Asia Books

Tours of Shanghai's former Jewish Ghettoes are popular, and the fact they are offered gives you a sense of the importance of the Jews' contributions to the city's past. For those who want to delve deeper and who want the stories behind the stories told and the buildings seen on the tours, there is Rena Krasno's Strangers Always.

Krasno was born in Shanghai in 1923 to stateless Russian Jewish parents. Krasno lived there her entire life until expats were forced out of China in 1945. The author includes detailed, yet concise, background information--including newspaper articles and some Japanese propaganda pieces--about issues that affected her daily life during this era and her reactions to the world around her. She tries to puzzle out the truth behind the propaganda and figure out what is the real status of the war, for example. She also attempts to illustrate how the lives of the various groups of people in Shanghai intersected and how the ways in which people interacted changed.

Although the book focuses on the war years of 1942 to 1945, she provides other interesting information as well. One of the worthwhile tangents Krasno provides is the story of her parents' emigration. Her father, David Rabinovich, left Russian for Siberia, and then went on to Harbin. As the Russian Jews picked up their lives again in Harbin, they began to suffer hardships at the hands of White Russian Fascists and the Japanese. Eventually, Rabinovich and many other Jews left Harbin to try their luck in the more tolerant city of Shanghai. There, Rabinovich met and married his wife and became the editor of a Russian Jewish newspaper called Our Life. He also served as the honorary secretary of the Shanghai Ashkenazi Jewish community. Krasno's mother owned a children's dress and toy shop called Peter Pan. Luckily, during Ghettoization this little shop kept the family fed. One of the fun anecdotes about the store involves writer and personality Emily Hahn, who shopped there for clothing for her pet gibbon.

Other notable side stories include the history of the Opium trade, the background of the Bund, and the story of Jewish immigrant Silas Hardoon and his impact on the city.

Although the book deals with a difficult time in Shanghai's history, Krasno's account maintains a lighthearted, youthful exuberance. Despite the air raid sirens and bombs going off around her, food shortages, and other hardships of wartime, young Rena remains determined to pursue her education and insists on having as much fun as is humanly possible under these unusual conditions. Fortunately, she wrote down all of these elements of her life in Shanghai for us to contemplate in the 21st Century.

Strangers Always is a quick and satisfying read. I found it better than some of the other war time memoirs for its style, tone, and level of details. The book will appeal, of course, to readers interested in the history of Jews in Shanghai, but also to readers interested in WWII era Shanghai or immigrant life during the boom years in general.

This book is the memoir of a young woman from a Russian Jewish family growing up in Shanghai during World War II. The setting is multicultural, multilingual and multiracial, and the author provides fascinating details from the history of a city that no longer exists. Shanghai had Chinese, White Russian, French, British, American, German, Iraqi and many other citizens. The author lived there under the Japanese occupation, but this is not a Holocaust story. Some people were interned and imprisoned, and there was some anti-Semitism, but there were no mass deportations to death camps or a "final solution" as was taking place in Europe. The city was full of refugees from many governments, including Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, Fascist Italy and Franco's Spain, as well as "stateless" people, many of whom had escaped to China following the Russian Revolution. The author documents publications of the day, Japanese propaganda, and news from the U.S. and its allies. She also explains well what happened to various people later, what rumors turned out to be true or false, and gives her sources. First-rate research, good writing, and an interesting story add up to a great read. I add that I read this after becoming interested in pre-Communist Shanghai after reading Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans. If you liked that book, try a real-life version!

This book is the memoir of a young woman from a Russian Jewish family growing up in Shanghai during World War II. The setting is multicultural, multilingual and multiracial, and the author provides fascinating details from the history of a city that no longer exists. Shanghai had Chinese, White Russian, French, British, American, German, Iraqi and many other citizens. The author lived there under the Japanese occupation, but this is not a Holocaust story. Some people were interned and imprisoned, and there was some anti-Semitism, but there were no mass deportations to death camps or a "final solution" as was taking place in Europe. The city was full of refugees from many governments, including Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, Fascist Italy and Franco's Spain, as well as "stateless" people, many of whom had escaped to China following the Russian Revolution. The author documents publications of the day, Japanese propaganda, and news from the U.S. and its allies. She also explains well what happened to various people later, what rumors turned out to be true or false, and gives her sources. First-rate research, good writing, and an interesting story add up to a great read. I add that I read this after becoming interested in pre-Communist Shanghai after reading Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans. If you liked that book, try a real-life version!

