Asia Books

This book tell the real story, of the daily routines of a Grunt/ Infantryman in Nam. No glamorizing/glorifications.

While I have the utmost respect for the service of Mr. Delezen and the constant dangers that he and his teammates faced, I didn't really enjoy his writing style, which appeared to be very philosophical and lacked a great amount of detail. It almost seemed to be written in the third person with an effort to explain the emotional and psychological gyrations of a combat soldier.

John Edmund (Eddie) Delezen joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of seventeen. After extensive advanced training for a Marine Force Recon Unit he was assigned to Vietnam in March of 1967. He spent 20 months in Vietnam (2 extensions)and after being wounded twice and suffering various bouts of malaria was finally ordered home for medically reasons with a severe case of that disease.

Marine recon units of 4 to 8 men operated on their own in the mountains and jungles and rice paddies behind enemy lines in Vietnam for 6 to 10 days. A nerve wracking and exhausting experience where day or night death could come at any moment.The main function of these small units were to gather information and movement about enemy units moving down from North Vietnam into Quang Tri Province, the Northern I Corps area of operation along the DMZ defended by Marines, and various Army units.

'Eye of the Tiger'is not a portrayal of blustering and bragging bravado, but of strain and sweat and constant fear. In no way is war glorified, or hatred expressed for the enemy grunts struggling to do their duty with their own constant fear of enduring hunger and disease, and sudden death.

Eddie Delezen narrates the days and nights in Vietnam with a distinct poetic literary beauty and even underlining love for the that ancient country and its people. As those who fought in Vietnam know, there is a deep scaring bonding of body and soul that takes place, not only for one's unit comrades, but also with Vietnam itself. A bonding that never totally fades away, but for some deepens in a spiritual way.

In the end, it is the human dignity, depth and beauty of this story that stays with you. 'Eye of the Tiger', in its way, echoes Stephan Crane's 'Red Badge of Courage. And like it, I hope is a story that will be read by the genrations to come.

A story that enobles and enriches a reader.

It is obvious that this person lacks any ability to fairly provide critique for any work of literature. His remarkes that Eye of the Tiger does not suit his personal tastes are quite biased..perhaps a bit predjudiced. The book is everything that the reviewer did not like and it is these very qualities that have turned it into a best seller. I decided to research the critic and found that he has no credentials what so ever and this is merely his second review; perhaps a bit over his head to say the least. I think that he will realize that his opinion is not of any value judgeing by the votes cast by other readers. It is not fair that these "hatchet weilders" are allowed to voice an opinion when they lack the ability to articulate on anything but "Ramboesque" novels.
This was a review that came from a person that lacks the knowledge or ability to present artistic dialog, in short he jumped in over his head and now his reputation will be ruined...there are many people upset over this blast of such a wonderful piece of literature. I would advise the reviewer that stated "Yawner" to take some creative writing classes at his local community college; this is perhaps the worst review I have seen thus far on Amazon. I am surprised that it was allowed to be posted... he is finished.

Eye of the Tiger is incredible. Every time I read it I am transported back to Viet Nam. It is the summer of 1967 and I am again humping a pack in the DMZ, searching for the North Vietnamese Army. I can feel the sweltering heat and taste my sweat as I slowly and gently push aside the next little bit of jungle with my left hand, eyes constantly moving in a sideways figure 8 pattern searching for color, shape, movement, anything that does not belong, searching, searching. We've heard chopping all morning. Is that log the corner of a bunker? What's that smell? Did one of our guys fart or one of theirs? Which way is the wind moving? M-16 in my right hand, stock clamped between bicep and side, finger on trigger, thumb on safety, trusting from experience my subconscious will recognize the next deadly threat and, I will without thinking simultaneously flick the safety to full auto and pull the trigger a fraction of a second faster than he does, killing him before he kills me. Nothing exists but this moment.

Delezen paints word pictures that are so incredibly powerful that I am mesmerized, transformed, taken aback and admit to myself, yes, this is what it was like, this is real. I know it is real because I was his pointman in 3d Force Recon team Spiceberry One. Thank you for telling it your way, Eddie.

