Asia Books

James Parker's blood and tears narrative joins dozens of other Vietnam War books but deserves the top shelf for its breadth and sheer readability. Parker was one of the few who came early and stayed late, leading an Army platoon through firefights, death and occasional glory during the early U.S. buildup and watching, as a CIA case officer, the chaos and humiliation at the end, when the war had long since lost the support of most Americans.
Parker never wavers from believing that the cause - keeping a country free from a ferocious invader - was noble. He hangs the war's failure on a corrupt and inept South Vietnamese government and failed U.S. decision-making. If some readers find that thesis too uncomplicated, it hardly detracts from Parker's unflinching prose and relentless focus on the people that are the power of this book - youngsters he led who fought and died, fellow officers he loved as brothers, superiors good and not so good, tough and honorable South Vietnamese generals, officious Saigon bureaucrats and ordinary traumatized Vietnamese.
Parker captures the sense of fear and menace, the unreality and futility that are a soldier's daily grind, and in many instances what he calls the "randomness of war." A single misstep off a path and an officer friend is blown to bits by a mine. A fine tank commander laid into a body bag as his tour is soon to end. A fresh young private shot mistakenly by comrades. A stone-faced villager who trips a deadly explosion. Naked terror squirming through tunnels chasing wounded Vietcong. A trusted Vietnamese bodyguard left to fate unknown as the enemy tightens a noose around Saigon.
Parker's straightforward chronology makes compelling structure: unfocused young Southerner joins the Army, finds he has the stuff of an officer, earns medals and manhood in the jungle, survives his one-year tour, comes home to a strangely discordant nation, marries and goes back to college, joins the CIA, returns to Indochina for the end game of the "secret" war in Laos, then finally helps the frenzied exodus from crumbling, beaten South Vietnam - and from a spent and discredited policy.
The men stalking the jungle, firing the artillery, driving the tanks and piloting the jets and choppers will always be heroes to Parker, an unabashed fan of the concept of duty and country. When you meet the men in these pages - Peterson, Dunn, Woolley, Bratcher, Crash, McCoy, Castro, Ayers, Slippery Clunker Six, Duckett, Spencer and many more, it is hard not to buy into Parker's idea that there were indeed good and honorable aspects of this war.

Easy reading, fast-paced action, pithy, incisive commentary. Does not dwell on brutal details. James Parker presents the Vietnam war from the inside--not a pretty picture but a very good book from an author who is a gifted writer into the bargain.

From the humorous to the horrific...from tragedy to triumph...and a somber assessment of what really happened in Southeast Asia, this short and powerful book is essential reading for those considering work in the patriotic service.

If my son were to enter the service, I would require him to read Mr Parker's book. The details of how to survive Army life are staight forward and important. I found the book easy and enjoyable to read. Could not put it down. As with any super book, I often found myself looking at the number of pages left to read-the more the merrier. Mr. Parker has truely made something of himself and the people of the United States have reaped the benefits. Thank you Mr. Parker.

Last Man Out: A Personal Account of the Vietnam War by James E. Parker, Jr. is the best book I've read in a long time. If this author didn't have a tape recorder or a diary that he wrote in everyday then I have to say he has a most remarkable memory. James takes the reader back to his home in North Carolina and introduces his family and friends. He continues as he makes the decision to enlist in the Army at a time when others were already doing everything they could to avoid serving their country. The reader goes through Basic Training with James and his buddies at Fort Gordon, Georgia in February 1964. Two months later after being named "Outstanding Trainee" James reiterates some of his time while at his Advanced Infantry Training. You are there when he signs up for Officer Candidate School and while he waited to be selected. You go through that six-month course with him too beginning in November at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon graduation James goes to Jump School. From there the book gets even better. James first Permanent Party duty station was at Fort Riley, Kansas with the 1st Infantry Division. Then through his Tour of Duty in Vietnam. James told about an encounter with General William Westmoreland following a mission. The general flew in to review the troops, present medals and then was gone. It was a mere media event. When the general departed, another officer walked the line and took back the medals. After Nam James next assignment took him to Fort Ord in Monterey, California. He became the Officer-in-Charge of the 6th Army Area Drill Sergeant School. It was a great assignment. BUT James was thinking about leaving the Army but he "felt guilty about forsaking my duty, abandoning my obligation to country at a time of war." Unable to find a job that suited him he applied for and was accepted as a member of the Central Intelligence Agency. By September 1971 James was headed back to Southeast Asia "as a case officer in the Lao program, the CIA's largest covert operation." James was involved with several operations before heading stateside in 1973. He spoke openly about them. By January 1975 James was the only American left in Vi Thanh province. At that point he secured himself a "bodyguard." James wrote of the fall of Ban Me Thout, Hue, Da Nang, and Saigon. He took part in the evacuation of the Vietnamese who worked as agents for the CIA. He spoke of the problems encountered onboard the USS Vancouver and the transfer to the USNS Pioneer Contender. James Parker Jr. wrote an incredible account of his military and civilian service to our country and the people of South Vietnam. It is a book well worth reading. I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet the author in person in 1998. AND I'm glad I took the time to read his book. You will be also.