I wanted to share my personal experiences in Shanghai both before World War II and during the Japanese occupation (1923-1949). I base my book on my private diaries, notes taken during radio broadcasts, and years of research. My father, who at the time was the Editor of the best known Jewish weekly in Shanghai and Honorable Secretary of the Russian Jewish community, put all his personal papers at my disposal. This book describes the end of imperialism in Shanghai and, I believe, is of interest to the general public, Jews and non-Jews alike. Rena Krasno, author.

The book was received in record time, in excellent condition, and, was an excellent read.

This is a great book, giving a balanced pespective on the practice and surrounding aspects of Tai Chi. If you practice Tai Chi and have been looking at the books available, then you probably understand that style specific content isn't very useful for most of us. The differences in styles and instructors combined with the non-photogenic nature of Tai Chi make the photo sections all but useless. This book doesn't spend a lot of time trying to teach the specific movements, but how to feel when doing them. This is the best part of any Tai Chi book, and Horwitz's book has plenty of it. I have been practicing Wu style Tai Chi for 14 years, and am currently working on a College project on my studies.

BY FAR THE BEST BOOK YET ON TAI CHI CH'UAN AND TAOISM.

Truly insightful writing about the TRUE nature of TaiJi Quan. A review of the TaiJi classics, and in-depth discussion on Daoism. Truly a MUST-READ for those interested in the higher levels of TaiJi! :o)
...and besides, it's cheap...

Not only an excellent read for all AFV fans, but should serve as a guide on how commanders should treat their men ( especially read the part about the visiting engineer unit that worked on their defences )

Great book. Fun read as well, not dark, not brooding, these guys fought hard, and had some fun as well.

Some highlights will have you rolling, like when a brand new M-48A3 is delivered the LST, puts the ramp down on a sand bar and the whole tank sinks as it drives in. Total loss.

Another interesting part is the story of the M-48 that runs of a 1000 pound bomb turned into a mine. They get it running and drive it home.

This is one of the better books about armor in Vietnam. If you want to know what it was like to ride one of these steel beasts in the heat of Vietnam, driving into the teeth of the enemy fire and destroy the enemy face to face, this is the book. He tells it like he saw it, with little or no embellishment. If you are a tanker, then this is a great book for you.

I would give it a 5 if it were better written, but some places his editor should have taken a hand in the final product.

Tank Sergeant is a very readable account of what it was like to be a tanker in Vietnam. If you are familiar with tank operations in previous wars, you'll be surprised by their use in Vietnam. Good coverage of AFV use as well. Highly recommended.

As a Japanese language teacher in a Primary school, I have always shared the story of Momotaro with my students who are really fascinated with the oni (demons) and Momotaro's bravery and kindness. I was thrilled to find this new reworking of the traditional story with a female "hero" who was born from a large melon rather than a peach, and sets off to Onigashima to rescue the babies from the oni, accompanied by the dog, pheasant and the monkey, all sustained of course by the famous kibidango. A really enjoyable and fun read-aloud and a good teaching tool for comparing traditional stories with reworkings.

The story of the cute, spunky heroine Uriko-hime who was born from a melon will surely delight children of all ages. It is actually a retelling of the Japanese folktale Momotaro. Judy Sierra's narration is lovely. Tontoko-tontoko--I could hear Uriko-hime's wooden sandals. And Meilo So's illustrations are a real eye-candy.

As a fourth grade teacher, I plan to use this book as an introduction to folklore. It is especially appealing to find a book with an Asian heroine.

My 3-year old loved this book after the first reading. If your child likes belly buttons, he or she will love this book and will soon be running around the house chanting: "Belly Button, Belly Buttons, Tasty Baby Belly Buttons."

As we begin to see this earth suffer the effects of our presence here, these poems -with roots in every continent- speak together of this planet as a sacred place. One perhaps we might still come to treat well. Read a few aloud, sit in your garden this spring and read a Navajo corn song, stir, stir ... This is well researched, carefully and lovingly translated; it should accompany any studies of native cultures worldwide.

Back in the 1970s I discovered this book. It became my companion. Its rich poetry, its multitudes of rituals and images have inspired my batiks and paintings for the past thirty years. What variety and life!