I just finished reading this book and I can't stop thinking about it, it is wonderful! It's beautifully written and reads like a novel. The only thing that I felt it was missing was some sort of follow up on the secondary characters. Since Burma is still struggling, I wasn't expecting a totally happy ending but I was curious if he knew what became of some of his friends. Other than that, this is a fantastic, beauuuutiful book!

If you enjoy the pleasure of reading a fascinating autobiography written by someone with consummate skills in composition as well as an incredible story to tell- GET IT! This is one of the best reads of 2006 for me. Or, for that matter, of any other year.

I read this book while traveling in Burma late 2006. It's a powerful and informative book. I recommend it to anyone. In a remarkably enjoyable story, Mr. Thwe explains what it's like to live and struggle for survival under Burma's military dictatorship.

I liked this book immensely on several levels. As an anthropologist, I found it very interesting to get a Padaung's eye view, written in literate English, of his own background, his childhood in the remote, forested mountains of eastern Burma. The author tells of everything---from the strictures of Roman Catholic missionaries in far parts of Asia, to eating dogs, baby wasps, and snakes (with relish), his grandmother's stories, guardian spirits, a Padaung funeral. The Burmese political climate of the 1960s and `70s merely lurks in the background until the author drops out of a seminary and heads to Mandalay to attend university. While information about various remote peoples is not uncommon, it is usually processed by foreign writers who have visited them. FLGG gives it to you from the horse's mouth.

On a second level I admired Pascal Khoo Thwe because I'm an American, grandson of immigrants who left traditional villages in Russia for a new life, a freer life, in America. Odysseys like Khoo Thwe's form the essence of the American experience, but perhaps few are so dramatic---from university student, to jungle fighter to student at Cambridge University to published author. I can easily see the difficulties of becoming a new man (my family took the last name "Newman", but the real story is long) in a new country. I recalled Sir Albert Maori Kiki, a Papua New Guinean born into a Stone Age village, but who became a pathologist and high ranking Minister in his newly-independent country. I once had read his book, "Kiki: Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime" and had been inspired by it.

This leads me to admire the book on a third level. We who live in modern countries, whether East or West, tend to denigrate those who live in poorer, less fortunate nations often suffering under tyrannical regimes. We feel that they may not have the sensibilities that we pride ourselves on. FLGG is a book that will shatter any such belief. The human spirit flies into the heavens from every corner of the globe, in all epochs. We--as Man---are universally capable of the greatest transformations and adjustments, able to surmount suffering. Pascal Khoo Thwe's thoughts and feelings, as expressed in his book, are eloquent proof of this. From a brutal regime which suppressed all independent thought, from a jungle war with no mercy, emerged a thinking, feeling man. I felt proud to be a human being when I finished. I admit that his book even moved me to tears.

A fourth reason why I liked FLGG is that it provides echoes of the same topic found in "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"---the transformative power of literature and its ability to change human nature. As a student of English Literature, no matter how constricted, Khoo Thwe could respond to different ideas, imagine a different world. The theme is not the dominant one as it is in the above named works, but it is there. But now, Pascal Khoo Thwe, a Padaung, has produced a work to stand in company of the works of mankind. Read it.

This book has quite deservedly collected very favorable reviews and I will not belabor the point. I would like to add that I read this book shortly before a visit to Burma nearly 2 years ago. The insights gained, both political and cultural, were extremely helpful to me during the visit.

One of our guides, herself a Shan, was well educated but unaware of this book and expressed a great interest in reading it but I had not carried it with me. Any of you planning to visit might consider taking this along - less obvious than writings of Sang An Su Qui - and leaving it as a gift. I believe many in Burma would appreciate access to this book.

This is quite simply the best memoir I have ever read, and as a professional writer myself, I've read a lot of them. It deserves to be considered in a class with America's greatest storytelling.

Fan Shen writes in an understated, no-holds-barred, external style that is in some ways reminiscent of his literary heroes: London and Stendhal, to name two. Like Martin Eden and The Red and the Black, this is a story of the struggle of the individual against the system. And what a struggle! No slow internal musing over small questions here - this is a pedal-to-the-metal ride through China's bloodiest and most oppressive modern period, told in one shocking life event after another, and emotions bend all the more powerfully by racing to keep up.

With increasing personal, moral, and ethical risks as Fan struggles to develop an individual identity and freedom from oppression in a country where individualism is anti-revolutionary and a capital offense, this is a page-turner that you may never forget - with a beautiful love story at its heart.

