Book Description
Two decades have passed since the famous swordsmen triumphed over Cardinal Richelieu and Milady in The Three Musketeers. Time has weakened their resolve, and dispersed their loyalties. But treasons and strategems still cry out for justice: civil war endangers the throne of France, while in
England, Cromwell threatens to send Charles I to the scaffold. Dumas brings his immortal quartet out of retirement to cross swords with time, the malevolence of men, and the forces of history. But their greatest test is the titanic struggle with the son of Milady who wears the face of evil.
Customer Reviews:
Maturity, Friendship, Adventure.......2007-08-08
Thoroughly entertaining, "Twenty Years After" is a fulfilling sequel to a classic swashbuckling masterpiece.
Twenty Years have passed since D'Artagnan and the Musketeers triumphed over Cardinal Richelieu, preserved the Queen's honor, and brought justice upon the face of evil, Milady. The wave of time has carried the four friends down very different paths of life, and they have not been in contact for many years. D'Artagnan, looking for fortune and lost glory, offers his services to the wildly unpopular Cardinal Mazarin. The Cardinal accepts, and commissions D'Artagnan to unite the quartet for the service of France. What follows is a plot filled with twists, turns, surprises, and adventure. Many characters return from "The Three Musketeers," while several new characters play significant roles in "Twenty Years After." One such character, the son of Milady, has a twisted soul intent on the "revenge" of his mother.
Readers of "The Three Musketeers" who loved Dumas' four heroes for their youth, energy, and courage, will now love them for their maturity, wisdom, and honor. Undoubtedly, these are not the same four men we were left with at the end of the first book. The beauty of "Twenty Years After" is Dumas' ability to age the characters appropriately, and show the effect of time on their nature. In doing so, we see that while time has changed much, it has not changed their undying loyalty to each other.
My only issue with "Twenty Years After," and I'm surprised to find myself saying this, is the lack of a romantic aspect. D'Artagnan's love for Madame Bonacieux in "The Three Musketeers" actually pulled the reader in, making D'Artagnan's loss the reader's loss. There is no such story in "Twenty Years After," which I found rather disappointing. Despite this, "Twenty Years After" is an excellent sequel and I recommend it to anybody who enjoyed the first book.
Super Reader.......2007-08-07
As the title says, it is twenty years after the events in the Three Musketeers. The four heroes are living their lives as they wanted, but are all slightly disaffected.
Cautiously, they agree to undertake a task for the Queen.
Complicating matters is the son of Milady de Winter, who is an anti-fan of these men, you could say.
The Musketeers must learn to work together again, even if their politics are aims are not all the same.
Porthos Eats His Way Through Europe.......2007-07-04
It is truly amazing how many people don't have any idea that the Three Musketeers appear in more than the novel of the same name and "The Man in the Iron Mask." I must admit that for many years I was in that category myself but I was absolutely delighted to find that their adventures continued in this book and I must say that I found the exploits in this book to be almost as thrilling as the exploits in the first book.
Dumas played extremely fast and loose with history in the first book and he spends a good deal of time in this installment trying to correct some of his earlier deficiencies. Most notably Cardinal Richelieu, the great villain of the first book is in this book venerated and our heroes even bemoan the fact that they opposed him. It is also notable that Dumas is considerably more faithful to history in this book than he was in the first but don't make the mistake of thinking that this will read like a historical novel because as usual Dumas never lets the facts get in the way of a good story.
Athos, Porthos, d'Artagnan and Aramis have gone their separate ways and have completely lost contact with each other in the twenty years that elapse between the first and second book. So much so in fact that when d'Artagnan tries to put the group back together he has trouble finding his comrades. At the behest of Cardinal Mazarin who has replaced Richelieu d'Artagnan begins to search for his former colleagues so that they can unite to protect the Cardinal and the Queen from a growing revolt in Paris. He does recruit Porthos but the other two are in league with the rebels and then they face each other again when they become involved on different sides of the English Civil War.
In the end however their friendship and the deadly threat posed by someone from their past bring the friends back together and together these men are as usual unstoppable. Dumas has again provided for a swashbuckling good time and an adventure story that few authors can match. If anything, this adventure is more thrilling than the last as it takes place in two countries and even on the sea with only the occasional break so that the always-hungry Porthos can have something to eat. Anyone who enjoyed the first book will certainly enjoy this one and will do so maybe even more so than the last. These Musketeers didn't lose a thing over those twenty years.
