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An account of the transformation of cultural assumptions affecting parental authority and children’s freedom to choose marriage partners, this book traces colonial period changes in ideas about free will, love, and honor, and in the views of the Catholic church.
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Heroes of Our Time contains all 239 Medal of Honor citations such as this excerpt: ...His rifle ammunition expended, he seized two grenades and, in an act of unsurpassed heroism, charged toward the entrenched enemy weapon. Hit again in the leg, this time with a tracer round which set fire to his clothing, Sgt. Robinson ripped the burning clothing from his body and staggered indomitably through the enemy fire, now solely concentrated on him, to within grenade range of the enemy position. Sustaining two additional chest wounds, he marshalled his fleeting physical strength and hurled the two grenades, thus destroying the enemy position, as he fell dead upon the battlefield... Along with the citations are newspaper accounts of various battles. Heroes of Our Time is a look at the courage of American soldiers in Vietnam., 16 pages of photographs, 6" x 9"
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- A prelude for things to come
- He's Done It Again
- DeMille's best? Maybe.
- Simply DeMille's Best!
- What a GREAT story!!
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Word of Honor
Nelson DeMille
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
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ASIN: 044651280X |
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He is a good man, a brilliant corporate executive, an honest, handsome family man admired by men and desired by women. But a lifetime ago Ben Tyson was a lieutenant in Vietnam. There the men under his command committed a murderous atrocity--and together swore never to tell the world what they had done. Now the press, army justice, and the events he tried to forget have caught up with Ben Tyson. His family, his career, and his personal sense of honor hang in the balance. And only one woman can reveal the truth of his past--and set him free.
Customer Reviews:
A prelude for things to come.......2007-09-17
I would have liked this book more if I read it before the invention of John and Susan Sutter and, even more obviously, Paul Brenner and John Corey. It is clear that Ben Tyson was the seed for each of the male characters and he is like a wild cross of all three. His blood was as blue as Sutter's, his wit and honor are all Brenner, and the rest is all Corey. Marcy is certainly the first stab as Susan Sutter, who I regard as the finest character Demille ever wrote.
That said, it should not detract from a unique and disturbing story. Like many early Demille works, it takes its time painting detailed character portraits and it allows the scenery to breathe. Unfortunately for me, I read the first 200 pages in the winter before finally finishing the last 500+ in the summer. Like some other readers, I had a hard time staying with this one, but was thrilled when I did pick it back up. I back-read a lot and it wasn't tough to remember who was who.
Some parts of the book were long-winded and maybe unnecessary, but it all worked in the end. Ditto some characters like Chet Brown, Col Levin, even Sister Teresa. Lots of loose ends, imo. As a person born in the year this took place, I won't pretend to understand a Vietnam vet's mind. I do challenge some of the reaches Demille took as far as Tyson's unwillingness to open up to his family about his role in the massacre. I also wonder why he'd want to bring that upon himself when he was given an out by Major Harper. A lot of it seemed contrived, but it made for a good character and story, hence the "fiction" tag that accompanies the book. ;-)
If there was a disappointment, it was that it took its time for 737 pages only to end in an instant inside of a couple paragraphs. I almost think Demille was up against a deadline and was told to end it already. The end was frantic, especially with regard to his family situation, and then the screen goes to black. I'd have liked a few more pages to see some things out. The storytelling was uneven in spots, especially when it involved him and his wife. One minute they are close and sticking together, the next they are apart, then together, etc... not a lot of explanation around the changes, either. Still, there was enough to keep you occupied.
A very good effort with an intriguing premise, but not Demille's best, imo. The Gold Coast remains his Gold Standard for me, followed by the underrated Up Country. MOH is definitely a step above the corny John Corey action novels and is probably on par with Charm School. It is a worthwhile read that holds up 20 years after its first print.
He's Done It Again.......2007-03-09
Some of his books tend to drag to me for the first couple of hundred pages. Then once the story is set up, they take off and don't let up. I agree with other reviewers, this book had some of the greatest courtroom scenes ever written. Another excellent story Mr. Demille.
DeMille's best? Maybe........2007-02-19
Wow! You may have mixed feelings about the ending, but you'll be fascinated throughout. Tremendous courtroom dramatics.
Simply DeMille's Best!.......2006-07-06
Word of Honor is not only arguably DeMille's finest novel it may well be one of the best novels you'll ever read. It quite simply crawls into your gut, sticks to your ribs and stay with you whole as you digest the significance of its powerful message.
And it's one hell of a read!
Ben Tyson is called to disclose the actions of his platoon twenty years after the Battle of Hue in a court of military law. Intermingled with flashbacks and back stories regarding a combat incident his unit handled during an extreme instant, a stressful moment about an 'event' between 'brothers'.
The courtroom scenes in this book are quite simply brilliantly crafted.
Tyson is a tight, faceted personality possessing the wry sarcasm and humor and open intelligence that only DeMille can create. Lucky for us he doesn't shower this attention on just his main character since everyone has a compelling, vital story to tell.
How can those of us who weren't there understand such complex feeling? Yet, DeMille, makes us understand, he transports our souls with the written word unlike no other and quietly says....this was our reality.
What a GREAT story!!.......2006-06-30
I've read some of DeMille's recent work but not any of the earlier stuff...until now. A friend recommended Word of Honor to me, indicating the book contains some of the best courtroom scenes ever written. Having read the book in just about one sitting, I'd have to concur. The book is fast paced and near impossible to put down once you're into the flow of the story. The characters and setting are great, as is the dialogue throughout the book.