I was introduced to this book by a fiction writing teacher to whom I'll always be grateful. It's a fresh, ingenious selection of ritual and sacred poetry from around the world, translated with irreverence and raw attitude. If you're used to the vague New Age-isms of what usually gets thought of as "ritual" and "sacred," pick this up and get a jolt--Rothenberg finds incredibly powerful language in places where it wouldn't occur to most people to look, and he's not afraid of crudeness and hilarity. Amazing stuff. A friend of mine has worn out copies of both the first edition and this one, and I don't blame her.

Technicians of the Sacred was compiled by Rothenberg after attending two 1964 readings of "Primitive and Archaic Poetry" at The Poet's Hardware Theater and the Café Metro in New York city. Intrigued with the deep intuition of these works, Rothenberg decided to collect poetry, songs, and chants from around the world.

Rothenberg's intention was not to focus on any one particular aspect of the sacred but merely to compile material that was available in English and the book's organization directly reflects this lack of apparent direction. Works are subdivided into nine sections: Origins & Namings; Visions & Spells; Death & Defeat; The Book of Events (I); The Book of Events (II); Africa; America; Asia; Europe & The Ancient Near East; and Oceana. Having material from the first five sections more or less focused around a specific theme while the remaining five sections reflect a geographic focus the work feeling a little thrown together and disorganized.

This disorganization is further reflected within each section, where there is everything from modern poetry and prose through traditional songs and chants to ancient pictographs and artwork. Moreover works from individual cultural groups are not placed together but dispersed throughout each section.

That the work only reflects English translations is also somewhat problematic. A Commentary section at the back of the book explains how Rothenberg came across each work offering explanations about the themes and topics within a particular piece. However, more often than not, these notes did not describe how the piece was translated. This lack of information would be particularly useful as Rothenberg states that the translations vary from literal to very free. This book does contain a number of interesting and useful pieces. Rothenberg has chosen a good mixture of poetry from a variety of different sources, not just the most accessible and he illustrates poems from the Paleolithic through to modern times. Moreover, this book contains some very interesting and intriguing transitional pieces reflecting Christian religious teaching modified into traditional forms. Thus, despite some very irritating and distracting organizational problems, this book contains some very valuable information. This information will likely be of use to those wishing to gain insight into aspects of the sacred in general or those wanting insight into the belief systems of particular cultures. Nonetheless, the apparent lack of organization of these pieces make this book an unlikely candidate as a classroom text.

I was sent a copy of this book by my mum from Australia last year and only recently had the chance to finally read the book.

It's no wonder that this book is an award winner (2000 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize). Kwan keeps you rivetted to his story, told through eyes of a young boy growing up in very turbulent times. In spite of coming from a wealthy family, it cannot save him from the terrors and turmoil brought to Northern China in the 1930s and 1940s, nor from the racial judgement passed on him for being half-Chinese and half-White.

How Kwan manages to survive is quite amazing. He is abandoned by his own mother and faces major abuses at school. Then, war begins and he begins to witness the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China. Finally, after the Japanese are defeated, he nearly loses his father to the KMT government that his father has faithfuly served through the resistance movement. He is not even safe from his own family, who try to use him as a means to extort his father for money that no longer exists.

An absolute must read for anyone interested in China, the Japanese invasion of China, and a boy's coming of age.

An extraordinary story told with well controlled language and subtle understatements. The book chronicles the lives in a previledged, but also marginalized, world where everyone is deeply enshrouded in his or her own loneliness : the western expatriates in China, the mixed-blood children like the author himself, the western women married to Chinese men but unable to summon any love for the country or its people, the well-cultured mem ostracized by the society for their marriages to western women. Each of them, making good-intentioned efforts to connect, failed miserably because of their own deep-rooted prejudice, social barriars imposed by other people, or simply the uncontrollable historical whirlwinds. Outside this walled-in existence, a war is raging on with unimaginable callousness. The wall would eventually crumble down and the fineness of the Legation Quarter be swallowed by the brutal and rancid humanities of that era. Reminding us at times of Proust and Graham Greene, this remembrance of things past documents, in a hushed voice, an extraordinary age and all the human efforts to stay emerged in the midst of sweeping torrents. Warmth and friendship flicker from time to time in this vast emotional void : the author's attachment to his down-to-earth and understanding nanny Shu Ma, his natural bonding with the reticent peasant Xiao Hu, and the unusual and quiet friendship between the boy and the Japanese Admiral. Language in the last couple chapters slips a little bit and becomes less disciplined. But overall this is a wonderfully written memoir. Saddened by the news of the author's death couple weeks ago, I was especially grateful for the gift he left with us in the form of this book.