Just a wonderful book! A spectacular glimpse into this point in Chinese history.
Really insightful.

The book holds your attention for its smooth and polished read. Ghost writer Foster Winans is credited in the Preface. The language is very measured, void of the kind of emotions expected from someone who gave up a good life in the west to face tremendous deprivation, stress and betrayal in post-revolutionary China.

The author, who had a US childhood and Harvard education, experienced firsthand, the Japanese bombardment, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, re-education in the countryside, Nixon's visit to China and a host of other events of the century. One wonders how anyone survived any one of these, since each pushes the limits of human health and stress tolerance.

To cover the full life, each event had to be shorn of details. Because of this, this book can't really be taken alone.

Other books flesh out the times. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is the most complete that I have read. It gives an inside look at how the Great Leap Forward was initiated and later how the Gang of Four controlled most internal and external operations creating a life threatening environment based on pettiness. This background helps to consider how the gift of the glass snail from Corning Glass and small acts such as talking to high school aquantances subjected Ji to more worry than he lets on.

Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary gives the details of Ji's mentor. This book provides a lot about the "office" politics that Ji only mentions. It gives a more detailed treatment of Zhou's medical (non) treatment and how the "young ladies" monopolized the chairman.

Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World gives perspective on the Nixon visit. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia gives an American perspective on some of these big events.

Couldn't put this book down, it was such a riveting, dramatic personal story. By the end I felt I understood China for the first time, and especially important periods like the Cultural Revolution. What makes this story so unique is that the author grew up in New York before returning to China as a college student, and his improbably amazing story intersects with everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt, who served him cookies and milk in her Washington Square townhouse, Mao and Zhou Enlai, plus six US presidents. The story is told not in a stuffy official way, but in a very human and observant voice, and a sly sense of humor. If all the Olympic attention has you wanting to "get" China and the Chinese, this is a great place to start. But it's also just a great tale.

Ji Chaozhu was involved in some of the great moments, people, and institutions of the twentieth century, growing up partly in the U.S., attending Harvard, and then returning to participate in Mao's government. Through the magic of memoir writing, I learn about the entire span through his eyes.

This is the third book I've read about the Cultural Revolution. First, Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai. Second, Apologies Forthcoming a book of short stories by Xujun Eberlein, and now this book. Obviously his view of the Tiananmen Square massacre is apologetic. And he doesn't even bother trying to explain the Tibet invasion, one of the great human and cultural tragedies of our time. I had to take a deep breath when he said the actions of the U.S. in Korea and Taiwan were perfidious. Do I really have to look at yet another U.S. policy from the other side's point of view? Oh, what the heck. How do I expect to ever understand the world unless I see it from other points of view?

The book is remarkably simple and straightforward. Good writing stays out of the way and lets the reader enter. When I finished, I realized with some astonishment how much history I had just walked through, in an engaging, and page-turning story. The book flew by and enriched my life.

I knew Ji back in the 70's. At that time none of us, I suspect, had any idea the hardships he had endured in China, particularly during the Cultural Revolution. Toward the end of the book, however, when he gets to Tiananmen, I felt he was trying to set up his readers to conclude (incorrectly) that the Tiananmen demonstrations were essentially a reenactment of the Red Guards/Cultural Revolution excesses and as such deserved to be suppressed by whatever means necessary. This of course is the party line in China and it was disappointed to see someone like Ji parroting it. Toward the end I even began to wonder if the whole purpose of the book was to justify the Tiananmen massacre.
I was also disappointed that Ji denigrated Han Xu, his colleague and sometime superior in the Foreign Office. He depicts Han as hard line, but it was Han (now dead) who was disillusioned by the Tiananmen suppression and, according to people I trust, contemplated seeking refuge in the United States or some other democratic society.