The Musketeers are still swashbuckling twenty years later!.......2007-06-23
It's been twenty years since the close of The Three Musketeers, and only D'Artagnan remains in service to the French Crown. Richelieu is dead and his protege Mazarin now holds the power behind the throne. Anne of Austria rules as regent for her young son, and civil war threatens France.
D'Artagnan is sent to bring the Musketeers out of retirement, but they find themselves at odds between the two sides in the civil unrest. D'Artagnan wants to be promoted to captain and Porthos who wants to be a baron, side with Mazarin, Athos and Aramis with the Fronduers (sp?). However, they soon find that although much has changed, their love and friendship for each other remain intact, particularly when faced with the evil son of Milady, who is bent upon revenge against those who executed his mother.
There's way too much plot to even try to explain, leave it to say that there is much adventure and derring do, from the civil war in France to the conflict between Charles I and Oliver Cromwell in England. I especially enjoyed the nail biting, sit on the edge of your seat excitement during the escape from England and Mordaunt, along with the rescue of D'Artagnan, Porthos and Athos from Mazarin (what fun!). Along with the excitement comes the humor of their constant banter and escapades making for a near perfect read.
I personally liked the parts in England the best, but I think that's because I have a better understanding of English history than French. Even after researching that period in France and Mazarin online, I still got a bit confused at times, but that is a minor issue in comparison to the rest of the story. Dumas is brilliant (as always) and his dialogue is among the best (as always). An awesome sequel to the Three Musketeers, and I am looking forward to starting the next chapter in this story, The Vicomte De Bragelonne.
Clever and filled with manners.......2006-07-25
When I looked at this book I thought I was going to be disappointed because of the possibility that all of the characters will change too much. After some 500 pages into the book, I realized their change was only natural to that of real life. Alexandre Dumas marveously wrote "twenty year after" as if it was a non fictional story with all of the involvement of history incorporated into the plots and timeline of events.
Of the four the friends, D'artagnan once agian outshined the rest, but that's only in my opinion. Not to mention, all of the old favorite sidekick characters are back. Planchet, Grimaud, Bazen, and Mousten. Together the four friends are seperated and united once agian to answer to the task given by their beliefs and views.
Unfortunately, their was no love plot like that of the first book with D'artagnan and Ma'dam Bonacieux, thus my 4 out of 5 stars for this worthy book.
Amazon.com
In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for King of Crankiness. Granted, he complains well and humorously, but between every line of his travel books you can almost hear the tinny echo: "I wanna go home, I miss my wife."
Happily, I'm a Stranger Here Myself unleashes a new Bryson, more contemplative and less likely to toss daggers. After two decades in England, he's relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire. In this collection (drawn from dispatches for London's Night & Day magazine), he's writing from home, in close proximity to wife and family. We find a happy marriage between humor and reflection as he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective of one who's stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson aptly holds the mirror up to U.S. culture, capturing its absurdities--such as hotlines for dental floss, the cult of the lawsuit, and strange American injuries such as those sustained from pillows and beds. "In the time it takes you to read this," he writes, "four of my fellow citizens will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding."
The book also reflects the sweet side of small-town USA, with columns about post-office parties, dining at diners, and Thanksgiving--when the only goal is to "get your stomach into the approximate shape of a beach ball" and be grateful. And grateful we are that the previously peripatetic Bryson has returned to the U.S., turning his eye to this land--while living at home and near his wife. Under her benevolent influence, he entertains through thoughtful insights, not sarcastic stabs. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
The master humorist and bestselling author of
A Walk in the Woods now guides us on an affectionate, hysterically funny tour of America's most outrageous absurdities.
After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly three million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens--as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new-and-improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item.
Delivering the brilliant comic musings that are a Bryson hallmark,
I'm a Stranger Here Myself recounts his sometimes disconcerting reunion with the land of his birth. From motels ("one of those things--airline food is another--that I get excited about and should know better") to careless barbers ("in the mirror I am confronted with an image that brings to mind a lemon meringue pie with ears"),
I'm a Stranger Here Myself chronicles the quirkiest aspects of life in America, right down to our hardware-store lingo, tax-return instructions, and vulnerability to home injury ("statistically in New Hampshire I am far more likely to be hurt by my ceiling or underpants than by a stranger").