I bought Michael David Kwan's "Things That Must Not Be Forgotten" after reading a glowing review in the Washington Post. I was not disappointed. It is a moving, understated memoir about Mr. Kwan's childhood years starting shortly before the outbreak of World War II and ending as the Kuomintang was breathing its last in mainland China. Although young David was fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family as a "half-caste" child of a Chinese father and a Swiss mother (who abandoned the family very early in David's life), he was never considered to be a true part of either the white and Chinese communities. The editorial reviews give a good overview of the content of the book and the increasing difficulties that David and his family endured under the Japanese and even more so under the corrupt Nationalist Chinese government. The narrative is brisk and engaging; it is probably the best work of non-fiction that I have read in quite some time.

Sadly, on May 20th of this year Mr. Kwan suffered a fatal heart attack just two weeks before the official U.S.-publication of this book. We are all very fortunate that he was able to give us such a memorable farewell gift.

"Things That Must Not Be Forgotten" won the 2000 Kirayama Prize for non-fiction, beating out such well-received books as Herbert Bix's "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan," Helen Zia's "Asian American Dreams" and Chanrithy Him's "When Broken Glass Floats."

I read a review and an excerpt of this book in Toronto last summer, and waited anxiously for it to be published here in the States. I read it in two days, gulping it down excitedly; then I re-read it slowly, informed of the story but savoring the beautiful prose. I wrote Mr. Kwan a "fan letter," only to learn today in this forum that he passed away. I was hoping for a sequel.

As a shipmate of the Author I found Ray Kopp's book Thunder in the Night, A Sailor's Perspective on Vietnam to be absolutley riviting. It brought back vivid memories of my Vietnam experiences. Kudos to Ray for telling our story. He writes with an obvious passion for the subject and his accounts of his personal emotions and experiences are heart warming and brutally honest. This book is a must read for all sailors that are members of the Tonkin Golf Yacht Club!

Author Raymond Kopp shares the story of his combat experiences as a crew member of the USS Newport News during the Vietnam War. In his wonderfully written and sensitive book "Thunder in the Night - A Sailor's Perspective on Vietnam" he tells us about the little known Naval operations in 1972 when the over-all war was supposed to be winding down.

I had to laugh at the truth of what Kopp points out in the Preface of the book about how most veterans and the public seem to discount the combat experiences of those who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Most non-Naval Vietnam veterans have assumed that sitting off the coast with clean sheets, hot showers and no VC sneaking up on you, meant that the duty was carefree and safe. It was never really thought of as being "combat duty"; how wrong most of us were about that. Reading his story about his ship's war operations off the coast of North Vietnam, it also becomes evident that these battles took a toll on sailors both emotionally and physically as well.

Raymond writes in the third person and tells his story as if it were a novel. It makes for very entertaining reading as the author uses a full pallet of colorful expressions and wording to paint his story. His emotions are not hidden nor are his many flaws and fears; he gives the reader a full uncensored vision of what is going on within him.

This book is a very honest attempt by the author to examine his life at time of the war and why he is who he is today. Although he does not expound away at it, this story is all about redemption and reflection as a way to find self-healing within. Although Raymond was not physically injured that night when an explosion killed a couple of dozen of his shipmates and wounded many more--that night still haunts the soul of this man! He survived physically but he is still dealing with the emotional and spiritual wounds from the experience.

I have read many books from Navy veterans but most have been about SEALS and the "Brown Water Navy" operations or about fighter pilots--this is the first book out there that gives an insider view on what life was like for the sailors who were on heavy cruisers. It is an eye-opener and a real education for veterans like me. This book is about history and people and about dying for your country but it is also about fear and courage and guilt and friendship. Years from now people will realize that this book is an important link to a piece of our history.

2005 Distinguished Honor Award!

The following will serve as my review. It is taken from my written communication with the author, Raymond S. Kopp:

"As Second Division Officer so many years ago (1967), one of my responsibilities aboard Thunder included the 8" guns and ammo as well as the men who manned the turrets and magazines. Your description in Chapter 20, "Chaos and Calm" and in Chapter 21, "The Dead and the Demoralized" which describes in detail your personal memories of the explosion in Turret No. 2 which killed 20 shipmates shook me to the bone. Although I had left NN 4 years prior to the accident, I knew only in brief terms what had transpired. Your well written account gave me, for the first time in all these years, the opportunity to read in detail about what actually happened. What a horrible experience you lived through but were able to write about!