I think this is perhaps the best memoir I've read by someone who survived the infamous Chinese Cultural Revolution. Many other authors have tried to capture the chaos and pain it has caused them, but Fan Shen outdoes them all. I'm glad he told his story, or other people would never know how horrible things really were at that time. Each chapter in this book is captivating, and its hard to put it down. It is also extremely sad, and at the end of the book you wish you knew Fan Shen so you could at least talk with him and give him a hug. :(

A fascinating look inside the chinese mindset. A must read for anyone who wants to know about the crazy history of the Red Guard, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Also provides a great insight into how the chinese operate today. Fan Shen tells a story that will stick with you as you purchase your next "made in China" item.

I spent about 8 months reading Dr. Shen's book -- not because it bored me, and not because it was overly long. This is just one of those books that needs to be savored in order to be properly enjoyed. It's also one of those books that you really don't want to finish.

Savor it. :)

This is the story of a boy who, from a revolutionary family, eagerly joins the Red Guards at the outset of the Cultural Revolution. As Fan Shen comes of age, he realizes that the Cultural Revolution is a disaster and this book is the story of his attempt to find a way to achieve an acceptable life.

It is readily apparent that Fan is a very clever fellow as well as an intellectually gifted individual. The tales that he recounts are alternatively horrifying, sad, depressing and humorous. As he tells of his experiences, the reader can only imagine the horrors of the Cultural Revolution when you multiply his experiences by the 800 million or so others who lived through the same era.

Fan is a wonderful author and can tell a story exceedingly well. At times, however, the reader is left wondering whether we are actually getting an accurate recounting of Fan's earlier years. The stories he tells are truly beyond belief and, at times, seem to be a bit self-serving. Whether or not this is the case, the book deserves a read by anyone interested in China today or in recent Chinese history.

My 22 month old son loves many books, but this one has been a stand-out since the first read. He keeps asking for it "again" at the ending and has started to take it to bed with him. I was initially surprised, but now I also love the rhythmic pace and gentle story.

My husband is from Thailand and we were having a hard time finding books that were for children with Thai themes. This was perfect. Our 1 year old son enjoys the colorful pages and the story is just the right length. I actually enjoy all childrens books by this author.

The little ones I read this to absolutely delight in the gentle, rolling rhythms of Hush! It's become a pre-nap favorite in their house.

I bought this book for my little grandbaby on his lst birthday .. I wanted to start building up his "library", and I found this title under a listing of Caldecott Award winners. The colors are wonderful, as are the graphics. The story is very sweet and something every parent can appreciate. I only wish this book was available in a more hard-bound format. I can see how little fingers can (and probably will) be too hard on the pages.

This is one of the few perfect books, perfect diction, few words as possible, using each word carefully and effectively to create a simple but strong story.

Not a book that is nice to have, but an indispensable necessary book. It's so special!

This book gave me great insight into how a people are injured by the lies of their government. I learned a lot about the Japanese culture.I could easily see myself in the mothers of Japan. I bought this book at a garage sale where the owner was selling all of the books they read in their Asian studies program at college. I was honestly shocked and heartbroken to read about the Japanese point of view.
The really scary thing is how current the idea still is that an uneducated populus can really be driven to a horrible end by their government's lies! Now I am learning Japanese (another garage sale find!) from tapes. I will visit Japan with a greater sense of their history and culture.

This was a very good well written book! It is easy to follow, and takes the reader down numerous paths of the war years and the scars that were inflicted on those who lived, and died.

I believe the book was initially utilized as a text in some colleges, but it is not written like any text book I ever had to read.

This book is an accumulation of oral interviews that helps the reader to visualize, smell, and even taste the sadness and poverty of those who fought the war; not just on the high seas, or the jungles of the South Pacific, but...on the streets of Tokyo, Nagasaki, Kyoto, and Hiroshima.

This book examines a proud culture and the utterly devestated people who lived within it.

