The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"

The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"
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The tragedy of the children of Sudan

Learning about Sudan? START HERE

OUTSTANDING BOOK

A good term paper

An accurate, heartfelt and well-written account

The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"
Joan Hecht
Manufacturer: Allswell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Sudan | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
North Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0976387506
Release Date: 2005-05-30

Book Description

Imagine you're a young boy—maybe as young as three or four—separated from your family by civil war, traversing deserts and mountains with little food or water, no medical care, and no protection from wild animals. Imagine watching hundreds of boys perish around you from hunger, disease, or attacks by enemy soldiers and wild animals. To most of us, it is unimaginable, but this was reality for "The Lost Boys of Sudan," thousands of young boys who were separated from their families and forced to walk approximately 1,000 miles to reach safe refuge from war and certain death.

For the first time, this award winning book offers readers a chronological timeline of the epic journey taken by these children, beginning in their rural villages of Southern Sudan and ending with their arrival as young men to the United States. Narrated through the voice of Joan Hecht, one of their American mentors, whom they lovingly call "mom" or "Mama Joan;" "The Journey of the Lost Boys" is a compelling story of courage, faith and the sheer determination to survive by a group of young orphaned boys. Because of Joan Hecht's personal relationship with them, she is able to portray their story in a way that most famous reporters and authors cannot. In addition to her extensive research of the political and historical events surrounding the long lasting civil war in Sudan, are the heart-rending personal stories and original drawings of the boys themselves. A must read for anyone interested in the the true story of the Lost Boys of Sudan!

Customer Reviews:

The tragedy of the children of Sudan.......2007-03-31

I can only summarize my comment about this book in a few words. The author Joan Hecht did a wonderful task in narrating the frightening and heartbreaking experience of the thousands of lost boys of the Sudan,Africa's largest country. Their dangerous journey involving thousands of miles in a very hostile landscape is incredible. The author's very kind heart,sincere consideration and admiration for these children is worth more than all the gold of the world. Very highly recommended for young and old.

Learning about Sudan? START HERE.......2006-10-15

This is the book you need to read if you are unfamiliar with the background of the issues in Sudan, the Lost Boys, and the issues faced by refugees who come to America. Ms. Hecht might not be an " academic", but she is the person with an enormous amount of first hand information on these subjects, and she breaks it down into managable pieces. Even if you are knowledgable on these subjects, this book is still useful as a clarifying tool. Ms. Hecht is also very committed, and that comes through on every page.

OUTSTANDING BOOK .......2006-08-11

Readers of this book will be touched by the stories of these incredible young men, who, at an early age, were separated from their parents and families. The atrocities witnessed by the boys are unspeakable. The author has provided the readers with stories that make those who have lived a life without fear take a new appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States.

A good term paper.......2006-07-26

The endless conflict in Sudan is another calamity that the press should have been bombarding us with daily for years. A tragedy of such dimensions should torment our collective conscience. This is exactly why it deserves a better telling than Ms. Hecht is able to offer us. The writing is amateurish and the text cries out for the editing it appears not to have been subjected to. Easy streamlining and the correction of some grammatical errors would make the book more readable and more powerful. Ms. Hecht's devotion to the cause of the Lost Boys is clearly sincere and praiseworthy, however, and she does deserve thanks for contributing to making us aware of the atrocities that go on in the world while we turn the other way.

An accurate, heartfelt and well-written account.......2006-06-28

Joan Hecht's "Journey" is in this reviewer's opinion the most interesting and accurate book available on the topic of the Lost Boys. As a former foster father to one of the lost boys and a fellow author and researcher, I recommend the book without hesitation. It presents an extraordinarily complicated situation in a manner that is comprehensible, fascinating and accurate. It gives the reader a true sense of the horror, courage and hope that has gripped a generation of young Sudanese men.

For its rare photos, clear and organized presentation and sincere prose, I highly recommend this informative and inspiring book and thank the author for her outstanding efforts.

Shadows of War: A German Soldier's Lost Photographs of World War II

Average customer rating:

Not Worth the Price
An "Art Book"
The perspective, not the politics, are what this book is about
Expression "Banality of evil"
Rare Photographs Telling an Unusual Story

Shadows of War: A German Soldier's Lost Photographs of World War II
Petra Bopp , Willi Rose , and Thomas Eller
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0810955903

Book Description

Shadows of War presents an astonishing collection of previously unpublished, unknown photographs of life at the front lines in the German war machine during World War II, taken by a common foot soldier. The work of a gifted amateur, Willi Rose's images present a powerful vision of a largely suppressed aspect of the war. These fractured glimpses of the world at war-from quotidian tasks and moments of leisure to scenes of death and destruction-reveal one man's experience of the epic flow of history.