As a result of that accident, the names of the NN dead are now engraved on the Vietnam memorial wall (dedicated to USN and USCG killed) which was recently completed and is located next to COMNAVSURFPAC HQs, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, CA. Due to my present San Diego navy ship repair related work, I have visited the memorial on several occasions and have read the names of the Newport News souls who died aboard our ship on that fateful day in 1972.

I have recommended your book to both ex-navy and civilian friends as well as to members of my family. I realize your writing the book was mentally tough and I can personally ID with the nightmares you experienced after leaving Newport News and the navy. You have written a fine book which, I believe, will be remembered as an important historical account of the naval battles in which the Newport News was engaged. I state with sincerity.......well done!"

Until I read this book, I had no idea that Vietnam era sailors participated in this type up up close action with the enemy. Great book, well written, entertaining and informative. I would recomend this book to anyone who wants to know more about naval operations in Vietnam and the emotions of the sailors who experienced these battles.

Holt once again brings invaluable information about Bactria. In this book he uses mumismatics extensively. The first two chapters are very interesting. The end of the book is mostly about technical details of the coins and what they can tell us. Thundering Zeus is the figure of Zeus on coins issued by Macedonian kings in Bactria. Holt shows us the importance of the details for placing a date on the coins and for knowing who issued them. For those who are intrigued by Diodotus, I and II, this is a great book. If it is the first book you read by Holt and if you are intested in the history of Bactria, which now covers most part of Afghanistan, you can form for yourself a good idea of what other books by Holt can hold as surprises for you. It could be the gate opened to a new horizon, or just a very enjoyable way to learn about the subject. Holt writes in a simple manner so as to be accessible to all readers and I do appreciate that. Even scholars sometimes need simplicity. In any case, his simple and clear way is still carrying a lot of serious information with notes, bibliography, index, all items History students need. I would recommend this book for research as well as for readers who like to learn more.

A full effort employing a variety of source materials, good methodology, and inviting prose.

Holt does an excellent job of updating the Beginnings of the Hellenistic Bactrian kingdom. His book is a much needed repair of the misinformation spread in the beginning of Tarn's otherwise enjoyable book The Greeks in Bactria and India. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Frank Holt continues his assault on the deity of Alexander in this well-researched followup to "Alexander the Great and Bactria." Holt looks at the foundation and early history of Hellenistic Bactria, starting with the Diadochi. His analysis of the data - including a careful reappraisal of the oft misleading numistics - is fairly convincing. A good book for anyone interested in Central Asia in antiquity, ancient India, and modern historiography of Alexander of Macedon.

I read the book in Spanish, and even though i am English, the real Pema came through. Kindness itself and far too modest. I count myself proud to have known and count her a friend.

This book is more than a story of one life. It is the story of a whole nation and the struggles that it endured at the hands of the Chinese, which continue today. Jetsun Pema paints a wonderful picture of a complex people, in simple terms. I recommend highly!

Jetsun Pema is the younger sister of the Dalai Lama, and has played a major part in the care and education of refugee Tibetan children.
This book tells the story of Jetsun Pema's childhood in Tibet before the ruthless Chinese Communist invasion of 1949, and her subsequent flight and education in India, Switzerland and England.
It also tells of the oppression by the Chinese Communist occupation of Tibet and the genocide and cultural destruction of the Tibetan people in which 1 200 000
Tibetan men, women and children have been ruthlessly exterminated by the
Chinese Communists.
Children were forced to kill their parents and parents forced to applaud the execution of their children on pain of death, during thamzing (Chinese Communist public punishment sessions). Very young children were forced to see their parents being dragged through the streets of the village or town and then beaten, stoned and finally executed, simply because they had worked for the previous government or were heirs to landed property.Millions of Chinese who have been brought into Tibet to demographically swamp the indigenous Tibetans. Nuns were raped and monasteries and landmarks destroyed.
Millions of Tibetan children have starved to death in the Chinese created famine and food taken from the Tibetans and transferred to the Chinese or exported to Arab countries.
This is all told in this book by Jetsun Pema.
Pema also tells of her love for and education and care of the thousands of Tibetan children who have passed through SOS children's villages in India.
What results is a compassionate and passionate account by a great woman, and a cry for action on behalf of the Tibetan people before they are completely destroyed.
The world is clearly not listening, the international media and universities preferring to condemn Israel for self-defence and the USA for the war against terrorism, while real atrocities and genocide go on without a single word of protest.
Hard-core Communists in fact applaud these atrocities as they do atrocities and murde the world over.
Nice people, Communists, aren't they?