My wonderful father, Ed Beal, passed this book along to me many years ago to read. I must say, this book is heart touching and it really opened my eyes to what my father and others faced during the vietnam war. Acceptable Loss is another great book and i'm looking forward to reading "Very Crazy G.I."

So here's the thing. I needed a copy of my book, MIA Rescue, to give to a friend (no, the book company doesn't give them to me for free) so I went on-line and bought one at Amazon. The book arrives and then I get an e-mail from Amazon asking me to rate the book...eh, my book.
Okay. Sure.
So here it is: First of all, I like my book because I get to tell you, the public, about a rescue mission for a missing long range patrol/Ranger team during the Vietnam war. I wrote it in tribute and basically to brag about some of the good people who volunteered to go on this critical and dangerous mission; people like Tony Cortez and Ed Beal( the guys on the cover), and so many others who went behind enemy lines to search for and rescue the survivors. I wrote the book to tell you about those LRRP/Rangers like Royce Clark, who was one of the missing Lurps. Seriously wounded he and the few others were doing their damnedest just to stay alive and survive. In researching the mission from various aspects (the missing LRRP/Rangers, the Blues who went in for them, gunship pilots, lift ship pilots, et al) I tried to find and include as many of those who took part in the mission in order to tell a more accurate story. Even so, years later I wish I told you more about the various people involved. They deserved the recognition then and any time they might have in the proverbial limelight. Also, I wish I could have done a better job on the book. But that's how writing is, well, at least my writing.
The book is a tribute to those members of H Company LRRP/Rangers and Apache Troop, the 1st of the 9th CAV and I was proud to chronicle their deeds. While I'm still hacking away with the hopes that one day my writing will allow me to own a car that doesn't leak oil I can look to MIA RESCUE and feel it at least spotlighted some good people who risked everything to help others. That's the message I hope you take away from the book.
Finally, there's this: by buying my own book I will eventually receive a royalty...eh, about a quarter...before taxes...which should tell you something about the writing life. Hmm? Eight or nine more books sold and I'll have enough for another quart of oil.

Excellent book! It's amazing what these young men did and how brave they are. Another great book written by Kregg Jorgenson, who brings all the action right to you. And I agree with one of the other reviewers, this would be a great movie!!

I grew up with the leader of the incursion and I don't think any of this has had "literary license". In High School, Dev was a wrestler and fierce competitor. He was consistantly demonstrating his leadership abilities. It was in his blood. His Dad and Brother were leaders as well. This book does him justice. He has been and will be missed by all that knew him.

I think that this a very god book, a series of short stories about the vietnam war, one or two off them are perhaps " non-confirme-able", but who cares, just as long as it is a good storie.
I very much enjoyed the R-R storie to Thailand; revenge is to be enjoyed cold.
Also the story about marine SGT Henderson, that died and diden't
send chills up and down my spine.
Kregg has a way with frases and words, especialy his funny and self-ironic way of decribing himself and his conversion with all those who contributed stories to his book, he is very much the
Wiseguy he always describes himself as.

I can highly recommend this book to anyone.
Keep up the good work !!

Savoured the book from start to finish. It took me 2 weeks to read the last 20 pages because I did not want it to end. I am looking forward to reading the next Gillian adventure.

Everyone loves an adventure (or at least reading of one) and most of us will never take a boat from China to America. Envious of this one, I curled up by my fireplace and read Mr. Ding's Chicken Feet with a taste for the fascinating journey of a Caucasian woman on a boat full of Asian men. I was not disappointed.

The author sets sail on an ocean of cultural difference and wins over the hearts of the crew - a rough and salty bunch who sit spellbound by her in English class.

Because of the obvious vast expanse of ocean to cross, you know that the author is going to have to face a few things she has probably never had to before, and deal with them. There is, after all, no escape on a small boat in the middle of the ocean.