I have sought, over the years, to try to understand the nature of our enemies in war. Some wars, like WWI, were essentially fought over the issue of power and control. Some wars, like the US Civil War, get redefined periodically and often to the advantage of who's redefining it. Today, July 4, is a good day to reflect on our Revolutionary War and, although I don't do it annually like I feel I should, reading the Declaration of Independance is an excellent way to understand the grievances that led to war. It is WWII that had been my biggest challenge to comprehend and it was the Japanese side of this conflict that I understood the least. I can't say that one book clarified everything I didn't understand but "Japan at War: An Oral History" put me on the fast track to getting there.

This is an amazing book in many ways. First, the scope of the book covers the many different facets of the Japanese experiance in WWII. For example, the war begins for them with the invasion of China and the conquest of Manchuria; aspects we generally know little about. It has a chapter on the kamikazi's and the similar sailers who volunteered to man suicide torpedos. It looks to the glory of the height of conquest and to the chaos and destruction of the waning days. It takes a look at the little mentioned Soviet invasion of Manchuria (that began after The Bomb). It takes a brief look at post-war Japan as well. It does all of this through the interviews the authors conducted with a number of soldiers, sailers, officers, civilians, and conscripts. To their credit, the husband and wife team of Haruko Taya and Theodore Cook constructed their book by publishing the reminiscences of their subjects. We read the words they heard supplemented briefly by overviews provided by the authors. This first-person recounting of events and the reactions to them brings everything to life for us. Whatever passions we may have from our own perspectives are, at least temporarily, set aside with the riminder that war victimizes everyone it touches.

The Cooks have done an excellent job of finding persons who were not only first-hand witnesses but excellent historians as well. The stories that they were able to collect were so personal and down-to-earth that the one exception (a professor's educated treatise on the censuring of textbooks) sticks out noticeably in comparison.

The witnesses let us in on many events but it is their editorial perspective of how these events changed their lives (and the lives of other Japanese) that reaches across the animosities of war and touches us deeply. There are interviews with some of the volunteer suicide soldiers who would have carried out their mission but for time and/or equiptment failure. There are stories of Koreans brought to Japan and insights on how they were treated. However, the most impressive were the stories of the witnesses and survivors of the Atomic Bombs that fell on Japan. Whatever your feeling on this subject are (and mine affirm the correctness of our actions) these first hand accounts are stunning.

The Cooks deserve a lot of credit for their painstaking efforts to amass all of these interviews. Their editing appears to be minimal as is their background introductions to each new chapter. In other words; helpful without being intrusive. Undoubtably, there were many other survivng Japanese witnesses to war who would not tell their story. Many of those who did were reflective of having been misled.

The Japanese and Americans are solid allies these days and the birth of that alliance is found in these monologues of history. Countless eye-witnesses bore testimony to their individual discovery that the American soldiers were not the devils the Japanese leadership portrayed them to be. The gratuitous stories of the acts of kindness and generosity of the American GIs were really heartwarming to read.

"Japan at War: An Oral History" was everything I had hoped it would be; and more. As a Baby-Boomer, I carry not the scars of war but the legacy of war. The history of American wars is the eventual alliance with our enemies. This book, in an indirect way, is a reminder of that tradition. We can only hope that our current conflict can eventually end in the same Phoenix of peace.

Being an ethnic Chinese, though born after the war, I just couldn't understand the Japanese inability to accept that they have been behaving in a most atrocious manner during the war, given the massive amount of evidence that has been accumulated to prove that point. Despite there being so much evidence pointing to the fact it was the Japanese who started the war, and yet, they seemed to think of themselves as the victims rather than the victimizers. That was something I couldn't understand.

But now, having read this book, though I don't agree with them, I could, in an intuitive sense, understand them.

At the beginning of Part Four, on page 259, it's printed these words:

"Umi yukaba, misuku kabane...Across the sea, corpses soaking in the water, Across the mountains, corpses heaped upon the grass, We shall die by the side of our lord. We shall never look back."

"Umi yukaba.." is from a collection of poetry known as Manyoushu, which dated from around 700 AD, around the Nara, Heien period. This specific poem, "Umi yukaba..." was set to music in 1937, and after 1943, it preceded radio announcements of battles in which Japanese soldiers "met honorable death rather than the dishonor of surrender." In a flash,I understood the mentality of the time. They were really still set in the medieval feudal samurai mentality. The veneer of modernity was just that, a veneer of modernity. They might be able to build and master complex machinery of the modern twentieth century, the mentality was still of feudal Heien period. Their treatment of the conquered people was justified. That's how the Heien period warriors behaved. Their perception of themselves as the victims were justified. That's what samurai warrior would feel. They were all prepared, or at least indoctrinated to be prepared to die in the service of the emperor.

