In this story, Ehrhart beautifully tells of the I Corp Marine's experience in '67-68. The cost, both physically and spiritually,to the soldier has to my mind never seemed so true. Can the innocence and ignorance, if indeed they are different things, last in the face of the reality of war's warped and mishapen environment? What happens to the soldier when faced with his own ignorance and the evils of war, for which he is in many ways responsible? The tension between the two different Ehrharts in the book lies in the attempt to justify his actions in Viet Nam to himself, and if nothing else, to find some comfort even from outside himself. He is both proud and disgusted (I wish I had a stronger word here) by his "accomplishments" in Viet Nam. Where do we find ourselves when the conflict is over? The answer is perhaps nowhere, perhaps in the shower. (You must read the book to understand my last statement):)

Was required reading in a class I took about the Vietnam War. Reading this memoir rapidly went from a school assignment chore to pleasure. I read the next two books in the series the following summer. Ehrhart exposes his inner self on the page to the point where it can actually be somewhat difficult to read. He gave a lecture to our class at the end of the semester, and it was quite moving. Do check it out.

The Vietnam war, what was it like for a combat marine? Read this book and its sequel to find out. Mr. Ehrhart is a gifted storyteller. His story is unique. It's amazing how little it is referred to in bibliographies.

I have read this book at least 20 times. The story never fails to amaze me.

Matt explains what a lot of us went through. This book should be one used in schools to teach about the War in Vietnam. I was in the Blues of A Troop 9th Cavalry in 1966. Very well done, Matt.

One of the best books I have read. Matthew Brennan takes you though his personal accounts of his life in Vietnam. It will make you come away of a new appreciation for what our soldiers have done for this country. It will make you want to thank every military person you ever meet.

A fascinating account of the war after the war in Indo China.
Chanda gives us a wonderful review of the participants on the Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian, and American sides. When South Vietnam and Cambodia fell to the Communists in 1975, Americans in general and the government in particular closed the book on this awful period in American history. The Vietnamese were gulled into thinking that after their violations of the ceasefire, they were entitled to billions of dollars for rebuilding their shattered economy. Instead they got nothing and selected the Soviets as sponsers. This presented a problem to the Chinese who went to the Khymer Rouge as their proxy. As a result, war followed the war. Cambodia was shattered by first American bombing, then the Khymer Rouge terror and finally the war with Vietnam. Both the Chinese and Vietnamese wanted the Americans to come back and serve a role.
Nayan Chanda does an excellent and even handed job of presenting the views of all the participants. This is a wonderful book to read if you are interested in geopolitics. At 500 some odd pages, this book will take some time to read.

While visiting Cambodia's wonderous Ankor, I picked up this book out of curiosity from the Central Market in PnomPenh. It is an amazing piece of historical reporting, thouroughly researched and extremely readable. The author puts together the pieces of the puzzle to explain the wars between Vietnam-Cambodia and Vietnam-China, after the American retreat in 1975. The rise and fall of the notorious, murderous Khmer Rouge, the flamboyant Prince Sihanouk, the struggles of the Vietnamese, Chinese power plays, all of this weaved into a thrilling book of history. This book opens my mind to realpolitik: diplomacy, military power, geopolitics, race, and history. Simply a great book which tells the truth with extraordinary balance and fascinating details.

This is the classic study of the chaotic relations in Indochina from the end of the American wars there in 1975 through the escalating hostility between China and Vietnam and Vietnam and Khmer Rouge Cambodia. It ends in 1985, in the middle of the Cambodian stalemate.
The presentation is vivid and the research is solid.

This book serves as an excellent guide to those wanting to dive around the many wonderful sites in the Philippines. I just wish the author included a more in-depth write-up on Apo Reef.

The book is a great reference for people who are planning to or thinking about diving in the Philippines. It provides a good description of what to expect with regard to general dive locales, as well as specific dives.

The book works, and works well because of several reasons.

First, it provides (still valid) contact information on dive operators and lodging providers in the different areas, as well as providing general ideas on price range for these operations.