The book is concerned with atrocities committed in Vietnam by troops under the command of Ben Tyson, a man who's achieved success in middle age in his career, living comfortably in Long Island. When a book is released which tells the story of the atrocities, Tyson is dragged back into the Army and courtmartialed. The way the 'truth' of what really happened is revealed over the course of the book through the eyes of various participants is handled masterfully by DeMille.
I highly recommend this book!
Book Description
In 1973, Henry Kissinger shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the secret negotiations that led to the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam. Nixon famously declared the 1973 agreement to be "peace with honor"; America was disengaging, yet South Vietnam still stood to fight its own war. Kissinger promptly moved to seal up his personal records of the negotiations, arguing that they are private, not government, records, and that he will only allow them to be unsealed after his death.
No Peace, No Honor deploys extraordinary documentary bombshells, including a complete North Vietnamese account of the secret talks, to blow the lid off the true story of the peace process. Neither Nixon and Kissinger's critics, nor their defenders, have guessed at the full truth: the entire peace negotiation was a sham. Nixon did not plan to exit Vietnam, but he knew that in order to continue bombing without a congressional cutoff, he would need a fig leaf. Kissinger negotiated a deal that he and Nixon expected the North to violate. Ironically, their long-maintained spin on what happened next is partially true: only Watergate stopped America from sending the bombers back in.
This revelatory book has many other surprises. Berman produces new evidence that finally proves a long-suspected connection between candidate Nixon in 1968 and the South Vietnamese government. He tells the full story of Operation Duck Hook, a large-scale offensive planned by Nixon as early as 1969 that would have widened the war even to the point of bombing civilian food supplies. He reveals transcripts of candidate George McGovern's attempts to negotiate his own October surprise for 1972, and a seriocomic plan by the CIA to overthrow South Vietnam's President Thieu even as late as 1975. Throughout, with page-turning dialogue provided by official transcriptions and notes, Berman reveals the step-by-step betrayal of South Vietnam that started with a short-circuited negotiations loop, and ended with double-talk, false promises, and outright abandonment.
Berman draws on hundreds of declassified documents, including the notes of Kissinger's aides, phone taps of the Nixon campaign in 1968, and McGovern's own transcripts of his negotiations with North Vietnam. He has been able to double- and triple-check North Vietnamese accounts against American notes of meetings, as well as previously released bits of the record. He has interviewed many key players, including high-level South Vietnamese officials. This definitive account forever and completely rewrites the final chapter of the Vietnam war. Henry Kissinger's Nobel Prize was won at the cost of America's honor.
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On April 30, 1975, when military helicopters pulled the last U.S. soldiers off the roof of Saigon's American embassy, the question lingered: had American and Vietnamese lives been lost in vain during the prolonged conflict? When the city fell shortly thereafter, the answer was clearly yes. The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, signed in 1973 and hailed as "peace with honor" by President Nixon, had not brought peace. Now, in a shocking expose of Henry Kissinger's back-channel negotiations, Larry Berman reveals that it also did not bring honor. Kissinger has sealed many of the crucial documents concerning U.S. negotiations in the final years of the war, negotiations that led to his sharing the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, based on newly declassified American documents and a complete North Vietnamese transcription of Kissinger's talks, Larry Berman offers the real story of the peace negotiation for the first time. While Nixon said one thing in public and something very different in the private talks, Kissinger kept his own beliefs almost -- but not quite -- secret. There is only one word for America's actions toward its former ally, and toward its tens of thousands of soldiers who died in the final years of the war: betrayal.
Customer Reviews:
Harsh (Negative) Review in direct E-Mail exchange with the author.......2006-10-07
Attached is an extract of my letter to Larry Berman dated April 01, 2002.
Subject: "No Peace, No Honor"
Dr. Berman: I am reading (with great skepticism & disagreement) your above book. I have a keen interest in Vietnam War history (and pseudo history) and have recently received from my daughter (college librarian)the Choice heads up about your book....(I was a 1956 Political Science graduate of The University of the South and was a co-pilot in SAC until 1959. We, of course, Studied Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Accords, SEATO and the then already identified Communist insurgencies in South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and other areas of South East Asia and were well aware of Communist Ho Chi Minh's plans to take over South Vietnam by covert and/or overt invasion, rigged elections, infiltrated agents, democratic [Communist] fronts, etc.). You surely knew all of this at one time (because I note that you too have read Nixon's "No More Vietnams" and his & Kissinger's memoirs...) Apparently you agree with hardly any of Nixon's assessments, or if you do, you have deliberately chosen to adopt the simplistic [straight leftist] history of gentle 'George Washington' Ho Chi Minh and his noble efforts to unify Vietnam [under ruthless totalitarian Communism] and his betrayals after the Geneva Accords..(p18 et seq). (I really think that you are too smart for this and what follows and that you have adopted the "Russian style of history writing" that you [and Zumwalt, Jr] attribute to Nixon & Kissinger at p9). In particular, although you do refer, without elaboration, to the Jan 2 & Jan 4 1973, Democratic caucus votes to cut off all funds to Indochina - with legislation to terminate the war speeding its way to the floor..., you do not make the obvious points that the antiwar movement and the determination of the Doves [predominately Democrats] to force an end to the war - with or without a negotiated agreement & whether or not 150,000 NVA troops remained in South Vienam, or Laos or Cambodia, or whether or not all of SE Asia would surely fall into Communist hands - totally under cut Kissinger's negotiation options and forced him to take the only Agreement available. Everyone knew that leaving 150,000 NVA troops in place was a terrible option and that continued US military support of South Vietnam would be essential, and that strict US enforcement of the Paris Agreement - by resumed bombing of strategic military targets might well be necessary. (As you well know, the