Along the way Bill Bryson also reveals his rules for life (#1: It is not permitted to be both slow and stupid. You must choose one or the other); delivers the commencement address to a local high school ("I've learned that if you touch a surface to see if it's hot, it will be"); and manages to make friends with a skunk. The result is a book filled with hysterical scenes of one man's attempt to reacquaint himself with his own country, but it is also an extended, if at times bemused, love letter to the homeland he has returned to after twenty years away.
Customer Reviews:
Not my favorite author in this genre.......2007-07-22
I read through about the first third of this offering by Bill Bryson and found I simply could not get into it. Written in the spirit of Dave Barry, Mary Roach and maybe Erma Bombeck, it is intended to draw humor from the little idiosyncrasies of daily American life as seen by an expatriot returned from years in the U.K.
Where I find Dave Barry's turns of phrase highly amusing I tend to find Bill's commentary more rankling. Each article highlights some aspect of American life that I find less than satisfying and the commentary, though trying to be amusing, simply comes off as frustrating.
Funny and thoughtful about the US and Britain........2007-07-03
This book has a charming premise. Bryson is an American writer who lived in Britain for over twenty years, marrying an Englishwoman and raising two children. He moved back to the States with his family, where he wrote a series of essays about America for a British audience.
Bryson is a keen and witty observer of life. How many of us could write an entire essay prompted by the existence of a 24-hour help line on a dental floss dispenser? The essays are uniformly amusing, sometimes side-splitting.
Thought not as consistently funny as Dave Barry, Bryson goes further by adding a healthy dose of thoughtfulness to it all. Throughout the book he ponders what it means to be American, comparing and contrasting it with what it means to British. Every so often the question of Canadianness pops in as well. As countries divided by a common language, they provide a nice playground for Bryson, and he has a good time with them.
The sheer silliness of being American.......2007-06-03
Laugh-out-loud hilarious. Bryson's observations about American society and its absurdities rings so true and the author is the perfect vehicle for showcasing these stories. He is just so lovable in his books. His absentmindedness and his sharp wit both serve him extremely well. While poking fun at others, he also pokes fun at himself. His work is just priceless.
One funny little story after another.......2007-06-01
In this book, Bill Bryson presents a compilation of weekly columns he had published upon his return from England to the States, after being away for 20 years. And boy did he had a cultural shock! He presents in a VERY funny way the things that we take for granted every day and, one by one, dissects the very elements that make up the American way of life in an insightful way.
The book is assembled in a chapter fashion with a certain structure that connects them whenever applicable. The chapters are short and self-contained enough to turn the book into an endless feed of amazing 5-minute fun reads before bedtime or while you are sitting in a waiting room.
My favourite author.......2007-05-30
Bill Bryson has to be one of the 'most readable' authors for folk who prefer a good chuckle. My wife is not so happy and moans about my giggling keeping her awake.
Keep up the good work Bill
Book Description
Contrary to several popular works of Christian scholarship, historian Paul Barnett maintains that the first two decades of Christian history are hardly "lost years." As he shows in this penetrating book, the period between Jesus and the earliest Christian texts is open to historical investigation, and he richly details the time and setting in which the church was born.
Writing in a very accessible style, Barnett provides an informative, reliable chronology of the years immediately following Jesus' crucifixion. Just as important, he presents the historical sources, biblical clues, and other telling evidence that we have for accurately documenting this crucial period of time. Looking more widely, Barnett also surveys world events during Christianity's first twenty years and notes their impact on life in the early church.
"The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years" is Volume 1 of a trilogy titled "After Jesus." Volume 2 will be "Paul and His Mission Churches," and Volume 3 will be "Finding the Historical Christ."
Customer Reviews:
Presents the conservative view.......2007-04-18
Barnett makes a strong case for the "conservative" position that the essentials of the Christian message as we have come to know it were there from the very beginning, as against the "liberal" position that Christology developed over time. His book is succinct, well-written, and tightly argued; a necessary correction to the other books on the topic of very early Christianity.
I do have some reservations about his arguments, though. Not only does he rely on the Acts of the Apostles as containing eyewitness reports, he takes specific passages such as the speeches of Peter as being an accurate account of what Peter said. It seems more likely to me that the author of Acts shaped such passages according to his understanding of the gospel, which may have evolved since the time of Peter.