Kendall reveals the color of the crew over the course of the journey as if she were polishing up tarnished brass. It was great fun to read about the men as they blossom at the hand of their teacher...though the revelations were not one-sided.

Not surprisingly, I felt the poignancy at the sight of land, which meant having to say goodbye.

Kendall writes with an unpretentious clarity, humor and heart. I definitely recommend it.

Ji Lians book very good. Makes me laugh. Have to laugh and wake up husband to read good part. I like this book. I like especially page where I am mention. I am Li. I am beautiful asian/american. Not Chinese. I too, don't like chicken feet.

I spent the academic year of 1999/2000 teaching English in Shenzhen. I spoke no Chinese, at the time, and had no formal teaching experience. So I could definitely relate to Gillian's frustrations, culture shock, and malentendus. It's 1991 and Gillian is a grad student in Galveston, TX. The semester is coming to a close and she spies an ad on the bulletin board for an ESL teacher aboard a ship sailing from Shanghai to Galveston. After a hard sell Gillian manages to land the job aboard the all male ship. The company flies her to Shanghai where she boards the ship. The reader witnesses her feelings about being the only woman on the ship; loneliness and some sexual harassment egged on by the only other American on board. She experiences a Sapphic awakening as she realizes in her state of isolation that she doesn't have any romantic feelings for her boyfriend. She manages to break through the cultural, gender, and language barriers to form some attachments to her students and especially Mr. Ding, the cook. The book is riddled with faux pas but the funniest part, I would say, is when she saves Mr. Ding by hurling the violent Panamanian vendor into the Canal.

In Mr Ding's Chicken Feet, the author, Gillian Kendall, comes across at first as maybe a little naive and unwary. She is a risk-taker. Her apparent lack of serious doubt about the whole enterprise, her trust in her fellow human beings not to harm her and her faith that it would all work out made me a little nervous on her behalf. But she is vindicated by the experience and it is her empathy and geniality that are the keys to her success. Observing Kendall's openness to life and her willingness to reach out across cultures became one of the pleasures of reading the book. A cynical reader such as I am found it instructive to watch her interest in humanity unfold and be repaid.

Her story really takes off once the ship leaves shore. Then it leaves behind any experience I and probably most readers have had. Shipboard life with a completely male crew who mostly speak very fractured English seems so weird and challenging that you half expect the book to be a story of failure -- perhaps noble failure but depressing nonetheless. So it's very satisfying that she actually makes a difference to the sailors' English and lives. She is inventive in her methods and determined to give her employers their money's worth and thereby wins the crew's respect and affection.

Kendall can write -- just see her description of the terrible storm at sea. It had me rigid with tension. Shades of Conrad in Typhoon. She has a distinctive and likable tone of voice. The book tells an optimistic story in an unpretentious way and gives you faith in the power of empathic teachers (and English!).

The above title are three words that come to mind after reading My Brother's Road. Markar Melkonian puts a human face on an "American-Armenian" legend, noting not only his brother's amazing accomplishments, but also his failings. Never-the-less, this book confirmed the fact that Monte Melkonian deserves the title of a national hero. His selfless ways and unstoppable drive for a cause bigger than himself are deliniated in the context of historical events. In short, one cannot help but admire Monte Melkonian while reading this book.
I thank Makar Melkonian for producing this fitting text about his brother, a revered son of Armenia.

This is a great book. The book is easy to read and has all the information on Monte from the day he was born all the way to his death. It tells us how Monte gave his life to the Armenian nation. After reading the book I sent a thank you later to his brother for writing the book. This is a must read for anybody who is intereted in Armenian Heroes.

I really dont know what else to say. This book details his constant resolve to better the Armenian cause. Though it involves conflicts with other Armenians, his focus is for the Armenian nation (past, during the cold war, present, and future).
He literally gave his life for the Armenian people. Though drawn into political conflicts, he was clearly an apolitical nationalist, and a true hero. May God bless his memory, and his brother, who wrote this book.
I thank Monte and Markar for teaching me so much about Armenian history. Like you, Monte, I am reborn and my spirit will rise up like a phoenix. I am more an Armenian, having learned of your life. You gave yourself for (our) my future, and I will always honor you for it.

Every Armenian and non-Armenian alike should pick up this book and read it.