North concluded in 1968, or earlier, that the growing antiwar movement and the outspoken Democrats would force an end to the war within a few years, or less, and that victory could be obtained - if only the North could hang on until Congress defunded the war. Gen Giap has confirmed this and has stated that he designed a strategy to avoid large & costly full scale engagements, but to hide in the jungles & Cambodian sanctuaries and initiate enough ambushes to keep the US body count high, and to stall the peace negotiations indefinitely...) You, of course, conclude [very much disingenuously, in my opinion] that Kissinger was out-negotiated, that the Paris Agreement & Nixon brought no peace, and no honor, and that he and Kissinger deceived the American people into thinking that the terms of the cease-fire would be the end of the American involvement [I don't know of anyone who thought that...] and that this was a dishonorable two-faced deception, and that Nixon [& not the US Congress] betrayed our South Vietnam allies by forcing them to accept an Agreement that could only be enforced by continued US monetary & air power support - which Nixon fully intended to provide (as well as secretly promised reconstruction aid to the North - as an economic incentive to abide by the Agreement...). Watergate, of course, prevented Nixon from re-introducing air power to enforce the Agreement, and light weight Ford had neither the leadership ability nor inclination to advocate for strict enforcement - absent Congressional willingness to do so. The betrayal of South Vietnam and the dishonoring of the American people was Congress' doing - at the urging of the Doves and antiwar protestors like John Kerry, et al. As you know - and conveniently failed to even discuss in your book that purports to assess blame for the betrayal - [Russian history style..] - Nixon very clearly & cogently [and convincingly, in my opinion] laid out the facts upon which he concluded that the US Congress "Lost the Peace". ("No More Vietnams", Chapter5) You also assert that Nixon & Kissinger deceived and misled the American people [and the Congress] and did everything they could to deny any independent access to the historical record and that only [now?] "This story of diplomatic deception and public betrayal has come to light only because of the release of documents and tapes that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger sought to bury for as long as possible." This too is disingenuous, in my opinion. I find very little in your book that was not more comprehensively presented in Kissinger's 1979 book "White House Years". (He had at leased ten times [this is an exaggeration] more facts about the Paris negotiations than you did, and I do not find any place in your book where you demonstrate that any statement by Kissinger was false - or even misleading or deceptive. In other words, I find very little in your book that is new - other than your gratuitous assertions that you have uncovered new data that shows that Nixon & Kissinger were dishonorable and deceived and betrayed the American people....In my opinion, your slanderous assertions are not supported by the facts contained in - or conveniently omitted from - your sensational and poorly reasoned book. But this is just my opinion, and who cares?? John Ellis
Drivel.......2003-10-16
The Paris Agreement was doomed because no agreement of this kind can survive without enforcement. Congress wanted Vietnam to go away, and when they cut off all aid, South Vietnam did go away, as well as Cambodia as we knew it.
The DRVN had no reason to honor the agreement once we legislated that we would do nothing about violations.
The Hellish Truth Of What Nixon & Kissinger Did In Vietnam!.......2003-03-20
This stunning, smart, scholarly and incisive book neatly unravels the clever pseudointellectual reconstruction that many neo-conservative authors have bought into regarding the conduct of the Vietnam War by the Nixon administration. While few of us would quarrel with the idea that Nixon accomplished much on the world scene, we still must protest the idea held by many that he was so severely hampered in his prosecution of the war by a combination of internal and external constraints that he was unable to execute the compassionate, intelligent, and objective policies toward southeast Asia that he and Henry Kissinger had so painstakingly devised. Rather, we learn here that his Vietnam policies were as full of the 'sturm und drang' contradictions seen elsewhere in his administration. For Nixon, prosecution of the Vietnam War was just another case of "politics as usual", another opportunity to pit conservative against liberal, hawk against dove, for personal aggrandizement and short-term political gain.
Much of what he did and planned were based on domestic political considerations and the fear of being seen as weak on communism. he looked Le Duc Tho eye to eye, and Nixon blinked. For this he never forgave himself, and he was willing to do anything, lie to anyone, dissemble, connive, and betray the American people just to win in Vietnam. Far from flying with the angels, both Nixon and Kissinger bloodied their hands by instituting policies that resulted a dramatic increase in both American and Vietnamese casualties, instituting policies that continued the escalation of the war and its extension to new areas such as Laos and Cambodia. Using the conflict in Vietnam as a key element to engage both the Soviet Union and Communist China, Nixon seemed to lose sight of the need to deal with the specific factors propelling the war even as he became increasingly engaged with it, thinking he could simply "bomb" the North Vietnamese into capitulating regardless of the mounting evidence to the contrary.
At times his conduct of the war was not only irrational and extremely counter-productive, but also criminal and unnecessary, as with the incursions into Cambodia in 1970, which spurred an avalanche of student protest and increasing political resistance at home. indeed, much of the documentary evidence related here shows his entire strategy of seeming withdrawal while simultaneously secretly escalating the air war tells volumes about the levels of deceit and cupidity the Nixon administration had toward the war in Vietnam.
Nixon's presidency is a study in contrasts, a reflection of the internal contradictions propelling the President himself. Nixon is truly one of the most fascinating of our modern presidents, a remarkable amalgam of his genius, daring, and all-too human flaws, a man so haunted and tortured by his interior demons that he spent the balance of his post=presidency years attempting to reconstruct the truth about his conduct of the presidency and the war in Vietnam. Here is revealed a man so anxious to gain the presidency that he outrageously influenced the President of South Vietnam during the 1968 presidential campaign to disengage from an effort by sitting President Lyndon Johnson to end the war. How can we expect a man capable of such perverted motives to do "the right thing" to save life and treasure by bringing the war to an "honorable" conclusion?