On another point, while it is true that Paul says he is transmitting the gospel he received, it is also true that Paul had serious conflicts with the leaders of the church based in Jerusalem. The issue seems to me not a black-and-white one, that either Paul made up his Christology or he is passing along exactly what was first preached by the apostles, but a grey area--how much did Paul adapt the gospel to the Hellenist culture?
Overall, a very good book though.
--Alan Zundel, the HeartAwake Center
The Birth of Christianity: the first twenty years.......2006-07-09
An excellent review of the period of the Act of the Apostles, immediately following Christ's ascension, with a particular view to responding to the radical criticism of the Jesus Seminar. A very helpful book for any church library
THE book on life after Jesus.......2006-06-30
Paul Barnett has written a lucid, meticulous account of the first 20 years after Jesus died, demolishing a few treasured myths about how much we know about those early years. With wide-ranging scholarship and relatively few (and uncontroversial) historical assumptions, Barnett scours the New Testament for clues on what the apostles and followers believed after Jesus' death and why they believed it. By paying attention to details often overlooked by skeptical scholars, Barnett establishes the following: 1) the Christian movement had a very 'high' Christology almost immediately after Jesus death, 2)contrary to what many scholars assume, the writings of Paul are studded with the teachings of Jesus as found in Q and contain too much information about Jesus' earthly life to support the theory that Paul invented a Cosmic Christ out of mid-air, 3)the Gospel of John was likely written before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 because it refers in the present tense to structures and buildings which no longer existed after that date (and for other reasons), 4)Peter did not usurp the authority of James the Just, who did not preserve the 'real message' of an earthly Jewish rabbi but was fully orthodox about the identity of his brother, which seems to have come about as a result of seeing the risen Lord face to face, and 5) Acts is far from a piece of theological propaganda; it contains numerous historical and archeological details which have been impressively corroborated by secular historians of the time. By performing impressive mental gymnastics skeptics can always find a way to dismiss the most reasoned arguments, and in the case of the New Testament we find a movement which revered its Founder as Lord and Savior immediately after His death, spread the good news with fervor and turned the world upside-down. By far the best explanation of this stunning fact is the Resurrection of the Son of God.
This book hits the bull's eye while Crossan's misses the target.......2006-06-19
I wanted to know what happened immediately post-crucifixion with those disciples and followers of Jesus. What took those earliest followers of Jesus, immediately following the resurrection, and put them on the path that produced the Christian church we see today. What did they do, how'd they do it, and where did they do it?
Unfortunately, I read Crossan's book first. It was a terribly long disappointment. Crossan never got to the point and buried the topic and me in minutiae. He never gave me any firm answers or clear and concise pictures of historical events.
Barnett, on the far other hand, writes concisely, logically, and provides connections and documentation to support his findings. Best of all, Barnett's book allowed me to lift above the details and see the story in a completely understandable light.
Amazingly, a shorter book by Barnett hits the bull's eye and gives me the information I'm seeking while a rolling explosion of methodology and diversion by Crossan never seemed to find the target.
Home Run .......2006-01-06
What do you think? Did Barnett title his book "The Birth of Christianity" because Crossan had already published a book under the same title? Yeah, that's what I think, too. Barnett deliberately picked the title as a rebuke and a response to Crossan.
After leaving the priesthood, Crossan has spent his life doing what he can to destroy Christianity. And yes, he is the one who helped found the Jesus Seminar. In his book he argues that Jesus was a hippie-Cynic with no intention of founding a religion.
Barnett pokes holes--lots of holes--in this thesis by investigating what can be gleaned about earliest Christianity.
The problem for Crossan is that the time between the death of Jesus, most likely in 33 AD, and the first Christian documents is a scant 20 years. That's not a lot of time for myths to form. Furthermore, huge numbers of people who knew Jesus would still be alive. Facts could still be easily checked.
Most scholars agree that Thessalonians is the earliest Christian text available, written about 50 AD.
Barnett points out that "In no other letter does Paul so often appeal to what the readers already know" (P 47). Paul reminds his readers of the traditions the apostles passed on. So by 50 AD, therefore, "There is an existent, clearly formulated theology" that was agreed upon by the Christians. It is so well known that Paul can call upon this knowledge.
And what were the common points the earliest Christians believed in? Paul calls Jesus the "Son of God" and "Lord" and "Christ" in Thessalonians. It is, furthermore, the same language he uses throughbout the span of time he wrote his letters.