I cannot imagine any other country which would announce their battles lost with such a song.

The army doctor, Yuasa Ken, described his wartime experience, that of experimental surgery on perfectly healthy, well except for the fact that they have been starved, perfectly healthy Chinese. To them, there was nothing wrong. The Chinese were the conquered people. The Imperial Army needed doctors to treat the wounded soldiers, so many doctors were recruited into the army, including pediatricians, dermatologists, ophthalmologists and so on. These doctors have no experience in treating trauma injuries. How to train them? What better way than to use the Chinse as experimental animals for their training. Only in the light of the concept of "human rights", a concept developed in the West, was that kind of experimenation considered wrong. In the feudal samurai ethics, that was not considered wrong.

Now look at the situation this way. From the samurai ethics point of view, they had not behaved wrongly. But after the defeat, and the acceptance of the world view of "human rights", what they have done was definitely wrong. However, in their minds, they haven't done anything wrong. How to reconcile the one with the other? How to reconcile their internal moral judgment, "we have not done anything wrong", with the now newly developed and accepted concept of "human rights"? The only way out of this psychological dilemma is to deny that those atrocities have happened. The only way out is to deny that the Nanjin massacre had happened, that the human experimentations in Unit 731 had ever happened.

This is a most fascinating book, and is a MUST READ for anyone interested in how the Japanese felt and thought of the events of the time.

A compelling set of recollections from Japanese citizens and soldiers who lived and experienced WWII. These stories give an interesting insight into the psyche of the average Japanese citizen and soldier during the war. This is one of the few existing WWII books pertaining to the Pacific Campaign that gives you insight into the thoughts and feelings of the Japanese during the war. A must read for anyone wanting to see the perspective from the "other side". Highly recommended.

Excellent book, but I am not sure the distinction is between Western and Oriental tactics. I suspect that American Indians, frontier scouts, the British SAS, U.S. Special Operations community, etc...would be very familiar with, and skilled at, these tactics.

A classic dilemma that resurfaces every time we go to war. Militaries, at least in the West, prepare to fight the last war and not the next one. As a free society, the public tends to forget the hard lessons learned and shuns warriors during times of peace. The end result is that we constantly are reinventing the wheel after every war/generation.

Victor Davis Hanson, in a recent editorial in the City Journal called Why Study War, gave a perfect example from the Post-Vietnam era; "The public perception in the Carter years was that America had lost a war that for moral and practical reasons it should never have fought--a catastrophe, for many in the universities, that it must never repeat. The necessary corrective wasn't to learn how such wars started, went forward, and were lost. Better to ignore anything that had to do with such odious business in the first place"...."A wartime public illiterate about the conflicts of the past can easily find itself paralyzed in the acrimony of the present. Without standards of historical comparison, it will prove ill equipped to make informed judgments."

A well-written and important book that provides an in-depth analysis of small unit tactics.

Danger, danger, is very much the message put forth in this book and it should be heeded before it is too late. Some reviewers have mentioned Sun Tzu and his rules of warfare. Sun Tzu puts forth a very reasoned and systematic set of rules that define a nations path to victory or defeat. By definition, our present leadership has us solidly on the path of defeat. Our people in the field have to both fight our Eastern enemies as well as carry a great weight of poor leadership at the highest levels. This book is very informative and is for the most part, completely accurate and frightening.

The idea that hardware superiority alone can replace common sense is ludicrous and this book digs deeply into this. I remember seeing news footage of our troops in Afganistan heading up into steep mountainous terrain encumbered with huge heavy packs and body armor. They could barely move. They should have had only their clothes, rifles, ammunition and food and water and some good lightweight footwear. If you are going to fight an Apache you have to be an Apache. It seems at times to me that our soldiers are forced simply to carry as much weight in useless (and expensive) contractor equipment as a mule. Small unit combat and the tactics that win in this arena will be the deciding factor. Something also needs to be done about our so called free press. This game is for blood not for profitable commercial air time and these people should be subjected to the sort of censorship that our country used in WWII and the sooner the better.