Second, the book gives a good briefing and summary of the different dive locales in the Philippines, providing pros and cons, as well as tips that are useful to the would-be traveller.

Third, the book provides a near-comprehensive listing of specific dive sites in the different locales. While the underwater environment changes, it does so slowly, and practically all assessments and descriptions still hold. It provides info on what to expect in terms of depths, surface conditions, currents, as well as what to see. It also provides a quick rating in the form of stars, as to how good the sites are. These are highly accurate, although some have been under-rated, in my opinion.

Fourth, the photography is great. The book has been designed well, and is quite engaging. Full-color photographs are peppered throughout the book.

The text is getting old, but that doesn't change the fact that it holds its promise well of talking about the dive sites in the Philippines.

I can understand why no one has come up with anything to replace this book. It would be a tough to top or even match. Mr. Jackson has done a really great job of this one.

After diving the Philippine Archipelago, I can only understand and appreciate the book more and more.

taj d.

a philippine divemaster

On the basis of the information in this book we planned our dive trip to Bohol. It turned out that everything written was accurate and reliable, and we had a great trip. Like the rest of the series, nicely laid out with excellent photos.

Even though I was not in the Vietnam War, I could not put this book down. Talking to others that were in the War, I found that this story was true for those who fought. Thanks to Paul Young I learned what it was like to be a marine fighting in the jungle.

Outstanding Book. I thought that Paul did a very good job of telling it like it was.I lost quite a bit of sleep while reading this book. Could not put it down.

I served with 1st force in vietnam in 67-68. Reading this book brought back alot of memories. Some good and some bad. The facts and stories were real and very much to the point. Great book.

An excellent book, scholarly and very readable. the Melungeons are a fascinating people. VandeBrake does a very good job of explaining them and how they have appeared in the literature. I expect we'll hear and read a lot more from this author.

How They Shine: Melungeon Characters In The Fiction Of Appalachia by Katherine Vande Brake (Associate Professor of English, King College, Bristol, Tennessee) is the first critical study of Melungeon characters in written fiction. Focusing on the wealth of Melungeon culture and how the Melungeon people have been viewed through the ages, particularly through the eyes of writers who identify them with the virgin Appalachian ridges before European colonization, How They Shine is an ground breaking, seminal, scholarly analysis that takes apart stereotypes and delves into the heart of human perception. How They Shine is a remarkable, informative, superbly presented and persuasive literary account.

Katherine Vande Brake's How They Shine is at once a scholarly examination of the depiction of Melungeons in Appalachian fiction and a readable overview of the topic. Though Melungeons have been characters in Appalachian fiction for many decades, no one has yet analyzed the way in which these misunderstood people have been presented. In this book, the first to address the issue of Melungeons in fiction, Vande Brake has filled that gap.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While Vande Brake imparts a great deal of information, her style is quite conversational. Reading the book feels like sitting at a kitchen table in conversation with an old friend over a cup of coffee. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a good book about books or anyone who seeks information about the Melungeon people.

When I first started researching the Vietman war, I happened to come across this book at the library--exactly what I was looking for since I wanted to understand the individual experience of the infantryman. I had been warned by veterans that a lot of inaccurate books were out there, and since the writer's credentials were simply that he was a high school teacher, I first read it with a somewhat skeptical eye. As I continued to read memoirs and histories and speak with veterans, though, I also kept coming back to this book. Finally I just broke down and bought it. Though I've only spot read various passages throughout the book, it is even-handed, always rings true, is consistent with other information I've gotten, and offers factual information to set things in context (I wish there were a little more of that). Ebert has done a great job getting vets to talk--not always easy--now maybe he should create an updated edition to flesh out the coming home aspects. I hope this author still teaches high school.

Those who have read history about the Vietnam War are kidding themselves if they don't include "A Life in a Year--." This is the war as seen through the eyes of the lowest common denominator--the "grunt." Having served in the infantry in Vietnam and trusting Ebert's editing of what was individual braggadocio by some interviewees, I think this is an accurate portrayal of what Vietnam was like for thousands of soldiers and marines. Nothing fancy, nothing cute, nothing outlandish--just like really being there day in and day out. Straight shooting from basic to the freedom bird. If this was required reading before Vietnam I am not so sure the volunteer rate would have been as high as it was--but then we had to live Vietnam so such a book could be written.