The conclusion is unmistakable. Paul's "Christology must have been resolved by the late 40s before he commenced writing" (P 67). For one thing, Paul claims to have "received" his beliefs from other people. This indicates a common pool of knowledge. Knowledge which he also gleaned from a first source, since he is known to have visited Peter. It is to this "tradition" which Paul "received" that he refers to again and again in his letters.
Barnett goes into some depth with Galatians, Mark, and John. With John, he notes the many pointers to a pre-70 dating. Barnett mentions the primitive feel to the gospel and the "extensive and intricate details....The war of 66-70 cut a broad swathe through the cultural landscape so that life post-70 became less and less recognizable in contrast to life...before" (P 172).
This is a relatively short book, especially when compared to Crossan's. Yet it's clear, well written, and right on target.
Book Description
Avast there all you Patrick O'Brian fans! Here is a personal narrative of the seaman's life in the age of sail: 1815-1882, and a classic of nautical literature. Dana was a Harvard student recovering from the measles when he decided it would be more interesting to do so at sea as a common sailor. In 1834 he joined a two-year voyage rounding Cape Horn to deliver cargo to California. All the color and detail of daily life at sea as well as descriptions of various ports. Rousing!
Customer Reviews:
Great historical book.......2007-08-12
Great piece of history. Changed my perspective on California and who held it before the United States.
Great piece of history.......2005-08-20
This book is written by a Harvard lawyer about his experiences as a young man aboard a sailing ship in the 1830's. It is a fascinating piece of California history as well as a firsthand look at the life of a sailor in the early 1800's. It is extremely well written and includes a final dissertation about the powers of the captain and the rights of the common sailor.
One of my favorite books.......2005-06-19
I reread this book about every three years. It never gets stale. It intertwines history, philosophy, and a personal travelogue in a book that is so well paced and entertaining to read that it is hard to imagine anyone that would not find it worthwhile. And if you are interested in sailing ships or what California was like in the 1830s, this is a must read.
Fantastic, You Must Read This!.......2002-02-20
I know many people cringe at the thought of reading a narrative that seems to greatly resemble Moby Dick, but I tell you this better than Moby Dick and easy makes it into my top ten books I have ever read! Occassionally the text bogs down in obscure sailing terms, but that is an exception and not a rule, otherwise, it is sheer poetry and lights the fire of wonder of exploration, and makes a sea voyage from almost 200 years ago spring to life. I give you my favorite short little passage, which explains it so much better.
"So quiet too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if the sails had been sculptured marble they could not have been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of the canvas; not even a quivering of the extreme edges of the sail, so perfectly were they distended by the breeze. I was so lost in the sight that I forgot the presence of the man who came out with me, until he said, 'How quietly they do their work!'"
Dana so perfectly described sea life you will be a part of the crew, you will feel his fear, his wonder, his joy and his awe.
You will not regret reading this, philosophy disguised as a travelogue, a must-read!
Book Description
"Passage of the Civil Service Reform Act was controversial, and there is still controversy over its effectiveness. A book of this sort will be well received and anxiously read by specialists in public administration, public policy, and public personnel administration."-H. George Frederickson, University of Kansas
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was the most far reaching reform of the federal government personnel system since the merit system was created in 1883. The Future of Merit reviews the aims and rates the accomplishments of the 1978 law and assesses the status of the civil service. How has it held up in the light of the National Performance Review? What will become of it in a globalizing international system or in a government that regards people as customers rather than citizens?
Contributors examine the Senior Executive Service, whose members serve between presidential appointees and the rest of the civil service. These crucial executives must transform legislative and administrative goals into administrative reality, but are often caught between opposing pressures for change and continuity. In the concluding chapter Hugh Heclo, many of whose ideas informed the 1978 reform act, argues that the system today is often more responsive to the ambitions of political appointees and the presidents they serve than to the longer term needs of the polity. On the other hand, the ambition of creating a government-wide cadre of career general managers with highly developed leadership skills has not been fulfilled.
Other contributors helped to frame the 1978 act, helped to implement it, or study it as scholars of public administration: Dwight Ink, Carolyn Ban, Joel D. Aberbach, Bert A. Rockman, Patricia W. Ingraham, Donald P. Moynihan, Hal G. Rainey, Ed Kellough, Barbara S. Romzek, Mark W. Huddleston, Chester A. Newland, and Hugh Heclo. Six former directors of the Office of Personnel Management commented on early versions of these chapters at a 1998 conference.