Instead, we find the same irrational, pseduo-macho tendencies as led to the debacle of Watergate perpetrated onto the war in Vietnam, resulting in thousands of additional deaths and casualties. This is a wonderful book, one that lays bare the truth about the self-serving efforts by Nixon, Kissinger, and a number of over-eager neo-conservatives to reconstruct the truth about the conduct of the war in Vietnam in order to salve their structure of beliefs and also lay blame for the war at the doorsteps of sixties liberals. I found myself engaged and excited by the author's interesting approach, and was quite impressed by the interviews, documents, and research used to present the evidence included in the book. This is one I can heartily recommend, and enthusiastically give a full five star rating to. Enjoy!
Abandonment, Betrayal and Lies = Nobel Peace Prize?.......2002-03-11
How can "A Peace With Honor" claimed by Henry Kissinger result from a divided nation with 58,000 casualties and an ally with over 2 million dead? The only honor is bestowed upon the men and women who fought for an honorable cause, one that aimed for a free and peaceful South Vietnam. Presidents Nixon and Thieu are dead and Le Duc Tho never accepted his Nobel Peace Prize. The only remaining key player from the 1973 Paris sell-out of South Vietnam is Henry Kissinger. But his true legacy will be locked up for many years in vaults. Thanks to Dr. Larry Berman for this insightful revelation into one of the darkest times in our political history. "Return the Nobel Without Honor" should have been the title for this book...a must read for all Americans.
Nixon's Vietnam Duplicity.......2001-12-25
Larry Berman is the perfect person to expose President Richard Nixon's duplicity regarding his Vietnam War policy, wherein Nixon sought to promote a peace agreement he and Henry Kissinger both knew would accomplish nothing in thwarting North Vietnam's design to achieve a unified Vietnamese Communist nation. In the typical Nixon fashion, design was preeminent over ultimate reality as he heralded the agreement ending U.S. participation in the nation's most controversial war with the glorious phrase, "Peace With Honor."
"No Peace, No Honor" is the logical sequel to Larry Berman's earlier penetrating work, "Planning a Tragedy," which was a fascinating look inside the Johnson Administration and the mindset which brought about America's entry into the Vietnam conflict. Robert McNamara, despite his earlier assurances, proved to be a naive administrator, making mistake upon mistake in forcing America into an ever deepening hawkish posture. The wise counsel of State Department operative George Ball, who provided the beneficial hindsight input of French president Charles DeGaulle, whose country fought a war in Indo China between 1946 and 1954, was unfortunately spurned.
With Johnson gone and the Nixon Administration taking over in January of 1969, the scene is set for Berman's latest work. Taking advantage of recently declassified government documents, Berman presents a chaotic scene in which Nixon and Kissinger seek to find a way out of the Vietnam morass without conveying the impression that the U.S. was running out on an ally and leaving it vulnerably exposed to a successful Communist insurgency. Despite ferocious bombing, Nixon was ultimately confronted with a situation wherein public support for the war in America had reached its lowest level while his anticipated strategy of helping build Vietnam's fighting forces into a team formidable enough to hold off the insurgency from the North had notably failed. As a result, Nixon sought to convince Americans that the agreement he was able to achieve embodied "Peace With Honor" when Communist troops remained in place in the South, prepared to finish the job and achieve a unified Vietnam. Debate had persisted over the years over whether Nixon and Kissinger were aware of what ultimately would transpire, and that the agreement signed and put into place was nothing other than a facade meant to disguise an ultimate result of which they were well aware. The documents unearthed by Berman demonstrate an awareness of Nixon and Kissinger of the tragic nature of circumstances and the inevitability of a Communist triumph.
William Hare
Book Description
Among the many horrors of the Vietnam War, some of the most brutal and, until now, least documented were the experiences of the American prisoners of war, many of whom endured the longest wartime captivity of any POWs in U.S. history. With this book, two of the most respected scholars in the field offer a comprehensive, balanced, and authoritative account of what happened to the nearly eight hundred Americans captured in Southeast Asia. The authors were granted unprecedented access to previously unreleased materials and interviewed over a hundred former POWs, enabling them to meticulously reconstruct the captivity record as well as produce an evocative narrative of a once sketchy and misunderstood, yet key chapter of the war.
Powerful and moving in its portrayal of how men sought to cope with physical and psychological ordeals under the most adverse conditions, this landmark study separates fact from fiction. Its analysis of the shifting tactics and temperaments of captive and captor as the war evolved skillfully weaves domestic political developments and battlefield action with prison scenes that alternate between Hanoi's concrete cells, South Vietnam's jungle stockades, and mountain camps in Laos.
Giving due praise but never shirking from criticism, the authors describe in gripping detail dozens of cases of individual courage and resistance from celebrated heroes like Jim Stockdale, Robinson Risner, Jeremiah Denton, Bud Day, and Nick Rowe to lesser known legends like Major Ray Schrump and Medal of Honor winner Donald Cook. Along with epic accounts of endurance under torture, breathtaking escape attempts, and remarkable prisoner communication efforts, they also reveal Code of Conduct lapses and instances of outright collaboration with the enemy.
Published twenty-five years after Operation Homecoming, which brought home 591 POWs from Vietnam, this tour-de-force history is a compelling and important work that serves as a testament to the courage, faith, and will of Americans in captivity, as well as a reminder of the sometimes impossible demands made on U.S. servicemen under the Code of Conduct in prisoner of war situations. It is vividly illustrated with maps, prisoners' renderings of camps and torture techniques, and dozens of photographs, many never before published.