I've read many books on Vietnam and this is the best yet if you are interested in the real life of the grunts. A very down to earth and human look at the Vietnam experience. From prior to induction to return home. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the real nitty gritty of the average guy in Vietnam. As I said, best I've ever read!!!

Warning: This travel guide is not designed for the "accidental tourist," the person who travels to foreign lands hoping only to recreate a faraway, expensive version of his homeland. This book is for anyone who wants to travel not only for pleasure, but also for knowledge. With humor and incredible insight, Phil Karber writes of his adventures in the lands he has visited, lands that most of us will only see on National Geo specials. Karber immerses himself in each culture, learning as much as he can about the history, philosophy, people, and customs of each country that he visits. After reading this book, the reader will feel as if he, too, has visited each place Karber describes. This book is a must-have for anyone who plans to travel to these exotic locales, but it is also a delightful way for those of us who lack the courage, time, or funds to travel to experience places that may no longer exist in a few year's time.

Phil Karber is my Dad's first cousin. Trust me, the sarcastic humor runs in the family. I have not read my cousin's book yet, but I have no doubt that it is wonderful. Phil is a great guy to be around, and he could write a dozen books about his life. I would love to read about his childhood also.

I've just finished Yak Pizza--and how much I was transported from Fort Smith, AR to places I've only dreamed or heard of. Each day I looked forward to that time after dinner when I could grab Yak Pizza, get off by myself, and take trip after trip.

Phil Karber did a remarkable job here, finding the right distance from his subject matter--at times letting places and experiences speak for themselves and at just the right times giving such keen insights from observation and analysis.

There were such poignant moments and then humor and then righteous indignation and then such a knowledge of the background history of environment, economics, political/social structure. . .and gadzooks what a vocabulary.

I wrote a haiku over my impressions the night I finished the book and had such bittersweet emotions on finishing it--here tis Brushed bamboo, twisted thickets of morass. Leeches hold time in their craw.

This book gives credit to the men of the 377th Security Police Squadron for an incedible defense of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. There were enough heros to go around but Nolan has given the Air Force credit for a defensive masterpiece. This book was long over due.

Mr. Nolan is an incredible and invaluable cronicler of the Vietnam War. My father was at the Ton Son Nhut Airbase during the Tet. I now truly understand that battle; this is what you didn't learn in school. Since I read The Battle Of Saigon I have gone on to read The Magnificent Bastards and am in the proocess of reading Operation Buffalo. I strongly recomend reading Keith Nolan's books so you can learn what really happened in Vietnam. The Battle of Saigon is a must read. With respect, Kimberly E. Monahan

iam currently attending my english class, i am asked to do the oral presentation on this battle. please give me some more information and some more idea

Everett Alvarez was shot down almost immediately after the Tonkin Gulf "incident." Immediately captured, he endured the next 7 and a half years of captivity while being beaten, brutalized, humiliated, and tortured both physically and mentally. While captured, he had to endure sporadic communication with his family back home, including a marriage that broke apart, and the treatment of fellow POWs who were friends, and family, to him.

Accompanying illustrations help to show how dramatic the story is. Since it is not written in a complex manner, it can fairly retell the story of what he went through before, during and after his ordeal as a POW to any audience.

I recommend this book to my students who want to learn about this painful chapter in American history, and am very impressed that any human being can absorb that which men like Alvarez and John McCain were forced to do.

On August 5th, 1964, Lieutenant j.g. Everett Alvarez Jr. was shot down over North Vietnam and became the first U.S. aviator to be taken captive in the Vietnam conflict. Held in confinement for eight and a half years, he would be recorded as the longest held POW second only to Army Captain Jim Thompson.

Spending the entire Vietnam war as a POW, Alvarez was held at different times in the Hanoi Hilton, Briarpatch, and Zoo prison compounds. It would be a year until he finally had contact with other American POW's and much of that first year was in solitary confinement.

