I must confess I'm not the biggest fan of 'slithy toves' or 'cats in hats,' but I found several verses in this book that satisfy. Mostly, I was taken with the pieces that go beyond slithy tovedom and settle into recognizable social commentary. For example, The Miracle Man mocks the arrogance of physicians with a sharp yet not quite piercing tongue (and after surviving my HMO I found it delicious). The Customs of Bombagarh takes on royalty, while The Pursuit of Science tackles psychiatrists with the same spirit. Finally, the very funny Super Beast can be used to help children build self esteem (simply change the last two lines to: "Not shoe nor a sunshade, I'll have to be me!") Warning: it is impossible not to read aloud from this book. Make sure someone else is home when you do it or the neighbors will talk.

Sukumar Ray's nonsense verses have delighted generations of Bengalis. The humour is subtle beyond definition. Dr Chaudhuri has achieved something that Ray's own son -- the world famous film director, author and editor Satyajit Ray -- tried and gave up!! The latter pays a generous tribute to Chaudhuri in his signed introduction-- no mean tribute!!!

I am WW 2 vintage, service on Aircraft Carrier Wasp CV18 1944-1945. Nothing, absolutely nothing, that I experienced could equal the story of these men. I did not know any of them but did meet a relative of one(that's how I found the book) As I said the jackt has a touching remark about the Wall". I cried at the wall also!!!

My uncle, Ronnie Simpson, was one of the guardsmen who died on Firebase Tomahawk. I think this book is a wonderful honor to all the men who died there and the families who edured it. It's a great book to see the toll the war took on regular American families.

Who'd have thought some guy from Oklahoma would write this pithy discussion of business in Vietnam? Few books exist on this topic but Mr. Chambers has written the kind of honest, straightforward business book we need more of.

This is a well written and informative guide. It is much better written, and much more insightful, than most books of its kind. It is very useful for any person thinking of doing business in Vietnam...in fact, I would call it "essential".

This is a must read for those growing up in the shadow of the Vietnam war. The majoriy of american society only knows the negatives of Vietnamese people: the war that was a failure, the people whom didn't appreciate that our soldiers died for them, those poor people who have nothing and need our pitty, those people who come to America, form gangs, and live off of our government. These are the views of Vietnam. 'A Taste of Earth' makes the people of Vietnam people first with culture, beliefs, joys, sorrow--and most importantly, looks at Vietnamese people in a postive light! Also, interestingly, many of the stories have a similarity to Native American myths and legends--coincidence

These are the first myths from Vietnam I've ever read, so I can't compare the tales to the standard. The stories range from creation myths to tales of wars and food/custom myths. The writing is clear and lyrical. I was captivated, and enjoyed a break from the more familiar Greek myths and French fairy tales I know.

This book is also beautifully illustrated. Highly recommended if you are into comparative mythology or just enjoy a well told story.

I just returned to this book after an absence of some years, and discovered again one of its main attractions: there is no transliteration in this book! There is just Thai, written in Thai, and English, written in English.

I find it very useful for handwriting practice -- all the Thai is in a very nice, attractive, hand-written script. It also reinforces one of the hardest areas of the Thai language -- spelling Thai words.

You can discard all the remarks you may have heard about Thai writing being "easy" because it is "phonetic." This is not correct. Thai has MANY possibilities for spelling almost every word you hear, not to mention the fun of all the borrowed Pali and Sanskrit words with silent letters -- Thai spelling is just about as fun and baroque as English spelling, so the earlier you get cracking on it, the better. :-)

I am American-born and a beginner to the language. If you already have another text with the Thai alphabet, grammar rules, constants and vowel tables, and a guide for pronunciation, this book is the perfect complement. It helped me to read Thai correspondence, and to construct correspondence of my own. Its only shortcoming is that there are no index or dictionary appendix.

This is a touching story of two women who carry out an incredible mission. Though it's out of print, you may contact the author at to obtain a copy. It's a MUST READ.

This Must Be My Brother is a remarkable book about the adventures of a partime nurse and homemaker who goes to Vietnam to escort 100+ babies and children back to the United States for adoption, just before the final pull out by the United States. Much to her astonishment she becomes involved one of the largest and most dangerous adoption transports in the history of international adoption - Operation Babylift. LeAnn Thieman shares her adventures with us with charm and captivating honesty. Her descriptions of the events leading up to the flight back via cargo jet with the children is sure to keep you turning pages. Just one warning - I don't think it is possible to read this book without wanting to adopt (or adopt again)!

This book is worth reading for anyone interested in the history of the Vietnam War.
It is a collection of forty-eight short recollections from a wide variety of Americans and Vietnamese involved in the war, or the country, from the late 50's to the 80's. It also touches on Cambodia and Laos. Each recollection is from one-half to six pages long, and may cover one short event, or several years' experience in the country.
The book deceptively starts out slowly, and it is only with continued reading that one discovers that within this chosen group of recollections are many of the great truths of politics and military conflict in South Vietnam.
The essays cover the fatal flaws inherent within South Vietnam, which include the long history of being a colony of France, without France taking any steps to prepare the country for independence, such as training civil servants or encouraging the rule of law through local rulers. Once independent, South Vietnam was fragmented on religious lines. The civil leaders were corrupt, engaged in nepotism, and did not relate well to the peasants. South Vietnamese military leaders were promoted not on merit, but by family ties and the size of the bribes they paid to the government. For political reasons, the military zone around Saigon was intentionally unorganized and inefficient.
The geography of South Vietnam -- having all its territory within easy reach of Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam -- made it a very difficult land to defend from an enemy with safe sanctuary so close to crucial areas. This book does not mention the oppressive acts of the South Vietnamese government, which helped alienate its citizens. The book seems to understand, if not almost excuse, wrongful acts by US soldiers.
The US tactics also contributed to defeat: rules of engagement tied the military's hands in senseless ways (a SAM base couldn't be attacked under construction, but pilots had to wait until it was operational); rotating inexperienced officers through Vietnam to "punch their combat ticket" was more important than retaining experienced officers and advisors who often "got it" just before being rotated out; the battle for "hearts and minds" was often ignored; and years were wasted on ineffective strategy, until home protests compelled withdrawal.
And, yes, North Vietnam really was an oppressive regime which used terror and lies to achieve its goals.
Any discussion of Vietnam brings up many "what if's?" What if South Vietnam had a more appealing and legitimate government? What if US politicians hadn't used such ineffective strategy and tactics? Is there ANY scenario which would have resulted in a long-term stable and secure South Vietnam?
If you're at all interested in the field, this is a book well worth searching out.

Moving and extreme reality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is a very good work and should be used in classrooms around the world.

I have read many books on the Vietnam War and An's is truly one of the best. His views are truly remarkable and I hope to see more from him in the near future!

The Vietnam War Almanac is very informative, easy to read and to follow. If you are interested in the Vietnam War I recommend you read this almanac.

Very well balanced book in an almanac form. This covers places and chronological events. There are many charts, maps and significant pictures to support the information. There is a very descriptive table of contents.

You can see that Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr. has a very good understanding of the region and events leading up to and after the Vietnam War.

I picked this book because it is one of the few that include an armored reconnaissance unit, the First Squadron, 10 Cavalry. Also the other units we travels with it in the Central Highlands in II Corps. Being an almanac, not enough information was given to tell the feel of the location.

This book is well worth the cost.