Customer Reviews:
Ultimate Book on Vietnam POW's.......2007-09-12
This is a lengthy but well written book. If you are looking for an excellent history of the POW's from the Vietnam war, this is the one to get. If you are interested in history or the human aspects of the Vietnam POW's this would be very valuable. I have read a number of books on POW's and this is by far the best of the lot.
Great Work of Military Schlorship.......2007-07-03
This observer has followed the POW situation since 1972, when he was still on active duty. He is familiar with many POW memoirs, so the men in Messer's. Kiley and Rochester's voluminous work are no strangers. Most of the prominent POWs are well known to many and they are certainly all here: Ernest Brace, Robinson Risner, James Stockdale, Jeremiah Denton, Frank Anton and Everett Alvarez-plus many more. If this reviewer had to choose a favorite memoir, it would be Anton's "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?" Honorable mention certainly goes to "A Code to Keep" by Mr. Brace. HB goes into far deeper detail than do individual stories, yet necessarily lacks the personal touch folks like those two gentlemen provide. Those in the amazon community who have read no POW tales and are satisfied with one big picture have the perfect book in HB. The back cover noted that HB "combines rigorous scholarly analysis with moving narrative". That it certainly does, in fullest detail. All the torture, all the mind games, all the coming and going and transfers, all the gripping boredom and fear, all the gruesome details of prison life are here. It will be clear that the POWs were anything but one big happy family. Disagreements abounded, especially that nebulous subject regarding compliance with the Code of Conduct. Some favored active resistance, some a "cooperate-graduate" approach. The authors also do an excellent choreographing of the release of the Spring of 1973. They were not repatriated on one fleet of C-141s but came home in stages. We learn that a handful of guys were released through Saigon and 2 through Hong Kong (!). There are some caveats attached to this review: HB cannot be skim read. It demands attention and a substantial investment of time upfront. Casual readers are in the wrong place! They won't appreciate the 88 pages of appendices and notes/footnotes. HB also concentrates on prisoners held in the major North Vietnam detention centers. The missing in Cambodia, Laos and even China are outside the scope of HB. But HB is also silent on the fate of the discrepancy cases of those lost in the 4 countries. One hopes that the authors, writing a book that admits to being "an official publication of the Department of Defense", are not attempting a "Case Closed" on the 1,783 still unaccounted for. This observer will give the authors the benefit of the doubt here. Still. FAR more disturbing is a gratuitous remark on Page 589 that those who continue to press for a fullest accounting of the missing are "a swarm of polemicists and opportunists". This reviewer is one of them! He belongs to neither of those species! Since it is most likely that no offense was intended, none is taken but that comment demands an explanation! It certainly merits an unfortunate reduction in rank to 4 stars. That there even is a page 589 is the essence of HB. This one is not for those with a passing fancy on the Indochina War. A final note: There is a new, voluminous publication available on amazon-"An Enormous Crime". That particular 566 page volume-in small type no less-claims to be the "definitive account of American POWs abandoned in Southeast Asia". The different scope of EC should encompass what HB did not. Maybe these 1,000+ combined pages of text will shed a final light on the thorny question of POWs/MIAs in Indochina. Congressman King (R-NY) is also attempting to convene new hearings on the same subject. This painful matter will be with us for a while. The bottom line to "Honor Bound" is the headline above. This is indeed a great work of military scholarship and for that the authors deserve their due.
If you want to know the unpoliticized truth - here it is.......2005-06-24
Unfortunately, even the suffering of our soldiers in captivity is made into political fodder for sick creatures seeking their own gain. It is hard to get the truth about anything anymore in any of the popular media. This book is put out by the Naval Institute Press and is a complete, scholarly, unemotional, objective, and horrifying recounting of what our men suffered in Southeast Asian Prison Camps from 1961 - 1973.
The book takes us through the various prisons by their geographic location and their time period with photographs and unflinching text. It is very clear about the development and progress of the torture and when it finally declined. It explains the treatment of all PWs and singles out some for individual and extended treatment. There are many photographs of these men, so many of them heroes, and diagrams of the tortures they endured. It also talks about the early releases and the pressure put on some (like John McCain) to leave out of order.
One of the things the PWs did in captivity was commit the names of all the prisoners to memory, included those who died in captivity. These lists of names were considered sacred. This book lists the PWs at the end of the book by name with their service, capture date, release date, and status. It is indeed a sacred list and we would all do well to read it and ponder what it means.
There are many notes, a full biography, and an index.
Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley have performed a great service for us with this book.
One of two important books on Vietnamese prisons.......2004-11-13
This book reminds me why I'm able to walk freely within my country due to the efforts of those during the Hot/Cold War. I consider this book and "The Bamboo Chest", memoir by Frederick "Cork" Graham, to be the best books on Vietnam and communist prisons and our involvement taking the history from 1961 all the way to 1984 and showing how those who crippled our efforts to help defend Vietnam were only helping the communists overtake another nation and resulted in genocide of millions of Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians by their own supposed communist liberators. Lessons learned in our present time.
The phenomenal history of American POW's in Vietnam............2003-06-19
After reading many individual POW memoirs and similar material, it was immediately evident to me that Honor Bound is the premier and defining work on American POW's in Vietnam. For its sheer scope and immensity, this is the best reference material ever composed on this subject.