Book Description
The My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968 and the court martial of Lt. William Calley a year and a half later are among the bleakest episodes in American history and continue to provide a volatile focus for debates about the Vietnam War. Other books have exposed the facts surrounding the incident; Facing My Lai now examines its haunting legacy through a unique exchange of contemporary viewpoints.
This powerful book emerges from a stellar gathering of historians, military professionals, writers, mental health experts, and Vietnamese and American war veterans convened to memorialize the tragedy. The cast of prominent speakers included journalists Seymour Hersh and David Halberstam, novelist Tim O'Brien, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, military prosecutor William Eckhardt, and veterans Hugh Thompson and Ron Ridenhour--the two true heroes in the My Lai story. David Anderson's reflective recasting of their presentations creates an impassioned chorus of voices that demonstrates why this tragedy remains one of the key emblems of the American experience in Vietnam.
These authors address many of the troubling questions that still persist about My Lai. Why had it been identified as a Viet Cong stronghold? What orders were the troops actually given? Why didn't someone stop the slaughter? But these questions are asked again in the hope that they might lead to a better understanding of what My Lai means for us now.
As these authors show, our nation is still trying to come to grips with the bitter legacies of the Vietnam War. A grim window into the darker side of American history (like the massacre at Wounded Knee), My Lai reminds us of humanity's baffling capacity for attrocity within the crucible of war. Facing My Lai does not allow us to forget or hide from such horrors, but it also seeks to heal the deep wounds inflicted by the war. Its unflinching look at the past ultimately leads us away from darkness and towards a more enlightened understanding of a war that in many ways is not over yet.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
Customer Reviews:
mislead.......2000-07-14
I found the book to be a surprize i thought the book was for educational use only that should answer one reviewer question four hours in My Lai is a better reading book i feel
My Lai: A Failure of Command, NOT a Typical Event........1999-01-14
I served two full Infantry tours in Vietnam as a Rifle Company Commander, Battalion staff officer and MACV advisor. I am proud of the American soldiers who served with me, both under my command and otherwise. In my experience, there is no doubt that My Lai was an aberration. The men who committed the atrocities at My Lai were common criminals and murderers who should have been convicted and hanged. They were in no way acting like the vast majority of American soldiers in Vietnam. Most soldiers and marines went to Vietnam as ordered by proper military authority, performed our duty in very difficult -- and different -- ground combat, returned home and resumed productive lives. "Facing My Lai" rehashes the old leftist, anti-war themes of the Vietnam vet as a victim, haunted by the nasty things he did while there (like shooting down women and children at every opportunity), while suffering from the effects of PTSD and Agent Orange. That is exactly the image that most Vietnam vets have been trying to counteract ever since it was invented by the anti-war left in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am somewhat surprised that good people like Harry Summers and Hugh Thompson would be included with the likes of Jay Lifton, the anti-war leader who invented and perfected the concepts of Post-Vietnam Syndrome and PTSD, in an attempt to make Vietnam vets feel guilty about their service and to blame all their failings in life on their Vietnam experience.
If the reader really wants to know how most infantrymen -- and other military personnel -- performed in Vietnam and adjusted to life after their tour(s) there, I recommend two books: "Stolen Valor" by B.G. Burkett, and my book, "Platoon: Bravo Company." You owe it to those who actually fought the war to get it right!
Facing My Lai fails to address the root cause........1998-08-03
I don't know why, but I am not surpassed in reading FACING MY LAI, edited by David L. Anderson, that after 25 years not too many people, including the contributors understand why My Lai happened. Furthermore it is no surprise, that the poet and the novelist were the two contributors, who understood two fundamentals: The first is that each man is responsible for his own actions and the second is that amends must be made, if there is to be healing. Ridenhour still wants to blame the top brass and the system, as if the average American doesn't know that it is wrong to kill babies. Nowhere in the book does anyone look into the role of fundamental religions setting the stage for the massacre. After all the communists were atheists who were "the servants of Satan." I heard these sermons during the war, as did most Americans. Why was Thompson the hero, where were the others that could have stopped the massacre in the beginning? I venture to say that they were in! Canada or in U.S. prisons for refusing to serve. Racism, was another subject, which should have been discussed in depth. Neither was it discussed why we send Nazi criminals back to Europe for trial while we let these murderers walk free in the US, when they are wanted in Vietnam for war crimes?