In reading My Brother's Road, one can't help being made aware of the inevitable reciprocity of history. Monte, and others like him, were modern-day Maccabees, that cultural paradox of virtue and brutality, ideological fervor and compassion. To his added credit, Markar does not shy away from discussing the hard realities of the NKR conflict. In the end, that kind of honesty is the least his brother would have required.

This book is a wonderful, simple, and quick read. Of course the subject matter does get unpleasant, but it's good to know the facts from the perspective of His Holiness at the time that he wrote it in 1962.

The book tells the story which everyone knows: how the Chinese invaded Tibet and the Dalai Lama was forced to feel to India. But this book goes in to detail and as a reader, it was great to finally get the "real" details of that story, again from his perspective. Prior to reading this, I only knew the story based on films and summaries in guide books, etc.

I highly recommend this book, and I would suggest reading this one prior to reading his second autobiography, "Freedom in Exile" from the early 1990's.

Having long been a fan of the Dalai Lama and his other books, I was anxious to read his autobiography. It is an amazing story that he has to tell. We should hope that our world had evolved beyond invasions after World War II, but that proved not to be true when China invaded Tibet and eventually ousted the ruling party in 1959.

Having been previously familiar with the story of the exile of the Dalai Lama to some degree, I was anxious to learn about it in more detail. Truly the people of Tibet are and continue to be victims of China. China crept into Tibet saying only that it would help to modernize the "backwards" people of Tibet. After numerous broken promises the Dalai Lama exited just ahead of the first morter blasts that rocked his palace. China's only real goal was to take possession of the land at any cost.

Few religions place a greater emphasis on peace than the Tibetan form of Buddism. While the author gives readers some of the basic principles of the faith, the language should not be confusing to those not familiar with Buddism. This amazing story, though it ends with the Dalai Lama's arrival in India, is still fresh and eye-opening today.

I enjoyed this narrative, my first experience with the writing of H.H. Dalai Lama. He writes so well. It's clear, descriptive, and engaging from the first sentence to the last. Suitable for all ages, the earlier the better. It has really sparked my interest in this country,, or at least how it once was. It has been almost two generations since this tragedy and I doubt things will ever be the same. Well, at least the chinese have thier railroad at the expense of an entire nation. Oh, but the writing isn't bitter at all. Just me.

I am a college student who has studied China extensively in school. I can speak Chinese and have traveled to China several times and to Tibet once. While I have never agreed with many of the Chinese governments policies in the areas of religion, personal freedom, Tibet, and Taiwan, I think this book could have done more for its cause.

I decided to read this book after I spent 2.5 weeks in Tibet last year while studying in China. Tibet was one of the most fascinating places I have been to and I really wanted to know more about what happened there after China invaded. This book tells the Dalai Lama's story very well. Up until the last 15 pages or so, I really loved the book. However, before closing, the Dalai Lama makes several accusations about Chinese human rights abuses in Tibet (beatings, child abductions and the like) but provides no evidence of their existence.

While I personally feel Tibet was and still is a sovereign country and what China has done is wrong in many ways, the charges made in the last few pages don't belong in this book. While the Dalai Lama's story of his life and last days in Tibet are very powerful, I really think it would have been even better had the those last parting shots been omitted. Charges of human rights abuses such as these are very important and would be better served in a book of their own.

I think most Americans will enjoy this book but not share the same reaction I had to the last few pages. I have studied China for several years now and have heard accusations from both China and the world on countless occasions on a wide range of issues. Maybe this is why I get turned off when I don't see concrete evidence included when someone makes a charge such as the Dalai Lama does at the end of his book. I still think the Dalai Lama is a wonderful man and has an important story to tell, but feel this one could have come across a little better.

Even if you already know the life story of His Holiness, this is a great read. Written in the Dalai Lama's usual clear and forthright style, the story is deeply moving. Recommended for students of both Buddhism and history.

This really let's you see what family members were going through. My uncle is mentioned in this book, and he doesn't talk about this at all. This really shows me why he doesn't want to.

An incredibly moving story of Recon in Vietnam. Many very familiar names. Superbly told tales. It will give you a respect for the Viet Vet Reconner, or any Marine, you won't soon forget.