Beginning with history of French occupation in Vietnam and the follow on role of United States involvement, an intimate portrayal is drawn of every aspect of captivity faced by U.S. personnel. In minute detail, Northern and Southern Vietnamese POW camps are put under the microscope revealing the harrowing physical and psychological experiences that affected U.S. servicemen in appalling conditions which equated to a daily battle for survival. Also examined is the known information on captivity in Laos which continues to be controversial even today due to the unknown fates of many Americans still missing in that country.
Complimenting the brilliant narrative which leaves nothing to the imagination, Honor Bound contains dozens of excellent photographs, prison maps, generous footnotes, and several appendixes containing Vietnam war data and prisoner information. This book is a lasting tribute to patriots, heroes, and even legends who gave and maintained their very best in continual times of the absolute worst. I highly recommend Honor Bound to everyone interested in accounts of POW captivity. A superb, powerful, and very satisfying reading experience.
Amazon.com
Between 1993 and 1997, Michael Ignatieff traveled through the battlefields of modern ethnic war, visiting Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan to consider the mixture of moral solidarity and hubris that led Western nations to embark on the campaign of "putting the world to rights." Why do some people and nations, he wonders, feel morally responsible for strangers thousands of miles away? In The Warrior's Honor, Ignatieff explores this question by skillfully combining eyewitness accounts of modern war with a historian's insight into the constancy of human conflict.
Ignatieff's concisely written essays examine four primary themes: the moral connection created by modern culture with distant victims of war, the architects of postmodern war, the impact of ethnic war abroad on our thinking about ethnic accommodations at home (the "seductive temptation of misanthropy"), and the function of memory and social healing. He firmly believes that "the world is not becoming more chaotic or violent, although our failure to understand and act makes it seem so." The Warrior's Honor takes an important step toward educating the reader about the historical context of modern ethnic conflict. Perhaps most importantly, Ignatieff fosters discussion of the means by which deeper, more permanent commitments can be made in the future to minimize such atrocities. --Bertina Loeffler
Book Description
Since the early 1990s, Michael Ignatieff has traveled the world's war zones, from Bosnia to the West Bank, from Afghanistan to central Africa. The Warrior's Honor is a report and a reflection on what he has seen in the places where ethnic war has become a way of life. Ignatieff charts the rise of the new moral interventionists--the relief workers, reporters, delegates, and diplomats who believe that other people's misery is of concern to us all. And he brings us face-to-face with the new ethnic warriors--the warlords, gunmen, and paramilitaries--who have escalated postmodern war to an unprecedented level of savagery. Hard-hitting and passionate, The Warrior's Honor is a profound and searching exploration of the perils and obligations of moral citizenship in a world scarred by war and genocide.
Customer Reviews:
When Warriors Lose It.......2004-03-14
This is an eloquent book, veering to poetry at times. For a book about the modern wars of militias and warlords within failed states, its eloquence actually gets in the way of the message at times. Occasionally one can even see that sometimes Ignatieff says something just because he has thought of an eloquent way of saying it. Not that I am accusing him of insincerity, for he is not. Nor that the book is without an honest message, for it has several.
The book is a sort of meditation on the nature of these "modern wars" that is colored much by his own personal experiences in several of them. The observation that is central to the book is that diverse people (who are really much alike too) can fall into a state of viewing the "other" as the enemy when a state begins to fail to protect them, and anarchy looms. In successful modern states, the protection is present, and the fiction that diverse people are underneath it all, the same, is maintained.
The book has a very intelligent treatment of the dilemma of the various aid agencies such as the Red Cross and the UN Peacekeepers in trying to ameliorate the effects of war, and maintain their credibility, while not prolonging it or even intensifying it.
On the other hand, the author is a little too reverent of Freudian and even Marxist ideas on the nature of man, both of whom have about zero credibility to the discerning reader. His account of the "Narcissism of Minor Differences" is just so much hooey to me. Ignatieff seems to be entirely uninformed of modern thinking on this problem, which goes by the name of evolutionary psychology, and to me, seems so much more insightful and informative.
The general problem of war is not treated here, only a particular form of it. The wars that inform his thinking in this book are those in Angola, Lebanon, Ireland and, especially, Yugoslavia, with a few "lessons" from the holocaust thrown in. There is not much in the way of systematic study, but rather a grab bag of ideas and anecdotal observations. Eloquently written, though...
Have a pencil close by!.......2001-09-08
The streets in downtown Montreal were filled with people - hundreds of them, shouting, waving banners and wearing the ubiquitous "target" emblem on their shirts. They had gathered to demonstrate against the NATO intervention in Kosovo, which had been launched by the Western alliance to end the ongoing cleansing of ethnic Albanians in the region. That particular day had a strange feel to it, not unlike the first day the US-led Coalition began bombing downtown Baghdad in 1991. In a way it felt as if war had somehow found its way, through a crack in space, maybe, into the otherwise peaceful metropolis. On that day, on the recommendation of a friend (thanks Robert), I purchased Ignatieff's The Warrior's Honor. However, I did not read it until very recently, as it had gotten lost (or drowned, rather) among the tons of other "must read" books (their reproductive rate is admittedly very high) that inhabit my bookshelves.
Now that I have read it, however, I understand why it so often gets quoted by other authors; despite its relatively short length, it is literally one of the very best books on the issue of ethnic-based conflict. Ignatieff's writing is extremely quotable, and on numerous occasions I found myself highlighting passages which so aptly drove to the heart of what other authors require whole chapters to evoke. Rich in sources - both literary and philosophical - it is, unquestionably, a master's exercise in conciseness and analysis.
The chapters "The Narcissism of Minor Difference" and "The Seductiveness of Moral Disgust" are especially enlightening, and I know I will be revisiting them frequently.