I feel also that some of the opinions voiced on China are a bit over the top. The Chinese wish to better themselves and are not necessarily motivated by a desire to hurt us per se. It is very possible that in future that the Chinese could help us. They should not be blindly antagonized. They think and plan in a fashion that is very, very, long term. Our own leadership is cripplingly shortsighted in strategic planning.

I have lived and worked in the Mid East for a number of years and my personal opinion of the Iraq war can be summed up as follows:

1. The US leaves Iraq now and the country will dissolve into a bloody civil war.

2. The US leaves later and Iraq dissolves into a bloody civil war.

This book documents many of the reasons why this is so. Anyone who cares about the future of our country and indeed the world (China included) should read this book.

A sure test of talent and knowledge is the challenge of taking a very complex subject, explaining it in understandable terms and then offering solutions along with the understanding. My very brief stint in the Army ended long before Vietnam called the younger brothers of my generation. From the news reports it appeared that we suffered so many casualties only because the enemy was "sneaky" and prepared to die. How could the US lose to people who could not afford shoes?

Poole does a great job of bridging the gap from Sun Tzu to the muddy jungles of Vietnam and the significance of the lessons to our maneuver warfare. It is no accident that Boyd associate Willian Lind wrote the preface.

Poole finished the book just before 9/11. Our experience in Iraq and the Israeli experience during the past year show that we have much to learn. After 50 plus years of victories over various armies, the Israelis lost to what most consider a rag-tag army. Other than their heritage, they are as unlikely to defeat the Israelis as the sandal clod Vietnamese.

Poole's book is a gift to the small unit soldier and perhaps a greater gift to those in higher command who will order soldiers to assault targets with little understanding of what they may be facing. It may be at a distant command post or in the case of Somalia the commander flying overhead at 2,000 feet but unable to understand the river of lead flying down the street as he instructs troops to consolidate their positions.

This is a great aid to understanding current events and history from the comfort of your easy chair while balancing a martini on the arm. However, my sense is that it is far more valuable as a gift to a young trooper. In addition it should be mandatory reading ( along with Sun Tzu and Boyd's briefing slides) for every reporter who covers wars and "low intensity" conflicts.

Reading the book makes you appreciate Poole but feel uncomfortable with the contents. A great contribution.

As with all of Poole's works, we are treated here to an excellent analysis of the tactical sphere of war. This time, from the eastern fighter's perspective. Written, I believe, pre-9/11, the work itself is a thorough offering of actual techniques and wartime practices used by small units against western forces, but it is most remarkable in that it outlines in a concise and friendly manner what most analysts still fumble over on MSNBC.

In the world of tactical operations and small unit tactics, we can not ask for a better teacher than John Poole. Keep a close eye out for any and all of his works, for they have a lot to say about how and what western forces will fight for the next fifty years.

NOTE: This work makes a perfect companion to the author's "The Tiger Way," which outlines the ideal western method for combating such tactics.

I read all these reviews and in the main agree with them. However, the real "way of western combat" is exemplified right here: we -- AT THE BOTTOM LEVEL -- are discussing all this and implementing it as we go. And as another reviewer mentioned, our soldiers are getting at it and learning from this NOW. Here's the clincher: does the oriental soldier or citizen do this. No way. It's not in their culture. Hasn't been for thousands of years. Unlikely to be unless huge changes occur in their citizenry. West = democracy / more free / BOTTOM-UP APPROACH. East = tyrrany / less free / TOP-DOWN APPROACH.

SUMMARY: I'd much rather be in the West facing the Eastern way of war rather than be in the East facing the Western way of war. Let's be data-driven: what is the kill ratio of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam? 40-1? 10-1? And yet, Poole's talk about Japan in WW2 making "infantry the most valued weapon". What?! Americans (and all European armies before them all the way back to Alexander) don't line up rows of infantry and charge across open fields to be mowed down. Doubt it? Guadacanal. Korea. etc. That's the "cultural" difference highlighted here: we value life, even a single soldiers.

Further reading: Carnage & Culture, by Victor Davis Hanson.

I got a copy from the local library, read it, then ordered a copy for my collection. It's well-written and difficult to put down once you get started. Buy it!