Great book. Have never been in the Marines but this book made me feel like I was in there with them. What is a Hero. It's Someone who is selfless,and would give his life for his friends. We had quite a few of them in the Rangers which is the unit I served with in Nam, but I am sure that each unit had them. Roadrunner6 out

This is my favorite vietnam book yet. I couldn't put it down. The stories told made me feel like I was there. The short stories at the very end were hilarious.

I was a grunt in a Line Company with the 3rd Marines on Operations Taught Bow at Charlie Ridge, Hastings and Prairie on the DMZ.

We might have been a little louder than recon liked, but we carried about 50#lbs more on our back than they did and we were invited to their parties. He did make it sound like we were gate crashers!

An excellent book, "Home Is Where You Dig It". It is worthy of the saying, "From the outside, you can't understand it, from the inside, I can't explain it, Semper Fi.

This book would be a fantastic story if it was written TODAY. It's even more incredible that it all happened in 1932-33.

There are so many levels to enjoy in this book ...

* The pure adventure of it all - setting out on a motorcycle (a 750 pound, 6-horsepower monster, no less!) to travel around the world in 1932. It simply is mind-boggling that he pulled it off.

* The observations he makes along the way and how relevant they are even today. His observations of Afghanistan, in particular give insights into what has always been a war-torn country. If Bush & Co. had read this book, maybe we'd have left well enough alone.

* His pure tenacity and luck to get in-and-out of the situations he stumbles into. Being in jail is just part of the gig, and he takes it all in stride.

* The writing itself ... clean, crisp, and engaging. I couldn't put this book down.

This book is fantastic whether or not you ride a motorcycle.

HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Overall, the book is interesting and informative. It gives some great detail about the middle east, India and Asia in general. From a people perspective, I liked the fact that Mr. Fulton goes into some detail about what the people were like and some personalites. I did find however, that in some spots he focused too much on what people thought and not enough on his thoughts and feelings about "where" he was. Toward the end of the book, he rushed. He spent 80% of the time on the Middle east and India, 10% in the rest of Asia, and no time at all anywhere else. Again, overall, it was interesting and informative, but it did not capture my attention like say Jupiters Travels (same genera, by Ted Simon)
rk

this book was a pleasure to read, since I have been to many of the places he has been. It is true and wonderful and I am glad that from now on it is mine.

I could not put this one down. The story is so fantastic that you almost can't believe it happened. To see the world a little as it was 70 years ago was truly a window into the past.

Robert Fulton is a suprizingly good author in that the book flows smoothly and he only talks about what he finds interesting.

I really enjoyed this book; it was too soon over.

I have ridden motorcycles for many years and would liked to have seen more comments on the practical aspects of the trip, even though it was many years ago. I suspect that Mr. Fulton did not keep daily notes but probably wrote down his memories at the conclusion of the trip, thus the detail is not always there.

The portrait of the middle East gives something for the people of today something to think about - basic beliefs and attitudes in that region may not have changed at all. Our expectations may need to be adjusted.

A long trip on a motorcycle is an unforgettable experience for anyone, even today. Four or five days from home, and the resources available there, projects the rider into a state of independence and freedom that I have not found any other way - imagine what it was like for Fulton to be riding across the desert, months from home, no road in some cases, towards the unknown, his life dependent upon his machine continuing to run, and totally on his own.

Every rider should get to read this book - a great treat for the imagination.

I highly recommend this book to ANY combat veteran's wife and family. It should be required reading for any wife of a combat veteran even if her husband has not been diagnosed with PTSD.
I have been with my wife for ten years. Last year she took our children and left me becuase she thought that she was going to lose her mind. She always thought that if she could do better then I would be OK. It didn't work and I blamed her for everything.
When she left, I promised her that I would get counseling. I did and was diagnosed with PTSD. I've had it for twenty years and never knew. After three months, she returned home and began to study this book. She totally understands now and we are healing together. We are both amazed at how accurately this book portrays our own life.
She is now my BEST FRIEND and only support system (nobody else understands). We finally have a real relationship.
My wife gets frustrated when she re-calls all of the people who told her to leave me. If it wasn't for this book she may have. Thanks Ms. Mason for opening your life to help others. You have blessed another family.