This book, along with Jonathan Glover's Humanity, should be read by anyone who hopes to cast a ray of light, however feeble, into the shadowy realms of man's inhumanity to man.
A lucid analysis of the things that most ail us.......2000-03-10
At the moment there are many books being published examining the successes and failures of the humanitarian interventions that have followed the end of the Cold War - more failures than successes, truth be told. As part of my job, I read as many of them as I can. It is this book, however, that I constantly return to. My copy is dog-eared, and deeply scored with underlinings. In every paragraph, Ignatieff has something worthwhile - and frequently confronting - to say.
He addresses the role of the media and the triangle of relationships between audience/media/political leaders; he looks at the rise in humanitarian organisations and the peculiarities of the ethics under which they work; he brings insights from the field on the way the UN is so often programmed to fail.
The power of Ignatieff's writing stems from his unique capacity to bring together the perspectives of news correspondent, novelist and philosopher. He is direct and extremely readable, while also knifing into the subtle heart of the "New World Order."
In the chapter entitled "The Narcissism of Minor Difference" he comes as close anything I have read to explaining why ordinary people are moved sometimes to conduct atrocities on their neighbours. It is vivid and convincing.
If you feel exasperated by the hideous mysteries of ethnic and sectarian conflict, I urge you to read this book, if for that chapter alone.
Honor in Ethnic War.......1999-04-02
I read this book through a class I took and I was impressed by the deep analysis on the issues of ethnic war including a focus of television and media, charitable empathy, the need for conflict, and a warrior's honor. Ignatieff differentiates ethnic wars happening now (civil wars, ethnic wars, brother vs. brother) than that of wars the US has waged in the past (vs. country/nation). These new types of war show a new dynamic of intervention and war atrocities relating to it. The common thread Ignatieff points out is relating to a warrior's honor. Much like chivalry, a soldier in battle should follow certain rules of conduct like not committing atrocities against the indigenous population or letting interventionists take care of the wounded. Ignatieff also focuses on many ethnic conflicts of today in Rwanda, Somalia, and Serbia as examples of the dimension of ethnic war. Ignatieff uses loaded terminology and might be too much to comprehend, but his examples help the reader understand the context he is pushing for. Further examples from Freud's "Narcissism of Minor Diffence" and James Joyce gives this book a well-rounded academic feel. This book gives great insight to human need during ethnic war especially with the current conflict in Kosovo.
Average customer rating:
- Duty, Honor, Country
- The Voice of a True American Hero
- A True American Hero
- Excellent book, I could not put it down.
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Medal of Honor: One Man's Journey From Poverty and Prejudice (Memories of War)
Roy P. Benavidez , and
John R. Craig
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1574886924 |
Book Description
Half-Hispanic, half-Yaqui Indian, and an orphan, Roy Benavidez fought his way out of poverty and bigotry to serve with the U.S. Army’s elite—the Airborne and the Special Forces. Seriously wounded in Vietnam, he was told he would never walk again. Benavidez not only conquered his disability but demanded to return to combat.
On his second tour, when twelve of his comrades on a secret CIA mission in Cambodia were surrounded by hundreds of North Vietnamese regulars, Benavidez volunteered to rescue them. Despite severe injuries suffered in hand-to-hand combat, Benavidez personally saved eight men. His actions ensured his everlasting place as one of the great heroes of the war. In February 1981, President Reagan awarded him the Medal of Honor.
Customer Reviews:
Duty, Honor, Country.......2004-04-17
I met MSG Benavidez in 1990 while stationed in NJ. I had the distinct honor of driving him around for 2 days while he was there to speak, and that experience will stay with me for the rest of my life. One thing that I remember is him saying that 22 years later metal fragments were still occasionally working their way out of his body.
I still have his picture hanging on my wall after 14 years. I have an extremely short list of hero's; Roy Benavidez holds the top slot...
The Voice of a True American Hero.......2003-05-13
MSG Roy Benevidez was an amazing person, and that's putting it mildly. In spite of his fearful wounds from his first tour-of-duty and doctors saying that he would never walk again, he went on to become an elite member of the US Army Special Forces. His actions in combat showed him to be brave, his actions after made him a hero. Roy Benevidez was not out to gain glory and status from his actions, nor did he ever look for pity because of his humble upbringings. Though his ancestry was Mexican-Indian and Hispanic, he always said, "I prefered to think of myself simply as an American." He had a "never say die" attitude, and strong sense of morals. He possesed neither vanity nor false modestly, and he served as an example of what one can accomplish in a lifetime. Sadly, MSG Roy Benevidez died in 1998. He truely was an American Hero! May God bless his soul.
A True American Hero.......1999-12-22
I was privileged to know and very fortunate to have served with Roy Benavidez. His entire life was a struggle: from his difficult early years in Texas, to his incredible struggle to remain in the Army after his first tour's devastating wounds, to his amazing jump status qualification after the doctors told him he would never walk again, to his incredible heroism that resulted in the MOH (but only after another long battle with the bureaucracy that refused to acknowledge heroism at a time that the country was trying to "forget" Vietnam) and finally, the redemption that came on the White House steps with the MOH ceremony, the "last" MOH given out for Vietnam service. I am glad that Brassey's has put the book out in paperback so that kids can read about Roy and learn to never give up. God Bless You, Roy.
Excellent book, I could not put it down........1999-10-02
Roy Benevidez must have been an incredible person. The feelings and thoughts he shares through out the book shows that behind "The Medal" there was a very real individual. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what really goes through the mind of a hero.
Average customer rating:
- Tango Mike Mike: American Hero
- More than words
- A True Hero
- MEMORABLE AND HONORED TO HAVE MET HIM!!!