This is a quick and easy read about the Vietnam War. Focus is on stories related to the the soldier's care in Vietnam and the
critical cases sent to Japan. For those interested in the glamour of war, read this book for the cost of such glamour, crippled men. Since this book was written in 1971, it does not
contain much of the later aspects of the war. Generally it is unsypathetic to the American pursuit of the war.

Dr. Glasser has written a great story on the Vietnam War and the Hospital and personnel envolved. Having read it almost right through it brought back lots of memories stored in the deep of my mind. I had lived a time in a Naval Hospital and was put back together in a wonderful way by many good Doctors and Nurses in the Boston area. I will always remember them and hope that many that have never associated the hospitals with the war will now understand how many men went through those portals in those years. Many to never be the same, God bless them all, and God bless our wonderful country.

This book is a series of short stories detailing personal accounts of US infantry combat operations during the Vietnam War. Fast-paced, vivid and well-written. Stories cover the individual spectrum from the most gung-ho Airborne-Ranger to the most reluctant drugged-out draftee. Helicopter, river, armored, long range recon and regular infantry operations are all part of 365 Days. The book shows clearly the human tragedy of war at a personal level. Recommended reading for the hawk and the pacifist.

Dr. Glassner provides a unique perspective on the American experience in Vietnam -- that of a medical officer responsible for treating the shattered, burned, and exhausted men caught up in that conflict. There is plenty of heroism in his short tales, but usually it is the heroism of brute survival, of adapting to impossible conditions, of enduring the unendurable.

I have heard this book referred to as an "anti-war" work, and one that derides America's involvement in Southeast Asia. I disagree. Glassner simply tells it like it was -- he pulls no punches, so oftentimes reading this book is very unpleasant: how many "John Wayne shoot 'em up" memoirs of Vietnam recount the suffering endured on a burn ward?

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam War, the continued psychological and physical suffering of combat vets from all eras, or to anyone concerned with the consequences for our sons and daughters when politicans send our troops to war. Should be required reading for college students,...

While as comprehensive and extraordinarily detailed as a college text, and as fully annotated, this is a great example of a 'popular' history at the top of its game. The enormous amount of (often grueling) material is nicely organized across time, place, and category, the many significant characters are well-delineated, and there is a sense of narrative flow and pretty steady momentum to this highly readable book.

This is a excellent, outstanding and informative book, that every patriotic american should read. These men are real American Heroes, I needn"t say more.

Definitely one of the best books I every read. It's amazing what a man will do for honor, to protect the life and dignity of another, at his own peril. There are scores of examples of this in this book. On the down side, what men bent on tyranny and oppression will do to break the will of another. However, light truly shines through darkness. If you think you have it rough, read this book.

This is a lengthy but well written book. If you are looking for an excellent history of the POW's from the Vietnam war, this is the one to get. If you are interested in history or the human aspects of the Vietnam POW's this would be very valuable. I have read a number of books on POW's and this is by far the best of the lot.