An interesting yet easy-to-read account by the sister of the Dalai Lama about life growing up in Tibet and eventually relocating due to the Chinese invasion. Wonderful insights and stories, and a different perspective on His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

A poorly trained and ill-equipped Air Force was unable to shed its nuclear trappings or its political constraints to fight effectively during the Rolling Thunder campaign. However, by the Linebacker campaigns, an improved Air Force was ready with better training and equipment to exploit the lifting of political constraints, culminating in the most successful air effort of the Vietnam War-and setting the stage for the continual success of airpower. This is the central theme of Wayne Thompson's new book, To Hanoi and Back.

Thompson spent a number of years painstakingly preparing this book-and it shows. Using personal interviews, unit histories and numerous other primary sources-including many previously classified documents and transcripts-Thompson provides much more than a mere chronology of events in Vietnam. He tells the story of what happened, who did it, and why. The book is as much about politicians and policy-making in Washington as it is about the bomb dropping in Vietnam. Instead of approaching the civil-military relationship as a rivalry, as several authors on Vietnam have done, Thompson treats the two as parts of the same puzzle.

In the opening chapters, the author describes the Air Force that fought Rolling Thunder as hobbled by inappropriate equipment, poor training, inter- and intraservice rivalries, and a Johnson administration set on a strategy of gradualism. Thompson blames these problems on the fixation of U.S. policy on nuclear deterrence and preparing to fight the Soviets in the era before Vietnam. Because of this policy, the Air Force had essentially let its conventional capabilities whither to irrelevancy. This may explain why the Navy, who had kept its focus on conventional warfare, outperformed the Air Force in Rolling Thunder. In fact, Thompson argues the only capability setting the Air Force apart from naval aviation was the long-range, all-weather, high altitude radar bombing capability of the B-52 force.

Unfortunately, political constraints early in the war prevented the B-52s from performing strikes against vital centers in North Vietnam that the Air Force considered important. Instead, the bombing of North Vietnam was restricted to politically approved targets designed to "send signals" to the North Vietnamese. Thompson contests the wisdom of the strategy of gradualism employed by the White House during Rolling Thunder. He claims that it gave the enemy time to adapt to the pattern of bombing, to relocate vital supplies and infrastructure away from the bombing, and to build defenses. In a chapter entitled, "Gradualism on Trial," the author introduces the reader to the pressures placed upon President Johnson. Johnson believed gradualism was prudent in order to avert Chinese or Soviet intervention. Other pressures included the need to preserve the impression in the minds of Congress and the American people that the war was not escalating, but was well in hand. In the end, Thompson concludes, "American airmen paid a high price for gradualism." He may be too harsh on gradualism, given the concerns of the president. Certainly, Thomas Schelling makes an excellent case for gradualism.

The author argues that the Air Force that fought the Linebacker campaigns was very different from the one that started Rolling Thunder. By the time Linebacker came about, airmen had already implemented fixes to many of the problems that Rolling Thunder helped them identify. These changes included reinstalling guns on fighter aircraft, the introduction of laser-guided precision munitions, improved aircrew training from the Fighter Weapons Schools and Red Flag exercises, and a new president ready to authorize deep strikes with B-52s. To Hanoi and Back concludes with a brief chapter that credits the success of American airpower in Desert Storm, and later operations, to the lessons learned in Vietnam-particularly in the failures of Rolling Thunder. The air commanders in Desert Storm were Vietnam veterans, and President Bush was careful to avoid micromanaging tactical affairs. Airpower was centralized under a single commander, and precision-guided standoff weapons were fully employed. Moreover, airmen could "go downtown" on opening night. All of these elements were missing in Rolling Thunder, but were present in Linebacker-and Desert Storm. The weakest part of Thompson's book is his strong advocacy that B-52s used in an unrestricted fashion against North Vietnam at the outset of Rolling Thunder might have hastened the war's end, if not an outright victory. Such an argument is counterfactual and does not take into account airpower's inability to affect the independent insurgency fought by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam, other than interdicting supplies. Moreover, there is little historical evidence that suggests that airpower can execute a decisive decapitation strategy. Thompson's writing style is highly appealing and reminiscent of some of Tom Clancy's works. He is not only writing a history, he is also telling a story. Over the course of the book, Thompson introduces his readers to several people; politicians, generals, and airmen. He takes the time to provide short biographies of each person he introduces. This helps set the context for the events he discusses, plus adds compelling human interest stories along the way, but none more interesting than the harrowing saga of American prisoners of war. Not only is their story important in its own right, but the author provides insight into the political maneuvering that secured their release.