In short the book fails to get at the root cause of the massacre. Most of the contributors want to pass the buck. On the 30 annual observation of the massacre, I was on my way to My Lai when I friend told me not to go there because they all died. He then arranged for me to go to a neighborhood in HoChiMinh City where many families from Quang Ngai had resettled after the war. I observed the anniversary with a family that had survived the war. They told me that a massacre of village was not common place during the war, but the shooting of farmers in their fields was common place.
If you are looking for the root causes of the massacre you will not find it in this book.
Average customer rating:
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Twenty Years After (II)
Manufacturer: Thomas Y. Crowell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Dumas, Alexandre
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ASIN: B000BP5O5U |
Average customer rating:
- The Cold, Hard, Facts of The War in Vietnam
|
Real Lessons of the Vietnam War: Reflections Twenty-Five Years After the Fall of Saigon
Manufacturer: Carolina Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0890896488 |
Book Description
Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, two prominent scholars, Moore and Turner (who debated in the 1960s), assembled a distinguished group of Vietnam experts at the University of Virginia to reexamine the conflict and search for its "real" lessons. This resulting volume includes contributions by senior diplomats, retired military officers, experts on Vietnamese Communism, and senior scholars of history, political science, and law.
Given the diversity of the participants, the general consensus that emerges will surprise and enlighten many readers. The book corrects various myths that continue to influence American thinking about Vietnam. The idea that the U.S. military and CIA were intentionally engaged in "war crimes," such as the assassination of political opponents of the South Vietnamese government in the Phoenix Program, is laid to rest; and military legal experts address the tragic realities of My Lai and measures taken to prevent reoccurrence.
It is popular today to say that Vietnam "could not have been won." The message emerging from this new study, on the contrary, is that despite some horrible blunders and incompetent political leadership at the highest levels, by 1973 the war had essentially been won. Partisan politics and mutual mistrust in Washington kept that message from reaching the right people, and a misunderstanding of public opinion prompted Congress to outlaw further U.S. military involvement—essentially snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Customer Reviews:
The Cold, Hard, Facts of The War in Vietnam.......2002-08-27
Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, The Center For National Security Law of the University of Virginia Law School hosted a seminar designed to determine the "real" lessons of the Vietnam War. In doing so they assembled a distinguished team of twenty-one scholars, each an acknowledged expert in his field. The results were then compiled and published in this work. The conclusions reached included, but were not limited to the following:
Vietnam was a small "hot-spot" in a global "cold war" It was important because the great powers of the day chose to contest it, if for no other reason.
Ho Chi Minh was a dedicated agent of international Communism, not a Vietnamese Nationalist fighting for his people.
While the "Peace Movement" greatly aided the Communist efforts, they did not lose the war. Our flawed, "no-win" strategy did.
American forces were not given a free license to rape, kill, pillage and burn at will. Soldiers and Marines were indicted and vigorously prosecuted for war crimes in Vietnam.
Our involvement in Vietnam WAS necessary. Had we meekly capitulated when the Russian bear growled, we could not have remained credible as an ally.
The war was NOT unwinnable. In effect we DID win. Only Congress' refusal to provide the support promised our allies caused South Vietnam's capitulation and the subsequent blood bath that left millions dead.
The authors authenticate their findings with well-researched data. These facts will be contested by some and ridiculed by others. However, mere hype cannot refute their research. Facts are facts. The carefully prepared and skillfully perpetuated myths by some in government and many in the media cannot change them although they can be fully expected to try.
In the preface, editors Moore and Turner say that, "Obviously, this small volume is not intended to be the final word on the Vietnam War." Inevitably, more facts will emerge from such diverse places as Hanoi, Washington, Moscow and/or Beijing. However, until more facts emerge, this work is the most complete review of the conflict available. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the war for that reason.
Since Vietnam the world situation has changed completely. State sponsored terrorism has replaced Communism as our major threat. Knowing when and how to use force are more critical today than ever. Being too eager and too reluctant to use force when necessary are equal evils. This work provides valuable insights on the when and how of using force. It is an invaluable tool for today's national security planners for that reason.
I was privileged to attend the Conference that inspired this work and eagerly awaited publication of this book for two years. It was well worth the wait. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well.
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