- A True American Hero
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Medal of Honor: A Vietnam Warrior's Story
Roy P. Benavidez , and
John R. Craig
Manufacturer: Brassey's Inc
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Binding: Hardcover
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Medal of Honor: One Man's Journey From Poverty and Prejudice (Memories of War)
ASIN: 0028810988 |
Customer Reviews:
Tango Mike Mike: American Hero.......2005-07-23
I first read this book in the span of two days in 1998; it was amazing. While the writing wasn't necessarily anything impressive, the story was inspiring. At times throughout Roy's life, I laughed, cringed, and smiled.
It was when he joined the Army, however, that the book took my breath away. The pace of the book during his military career absolutely flies by, chapters are gone in an instant. When the actual battle timeline and facts start rolling in, well, all I can say is: goosebumps and a dropped jaw. Amazing.
To think that a man can define the word hero as perfectly as Roy did and NOT be a household name speaks poorly of how much our country knows about the men and women in the military.
As a former soldier, I immediately put Tango Mike Mike near the top of my "personal heroes" list.
If you pick this book up, you will not be disappointed.
More than words.......2002-10-31
My father told Roy's heroism as a bedtime story when I was a very young - before Roy even receive the Medal of Honor from President Reagan and before this book was written. You see, my family is the 1st generation from Vietnam. While he was in the army, my father had the honor and privilege meeting Roy. Needless to say, my father revive Roy's story numerous times to me. I never imagine it was all real...I am so overwhelm while reading this book that it is all true. A definitely must read.
A True Hero.......1999-06-29
My USA retired husband saw Roy Benavidez 3 days before he passed in Nov '98. Visitors were restricted but Roy beckoned for him to come into his hospital room (he always made time for everyone). He was in great pain and had his shirt off. His scars showed. A few words were spoken between 2 battlefield brothers. It must have been a comfort to the family to see the hundreds who went to the funeral. Mrs. Benevidez resides in El Campo TX, drop her a line to tell her you still remember Roy. Maybe one day a movie will be made about THIS FINE CHRISTIAN MAN.
MEMORABLE AND HONORED TO HAVE MET HIM!!!.......1998-12-05
I truly enjoyed the book! I met MSG Roy P. Benavidez in 1990 while stationed in the Air Force at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. The book is a must to read. It's an inspiration to all mankind. Unfortunately, on 11-30-98, he passed away. I attended his funeral services along with hundreds to pay our respects to a man whom I met in my lifetime and will never forget. The book has been written. Now, the movie must be made...
A True American Hero.......1998-09-26
I had the distinct pleasure of writing and receiving mail from Roy Benavidez when I was in the military. None of this would have been possible without first reading his book, (which should be made into a movie). This man is a true inspiration for all to emulate. I recommend it to young and old alike.
Customer Reviews:
A True American.......2000-05-30
If you want to read a book that will make you proud to be an American, look no further! Colonel Day is a great hero and I appreciate what he and other Americans in Vietnam had to endure in preserving the right principles which represents the true American people. Thanks to Amazon.com for finding this book which I have enjoyed very much.
BUY THIS BOOK!.......2000-05-02
Of the many Vietnam era POW accounts I've read, this one is surely the most in depth and graphic in its descriptions. All by and about "Bud" Day who vividly recounts his story in a pure class act manner. This guy's somewhere between John Wayne and Albert Einstein, but no doubt would be the first to insist he's just one of the many who did his duty.
Bud Day, a man exemplifying what America should be........1999-03-23
I bought and read this book after hearing Col. Day speak at the U.S. Air Force Museum. I knew he could only highlight his POW experience in the hour and a half he had to speak. This book is a true testimony of the faith and courage it takes to resist torture, terror, starvation and captivity while maintaining one's dignity and honor under the worst circumstances imaginable. One cannot read this book without feeling immense pride in America's fighting men.
Must reading for anyone interested in subject matter.......1998-01-28
Col. Day puts the reader there with him. This is the ultimate "American Hero" story. It becomes difficult not to believe that you are reading a Tom Clancy novel.
Bud Day - American Hero.......1998-01-15
Bud Day is, simply put, an American hero. We ought elevate men of his character and integrity rather than the spineless wonders who run this country. Bud Day - his name should be familiar to all patriots.
Book Description
Many women can identify with the sentiment, "I love my mom, BUT . . ." A Daughter's Journey Home pinpoints commonly faced issues with moms and daughters while giving practical insight on how to make connections with Mom that will stand the test of time.
Customer Reviews:
Thought-provoking, life-changing, excellent!.......2005-06-08
This book will change the way you look at your mother no matter what your particular circumstance. Dr. Mintle has an excellent way of addressing the intimate bond between mother and daughter, whether you only have the occastional miscommunication and argument, whether you come from a situation where your mother was abusive, and everything in between. It is different from other books in that its main focus is what YOU can do with the situation, how YOU can be proactive in improving your relationship with your mother, and how powerful forgiveness can be. It is also written with a Christian perspective, and I found that as I read the book, I could apply the principles not just to my relationship with my mother, but also to other relationships in my life. You will not be disappointed with this book!
This book made a difference !.......2004-02-20
Love the cover and then I read the statement, "I love my mother but..." I just said those words to a friend. My mom is great but we have our "issues". This book really helped me gain perspective and work through the problem-spots. The advice is very practical and easy to apply. Dr. Linda has obviously made the journey with her own mom because she is so in tune with the mother-daughter relationship. I highly recommened this book to anyone who wants to improve her relationship with her mom.
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