Approaching 2 years of captivity, Alvarez and his fellow servicemen were subjected to brutal and sadistic tortures amidst inhumane living conditions for the duration of their stay. Forced to eat vermin infested food and given negligible medical care, he suffered frequently from Dysentery, Beri-Beri, Hepatitis, and other afflictions.

Far along into captivity, Alvarez finally received mail from his family concerning events at home. Sadly, he was to learn that one of his sisters had become an anti-war activist and in what must have seemed like one of the worst examples of betrayal and cruelty, his wife divorced him and then remarried.

During the worst of times, Alvarez never wavered in his beliefs of pride, patriotism, and self-determination to survive and continually assisted his fellow POW's as they assisted him. Upon a joyous and welcome return home, he diligently and proudly re-entered society with his honor and integrity intact culminating with his second marriage to a wonderful woman that made his life complete.

Chained Eagle is an exceptionally good book of one man's heroic struggle and endurance in the face of complete despair and hopelessness. Vividly poignant, inspirational, and heartfelt, this book is deserving of much more than five stars and is very highly recommended to everyone.

This was a great story about an American POW who was captured in the Vietnam War (A POW is a prisoner of war). I would recommend this book to every one of all ages. It is a great and moving book about a man who goes through many trials.

The book starts with the main character and author of the book on his ship the U.S.S. Constellation. The author is commander Everett Alvarez Jr. lieutenant junior grade. He starts his story with his squadron going out to help to other ships who where being attacked by PT boats. Later they went and bombed them at a bay farther inland and Everett or Ev for short was shot down by flak. North Vietnamese civilians captured him and turned him into the military. He was interrogated, but would not answer their questions. A man the POWs nicknamed Owl took him to a jail for a time and continued to interrogate him. At the jail he met two men he called Mr. Sea who spoke English and Mr. Blue who didn't. Shortly after arriving there he was moved yet again to a farmhouse and locked in solitary confinement. A few days later they put him in a jeep and drove to Hanoi a large city in Vietnam. There they brought him to a jail that the POWs called the Hanoi Hilton. For several months he stayed there in a room with the numbers twenty-four on it. The Vietnamese fed him a soup with some kind of animal or animal part in it. This caused him to vomit and have horrible diarrhea. He was interrogated often and would always lie. He was able to walk around in an area behind his cell and made a small sanctuary. Ev carved a cross and wrote out all the important dates and a quote to lift his spirits. The food improved later, the Vietnamese were just testing his limits. Owl would tell him they had shot down eight of his planes, but in reality they only shot down two. He tried to prove this to Ev they had eight piles of plane parts, but Ev noticed they were all from two planes. Later Ev was moved to a smaller prison and met Crazy Man. He also started to hear other POWs. Cray Man was a prisoner who went insane he never talked, but would mime everything. Later Ev was moved again they blindfolded him and put him in a truck. In the truck he met three other POWs. They went to a place they nicknamed the Briar Patch and Ev learned a code that allowed them to talk through tapping on the wall they continued to use and teach this to the new POWs. At the Briar Patch the people were meaner and they tortured the people to get what they wanted. They moved again to another place nicknamed the Zoo and were later sent to Hanoi. At Hanoi they had to walk down a street. People crowded around and hit them and beat them as they passed. Ev and the other people kept getting moved around and after eight and one-half years later they were set free. Ev was reunited with his family, but his wife had deserted him. He was soon famous as the first POW of the Vietnam War and did many speeches and such. It was on his way home from Washington that he met Tammy, whom he later married. This was a wonderful book and quite sad.

My favorite part was when Everett got home safely. It is a very happy and funny part and great end. When they arrive at the Philippians and their way home (the POWs I mean) Ev says he has worms and the doctor says to bland foods. However since he had been in captivity he hadn't had good for almost nine years so he grabbed whatever he wanted and told them to go away when they said he couldn't eat it. When he was in his bed nurses came to take his temperature, but when they tried to take his neighbors temperature he bit her on the [behind]. That is my favorite part.