who ran the country, nor did I buy into the Domino Theory - a McNamara creation that proved to be, like the man, a lie. What mattered to me were the American lives lost in a half-hearted pursuit of - not victory - peace. Then I discovered the book by Wayne Standiford; Bury Me With Soldiers.

   This is the story of how one average guy - average size, average intelligence, average outlook, life, and concerns - grew up and grew old in a few months of combat. The hopeless numbness that sets in after days of going from boredom to terror in one word - "incoming!" - is chilling in it's dissection of warfare on the human spirit. We watch as a callus grows over the author's heart, and his soul goes into remission to await the all-clear siren. And mail call.

   We meet Standiford as a high school senior. A friend of his who had graduated the year before dies in Vietnam. From the universal frustrations of high school (the drudgery of studying subjects you know you'll never use, to sex - and the lack thereof) to the middle-class values still prevalent but losing ground in the 1960's, author Standiford's life and choices mirror the particulars of millions of men caught on one side or another of the Vietnam war dilemma.

   Beset by the normal doubts and aspirations of any American teenager, he stands at his personal crossroads and wonders aloud what to do. The sixties were, as has been described by an endless array of social scientists, a disaffecting time for those of us then reaching adulthood. The old parameters of "America, Mom, and Apple Pie" were no longer enough. Not merely not enough - they were openly ridiculed. Jingoism was often the appellation applied. Bedrock beliefs were overturned with nothing to replace them. As someone else wrote about that period, America was ripe for a dictator. Free love played into the hands of every teenage boy who wanted to get laid more than anything else on earth. The beckoning hedonism was hard to resist.

   But some did. In a seamless progression Standiford shows us that some took seriously the idea that America was worth fighting for - even if the reasoning behind the fight might be flawed. The author was such a man. Standiford joined the Marines, went through Recon training and scuba diving school, and set off to destroy the enemy to the best of his ability. He did so without reservation. Then.

   In a recent email from Mr. Standiford, he told me the following: "I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience - and I wouldn't do it over again for two million." Besides dating him (when a million dollars was big money), the statement describes my own attitude and that of most of the vets I know.

   The story he tells called up memories without being predictable. Several times the unexpected sentence made me laugh out loud - a tough row to hoe when discussing mortar round-amputated limbs and burned bodies. And the honesty of this work is mesmerizing. Standiford's early loss of heart and how he dealt with it tells us what we need most desperately to know about any author: Can I trust his word? We find that, indeed, we must. No one would admit to the things he does and lie about lesser things.

   His description of real people, men whose names should be engraved on our hearts, is riveting. The men with whom he served, Meatball, Tut, Ernie, Mac, and Doc, will always be a part of Wayne Standiford. The pain of seeing a friend lose an arm, a leg, life; the exhilaration of returning from the bush as a whole person one more time; the devastation experienced when the fickle love back home sends a Dear John letter; the unreasoning fear that becomes commonplace while sitting in a hole in the ground half-filled with water as mortar rounds creep ever closer; these too will always be a part of him. They become a part of us when we read his story.

   The acceptance of the simple but horrific fact that man-hunting is suddenly legal can be discouraging (which means, literally, to lose one's courage). That so many American boys became men while undergoing this terrifying experience says much for this country and the values we continue to hold dear. That they did it despite attempts, by those Americans who hate America, to convince them they were all criminals for being there says much for the integrity and courage of the individual men. To this day the prevalent notion (and an awful lie) that all our military men came back junkies and killers continues to blacken the sacrifice they made.

   So to all those men and women who survived and those who died trying to save a tiny country from the communist dictatorship that eventually did engulf and murder those with the temerity to stand against the Stalinist horde - I've never had the opportunity to say this before: Thank you.

   That our faint-hearted politicians wasted your efforts, and many of your lives, does not reflect badly upon you - only on them. You stood up when your country asked you to. And I appreciate it, even if I prove to be the only one. You hear the complaint repeated endlessly nowadays: Where are our heroes? The answer is that they are all around us - many of us just don't want to admit it.

   And my most profound thanks to Wayne Standiford for sharing his story with me and all who care to know what really happened there. If I can't occupy the plot next to yours, then I ask the same thing you do: please, Bury Me with Soldiers.




4. I read an awful lot of books about the Vietnam war and those who survived it- I have my own little library in fact. Some books are good, some are not so good. Some are filled with so much tactical jargon or language that an average person cannot even get through to decide if they like the book!Some just sounds like one person pounding their chest real hard!
   This is not one of those books. It is hands down one of the best books I have ever read on any subject. I am not sure I can explain why his words touched me so. But I think it is because he wrote not from a researcher's point of view, but a survivors point of view. Not from second hand- but from his own memories, his own heart, sadness, joys, anger, hate and sometimes humor. You can't make that up. No matter your talent, you were either there, or you were not and people know the difference. He is the real McCoy.
   When I read his book it felt like he was sitting right there in my living room- as if he was my old friend come back from a long stay away from my home. And he sat there in my oldest most comfortable chair, kicked off his shoes and told me about everything that had happened since last we met. Some of his story made me laugh so hard I couldn't not stop- like when he got to boot camp. There were times when I thought my heart would break, and there were times, like when I closed that book, that I wondered how in the world did any man or woman ever survive that war, not just physically, but mentally, spiritually- for that, he is my hero. Yes he did some powerful things as a soldier no question, he was decorated for that more than once. But more than that, he is my hero because he wrote personally about things that we all need to read if we will ever, ever begin to understand how Vietnam was different for our soldiers. It is not easy to put everything you own personally in your heart on paper for other people to dissect. He is brave and I think this book should be read by every American.



5. As the editor and publisher of our county newspaper, I must read a great deal, and have gotten very particular about what I really enjoy reading- and I LOVED this book.
   With a son in the military, three brothers who served in the military in the Vietnam era, and with a Dad who served in WWII, I have never really known what they faced, what they struggled with, and what a shock it must have been to be taken from "Hometown" to defending our country halfway around the world. The author skillfully walks us through his time in 'Nam, and I feel I've gotten a glimpse of thoughts and feelings, fears and emotions, that I could never have gotten otherwise.
   I sent the book to my son and his wife, and they both love it also- (and my daughter-in-law finished it before my son!) We have compared notes, and decided we truly LOVE the way this author writes. I intend to check and see if Mr. Standiford has written other books, because if he has, I'm sold.
   I've purchased books before, dug into them, and then struggled to even WANT to finish them because I was disappointed in the quality, and didn't feel the author delivered what he promised. Standiford delivers MORE than he promises- I was never disappointed and I found myself arranging my schedule so I could hurry up and get back to the book!
   In short- this is a great book.