This book is an excellent counseling tool for the spouses of combat veterans who live with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have given this book the many spouses. Many say that the greatest thing the book does for them is help to show that they are not alone in their experience with the veteran PTSD sufferer. Patience Mason gives the spouse an understanding of what is going on that leads to a sense of comfort and the courage to continue the battle. The battle, is to find a way to stay with their vet and at the same time preserve their own sanity. This is the best book out there for contents and ease of reading!

This book was so helpful to me... I keep buying it and giving it away! It is the best book I have read on coping with PTSD, and I have read them all. It tells you what to expect and why. Who to contact in the VA for help. What forms will need to be filled out and how to deal with all the government agencies. Also lists several self-help groups. Everything from A to Z. It will give you a whole new understanding of your father, brother, husband, or significant other.

Patience has been able to visualize and understand the realities of what has happened to the Vets who served in Vietnam, either directly or indirectly. She will cause you to remember those things which were long forgotten, or filed away deep in your mind. I want to read this book again and again, to help bring my life back out of the dark. THANK YOU Patience

This book has been one of the most treasured, comforting and hope-giving literary works for me and many other women and families. Whenever I have mentioned this book to women who have been struggling with dealing with a loved one suffering with PTSD, they have described it as 'a manual' It is so filled with pratical information and real life experiences, that you feel compelled to read and reread every word. I checked it out at the public library and didn't want to return it, because I wanted to always have it on hand. But alas, I am aware that it would benefit so many others if I returned it. I have borrowed it again and again. I have been unable to find it,available in a bookstore, because the title has been changed and I was not aware of that. I am so very happy to find it available again, and the price is so reasonable, that I know I will be able to tell others and they too will want to purchase. Actually, I was given the job of tracking this book down, so that it might be purchased by the women in my spousal support group, and also by the facilitator. They will all be happy that I was successful in locating this book. Already I have three people committed to purchasing it. Thank you Patience Mason, for having the insight to write this book and to share it with all of us. I have also read Chickenhawk by Patience Masons' husband. It was a very powerful book also, but more difficult to read, for me. The events were so vivid, and the emotions so filled with pain , it helped to understand better the conflicts experienced and also the repercussions to the continuing lives of the Vet and their families.

"Ours is the signal honor of being the nation's bulwark. One day we must prove ourselves worthy."

Requiem for Battleship Yamato is about sacrifice-immolation on the altar of national survival. It was written not to needlessly lionize the wanton sacrifice of combatants in order to bring to an end what one historian called "a war to establish and revive the stature of man." Instead, it was written, and properly so, as catharsis: Yoshida Mitsuru, as a 20-year old ensign on the bridge of the Yamato during its final voyage, had witnessed War, and thus wished that future generations would no longer be called upon to "prove themselves worthy," and to bear the burden of armed conflict.

Yoshida's prose satisfactorily captures the spirit on board the Yamato prior to its climactic encounter. Yet there is no way to adequately describe what the men of the Yamato went through during the ship's final hours. One author called it "a glorious way to die." Alternatively, the battle could be described as a nautical siege, a maritime battle of Troy. There is no apotheosis in death; death is merely a release from duty. During the battle, one man struggles to keep the deck clean by throwing overboard limbs severed by bomb shrapnel or machine-gun fire. Below decks, men grapple with the bodies of their comrades; once-inviting hot tubs (the Yamato has several of them, we are told) are filled to the brim with the ranks of the dead. In the bridge, officers are mowed down by machine-gun bullets. There is no sanctuary aboard the most massive dreadnought ever constructed.

This is a highly readable book, redolent with poignant memories, written by a man who had the courage to confront his phantoms. Through Yoshida's book, many souls who fought during the Pacific War found a voice.

"Three thousand corpses, still entombed today. What were their thoughts as they died?"