I strongly recommend To Hanoi and Back to anyone interested in the air war over Vietnam-or politics during this timeframe. It is a marvelous telling of a history that teaches many lessons. This book is particularly fascinating because it discusses the frustrations that airmen faced at the operational and strategic levels of warfare-averted in Desert Storm, but repeated in Allied Force. For those who are interested, also consider adding Thomas Schelling's Arms and Influence, Mark Clodfelter's The Limits of Airpower, Robert Pape's Bombing to Win, John Warden's The Air Campaign, and Ben Lambeth's The Transformation of American Airpower. These books will present arguments and counter-arguments that will help round out an understanding of the issues surrounding modern airpower.

The book, as its title suggests, is a history of the United States Air Force in Vietnam during these years, but it offers the reader much more than an operational narrative. It is written chronologically during the seven years that encompassed Operations Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I, and Linebacker II, as well as the many other minor operations during and in between the larger ones. The real value of the book though, for the airpower strategist, is the skill with which Dr. Thompson weaves the contextual elements that ultimately decided how effective airpower could be during this period. As each operation unfolds we are given not only the details of the air campaign itself, but also the personalities and relationships among the various three and four star flag officers charged with planning and implementing the strategies. The political considerations and the lenses through which the president and key cabinet members viewed the conflict are important factors that affected operations down to the tactical employment of individual units and aircraft. Dr. Thompson smoothly transitions between the macro and micro view of how these pieces are related.

Dr. Thompson amply illustrates the political, technological and geographical constraints which have an often-underestimated effect upon airpower employment. The goal of precision engagement of ground targets from aircraft has a long history. Billy Mitchell described it in his Provisional Manual of Operations of 1918. Army Air Force planners in World War II hoped to achieve unprecedented bombing accuracy with the Norden bombsight. In Vietnam, as today, the goal of accurately bombing the desired target was also highly sought after but the right technology had not yet emerged. Thompson traces the parallel development of Navy and Air Force weapons systems, from the Navy's TV guided Walleye bomb, to the use of LORAN to guide aircraft to their bomb release points, to the final employment of Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs) with warheads large enough to take down the bridges that helped supply Hanoi with materials from the north. But perhaps more than any other factor, Dr. Thompson clearly shows us the enormous effect that weather had on the effectiveness of the air campaign over North Vietnam. Planners on both sides understood the affects of the large block of time lost during the monsoon season. Thompson even states that, "the most effective North Vietnamese air defense had always been weather" (pg. 244). This is an operational reality that can easily derail even the most elegant air strategy and can preclude political leaders from effectively controlling the application of force they require to achieve their stated objectives as well.

Overall To Hanoi and Back is a very well researched and documented history, composed in a very readable style. It is written with the operator in mind, giving future air strategists, planners, and users a very comprehensive view of not only the restraints under which one must operate in a war of limited objectives, but also in an environment where, although airpower's effectiveness may not be optimal, it is still the main instrument chosen to deliver the message we wish to send our adversary. The only possible improvement a reader could wish for would be more maps and charts in the text to visualize the many battlefields and data that an average operator needs to appreciate the area of operations. Even so, this is an excellent book that every professional should add to their personal library.

Having flown combat missions over North Vietnam in 1968-1969, I was especially interested in this book. One of the great strengths of the American Air Force is that it has a history office with well qualified historians who are committed to pursuing the truth even though this often means criticizing the Air Force. Hallion and Thompson have both worked in this office for many years. They are truly experts and whatever they say or write you can take to the bank. I salute them for writing a first rate book. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in the evolution of combat airpower.

This is a very comprehesive account of the air campaign during America's involvement in vietnam. VERY comprehensive- covers operational, deployment and political details for a very indepth look into this period. This is a great resource but it is not for the casual reader and even for serious research not something to read from cover to cover in one sitting. A great book to read if you are interested and you have the time to spare. Earlier reviews have already covered much of its contents very well- not much more to add there except for my own reading "experience"