This observer has followed the POW situation since 1972, when he was still on active duty. He is familiar with many POW memoirs, so the men in Messer's. Kiley and Rochester's voluminous work are no strangers. Most of the prominent POWs are well known to many and they are certainly all here: Ernest Brace, Robinson Risner, James Stockdale, Jeremiah Denton, Frank Anton and Everett Alvarez-plus many more. If this reviewer had to choose a favorite memoir, it would be Anton's "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?" Honorable mention certainly goes to "A Code to Keep" by Mr. Brace. HB goes into far deeper detail than do individual stories, yet necessarily lacks the personal touch folks like those two gentlemen provide. Those in the amazon community who have read no POW tales and are satisfied with one big picture have the perfect book in HB. The back cover noted that HB "combines rigorous scholarly analysis with moving narrative". That it certainly does, in fullest detail. All the torture, all the mind games, all the coming and going and transfers, all the gripping boredom and fear, all the gruesome details of prison life are here. It will be clear that the POWs were anything but one big happy family. Disagreements abounded, especially that nebulous subject regarding compliance with the Code of Conduct. Some favored active resistance, some a "cooperate-graduate" approach. The authors also do an excellent choreographing of the release of the Spring of 1973. They were not repatriated on one fleet of C-141s but came home in stages. We learn that a handful of guys were released through Saigon and 2 through Hong Kong (!). There are some caveats attached to this review: HB cannot be skim read. It demands attention and a substantial investment of time upfront. Casual readers are in the wrong place! They won't appreciate the 88 pages of appendices and notes/footnotes. HB also concentrates on prisoners held in the major North Vietnam detention centers. The missing in Cambodia, Laos and even China are outside the scope of HB. But HB is also silent on the fate of the discrepancy cases of those lost in the 4 countries. One hopes that the authors, writing a book that admits to being "an official publication of the Department of Defense", are not attempting a "Case Closed" on the 1,783 still unaccounted for. This observer will give the authors the benefit of the doubt here. Still. FAR more disturbing is a gratuitous remark on Page 589 that those who continue to press for a fullest accounting of the missing are "a swarm of polemicists and opportunists". This reviewer is one of them! He belongs to neither of those species! Since it is most likely that no offense was intended, none is taken but that comment demands an explanation! It certainly merits an unfortunate reduction in rank to 4 stars. That there even is a page 589 is the essence of HB. This one is not for those with a passing fancy on the Indochina War. A final note: There is a new, voluminous publication available on amazon-"An Enormous Crime". That particular 566 page volume-in small type no less-claims to be the "definitive account of American POWs abandoned in Southeast Asia". The different scope of EC should encompass what HB did not. Maybe these 1,000+ combined pages of text will shed a final light on the thorny question of POWs/MIAs in Indochina. Congressman King (R-NY) is also attempting to convene new hearings on the same subject. This painful matter will be with us for a while. The bottom line to "Honor Bound" is the headline above. This is indeed a great work of military scholarship and for that the authors deserve their due.

What a book! To me the acid test was, "Would I find this book interesting even if I wasn't mentioned in it?" The answer is a resounding "Yes!" Kenny has done a masterful job of weaving together the thoughts and actions of all the various principal characters--quite a feat by itself. Read the book. You will feel yourself evading the enemy as you wonder why it is taking so long for the rescue forces to arrive. Vietnam Air Rescues

I have not finished reading this book but so far it has been a very good read and glad so many other people are enjoying it. Of course even if it wasn't good I couldn't give a bad review since my father was the helicopter pilot who saved Kenny.

Eric Richardson

This is an outstanding book. Commander Fields gives an incredibly detailed account of what it was like to evade capture and probably death in the jungles of Laos. He battled the dangerous jungle elements and avoided the communist Pathet Lao and NVA for 40-hours. This book explains his thoughts, his fears, and emotions over these 40-hours. Commander Fields also recounts how closely he came to being captured multiple times as well as nearly being killed by friendly bombs. It is truly amazing that he lived through this ordeal. Fields also gives great detail of the men involved in his rescue, the struggles they experienced, and the sacrifice they made to 'pull him out of probable death'. Commander Fields reflects that this book 'was his feeble attempt to glorify the Lord and remind us whe the real heroes are'. I'd say he greatly accomplished this goal. Buy this book. You will enjoy it.

Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos
One of the very best "war stories" I have ever read. The authenticity of this first-hand account jumps out. The guts of this hero and his tribute to those who would sacrifice their lives in a prolonged and extremely dangerous effort to rescue him demonstrates the best of the patriots who walk among us. This ought to be required reading in high schools throughout America.

CDR Fields did a great job of reconstructing the events around his shootdown and rescue to illuminate the heroism of his rescuers. This book will absorb the reader in some of the loftiest and selfless behavior humans are capable of exhibiting. Men like this have been my heroes since childhood and deserve complete acknowledgement. The humility of CDR Fields is as obvious in the book as it was at the airshow book signing and is evidenced in the way he and the USAF rescue helicopter pilot openly express their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which is particularly uplifting. What an example Sandy 7 provides in his sacrifice and lack of bitterness.

This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is Ms. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is something else. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance....)

OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. Not good if you REALLY want the real thing...

This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling.

This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself.

Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. 172), and it was delectable. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. 73) and green beans with egg (p. 130). Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics.

_The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. This book is a real treasure.

I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste. I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that.

I gave this book to a Georgian and she loved it. It had all the dishes she had eatten as a child. If your looking for a book to fill in any missing recipes this is the book for you.

As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking.

More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).

I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book!