In the 1950's and 60's, Japanese memoirs of the Pacific War flooded forth from the publishers. Saburo Sakai's "Samurai", Hara's "Japanese Destroyer Captain," Mochitsura Hashimoto's "Sunk!" are just the tip of the spear. But Yoshida's "Requiem for Battleship Yamato" is simply in a class by itself. The youngest officer on board the mighty battleship, he was present when the giant was ordered on her suicide sortie. Escorted by the anti-aircraft cruiser Yahagi and numerous destroyers in April 1945, Yamato's mission was sublimely ridiculous: sail down toward the Ryuku Islands (where a massive American task force was staging the invasion of Okinawa), attack the landing force, beach itself, expend all weapons and ammunition, then the surviving crew members would join the garrison in Okinawa's defense. It was no surprise that the force didn't even make it halfway before being annihilated by U.S. planes. Yoshida's book is poetic and is beautifully translated by Richard Minnear who also provides a superb introduction as well. Yoshida's account of the American air attacks which inevitably shattered the Yamato, the Yahagi and most of the escorting destroyers come off as not combat, but high slaughter. Veterans who survived idiotic orders and suicide charges will find a spiritual brother in Yoshida. Don't be surprised if you have a tear in your eye for the brave crews of these ships as you close this book for the last time.

Written as a tribute to his shipmates, "Requiem" is also a powerful anti-war book.

Although perhaps unsurprising given the scale of Japan's losses and the bitterness of defeat, the fact remains that there are relatively few accounts of the war by those who fought with the Imperial Forces, and even fewer available in English.

For this reason alone `Requiem for Battleship Yamato' would command attention even if it were only an average work. But it is not an average work; it is a classic in the truest sense of this much abused word, which must be placed alongside books such as `The Last Enemy' by Richard Hillary.

Written in a spare, almost poetic style, `Requiem' tells the story of the Yamato's last doomed sortie from the viewpoint of one of her junior officers. Alongside glimpses of life on board the great battleship, we gain an insight into the thoughts and personal lives of her crew as they prepare for what most realise will be a mission from which there will be no return.

As the tension mounts and enemy forces close in for the inevitable kill, Yoshida provides a moving commentary on the Yamato's last days and hours, with poignant vignettes of such figures as the force commander Vice Admiral Ito, who had correctly appreciated the futility of the mission yet carried out his task with calm resolution.

With the Yamato entering her final death agony, Yoshida gives us harrowing descriptions of the effects of explosives and steel on human flesh - a timely reminder in this age of glossy propaganda of the true face of battle. Then there is the homecoming, with Yoshida's personal struggle to come to terms with the meaning of his survival while so many of his comrades are dead.

No review of this book would be complete without acknowledging the outstanding work of its translator, Richard Minear, who has also provided an excellent introduction. Thanks to his efforts, this work will not only be read with profit by the military historian, but anyone who seeks to broaden his understanding of the human condition.

young, naive and inexperienced the author chronicles his one and only combat mission. relating his service on the japanese battleship 'yamato' author mitsuru gives perspective not only on what he does but on what he feels. fortunately for the reader mitsuru is an articulate writer who has had the opportunity to rewrite his recollections numerous times over the years before settling on this 'definitive' edition. the book runs as a subtle parallel of stories between the events happening around the author during war and what he thinks and feels as he faces his own mortality. an excellent perspective of man in conflict.
also worth noting is the outstanding translation and introduction by richard minear.

This book is not for readers searching for details of battle, or apologies for participating in the miltary adventure against the US. Yoshida Mitsuru was an unlikely survivor of a suicide mission.

Some of the reviewers have found this book morbid, and focused on death. Mitsuru attempts to describe his feelings and unaswered question that haunted him for the rest of his life. Why was he saved, when so many other died? Was there a purpose to his life, and the life of his dead shipmates. These are questions that all men ask to some extent, but for those caught in a war, life and death are close and constant companions.

The normal thoughts of young men towards life and the future are put aside as their ship plows forward on a suicide mission.

Do not buy or read this book if you are not prepared to think about the personal cost of war. Some have described this as an anti-war book. I do not believe that is a correct description. This book is written by someone whose education and social standing required him to enter the Navy, and go to war. I view this work as a refection of an eyewitness and wounded survivor. Such an experience at such a young age makes one an expert on the war experience, not the root causes of war or their justifications.

Most men who shared Mitsuru's experience do not write, or even disuss their experiences. For some, just the thoughts of their experience is unbearable and the reason some end their days in mental hospitals.

When Mitsuru wrote the first draft of this book, it fell under the authority and censorship of the American Occupation, which did not approve of the text.

Which brings up the question not posed directly by this book. What "truths" were censored during the official investigations surrounding Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, and other matters that impacted on the ledgends and careers of Americans of that time?