A miller in the years before World War II, Rose was drafted into the German army in October 1939 and served as a motorbike messenger on the front, first in France and then in Russia. He was wounded twice and was later captured by the Polish army, eventually returning home in June 1946. Throughout his military service, Rose sent home photographs that he took of the action, mostly along the Eastern Front. Discovered by his widow after his death, these images form a unique photographic document of one soldier's war. AUTHOR BIO: Thomas Eller, an artist based in Berlin, is Willi Rose's great-nephew. Petra Bopp is an art historian and a professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Customer Reviews:

Not Worth the Price.......2007-03-01

This is to agree with a previous reviewer, regarding the poor value of this book for anyone who cares about the correctness of the information presented. The impression I got from this book was that whoever put this together wanted a quick way to bank on the recent surge in interest in everything WW2. The photos here are in most part minimally presented, but still allowing in numerous mistakes.

If you don't pay the list price you may still feel ok about it, since the photos are indeed not seen before.

An "Art Book".......2006-12-10

This is ultimately a disappointing collection, in part because the editors thought they were putting together a photographic art book rather than an historical photo archive. Some of the photos would be of historical or technical interest had they been reproduced close to the full size of the page. Instead, we have a pretentious, "minimalist" layout with tiny photos lost in the middle of huge white spaces (perhaps suggesting a gallery wall or some such nonsense). Captions contain little contextual information, and several are wrong in identifying the equipment shown. As an historical document this volume has little to offer. Even as a coffee table art book, it is bland, because these are for the most part just mediocre snapshots.

The perspective, not the politics, are what this book is about.......2006-09-19

As remarked by others, the "banality of evil" is a pretty feeble description of Shadows of War. If nothing else, any "banality" of this volume illustrates two essential points. The first point is the axiom that war is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Whatever one might think, even German soldiers spent a fair amount of time away from combat, resting, playing, or just looking around at the world. Shadows of War illustrates this side of the enemy's war that we seldom see illustrated so vividly. Indeed, as a combat soldier and not a propaganda photographer, Rose was hardly in a place to put down his rifle to take politically meaningful photos of combat. The second point is that the term "evil" is not terribly useful when describing an entire nationality. Were the German people as a whole irredeemably evil? Is every German soldier, willing volunteer and unwilling draftee alike, a war criminal? Indeed, can one be involved either personally or institutionally in the commission of evil while still maintaining one's essential humanity? Shadows of War is a useful testament to the idea that humans are humans regardless of what uniforms they happen to be wearing. Rose's photographs are his own perceptions of the world around him, nothing more and nothing less. They illustrate the things that caught his eye, the things that he found to be of interest or of artistic merit, and the things that he wanted to remember. While many of these photographs are indeed visually exciting, Rose can hardly be held responsible for not making any larger commentary of the evil of his regime or the evil of his crimes with his photographs.

Where Shadows of War comes up short in my own mind is the lack of context for the photos. This is an "art" book rather than a historical document. Therefore, the photos stand or fall on their own artistic merit and are not ordered to tell any particular story. Those readers with a more historic interest in these photos might find themselves wishing for something more than the extremely sparse captions and historical notes on Rose's regiment. All told, though, Shadows of War is well worth its very reasonable price. It shows the all too easy to forget human side to the people who lived through World War II from a perspective that many of us have not seen before in such detail.

Expression "Banality of evil" .......2006-01-05

Anyone that uses Hannah Arendt's tired old clique on the "banality of evil" should be stoned to death! I think it is an expression easily used by the uneducated to sound intelligent or philisophical about the subject of Germans or the Nazis during the second world war of which they know little or nothing!

Rare Photographs Telling an Unusual Story.......2005-02-09

There are hundreds of books on World War II. This one is unique. Willi Rose was drafted into the German Army in 1939 and served as a motorcycle messenger until captured in Poland in 1945. Throughout his service he carried a camera and took some 500 photographs from France to Russia. These are photos of ordinary German soldiers going about doing ordinary things eating, playing cards, talking. There is a almost nothing of war in the pictures, except of course the uniforms and equipment.

This book presents a view of the war seldom seen, and in my memory, never of the German side. You just don't think of the German soldier as a man like the rest of us. It changes your whole view of history.

The Dead of Winter: How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, and Forensic Scientists Solved the Mystery of the Bulge's Lost Soldiers

Average customer rating:

Dead of Winter
Aftermath Of Battle
Exceptional!
Bill Warnock's Magnum Opus
Emotionalism At It's Purest Level

The Dead of Winter: How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, and Forensic Scientists Solved the Mystery of the Bulge's Lost Soldiers
Bill Warnock
Manufacturer: Chamberlain Bros.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Belgium | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1596090855

Book Description

Honor can never be left behind.

Sixty years ago, as Allied forces pushed across Europe, the Nazis launched a desperate, overwhelming attack that caught them unprepared, setting off what would become known as one of the bloodiest, most brutal battles in human history: the Battle of the Bulge. Then, more than half a century after the last shots of World War II were fired, a team of forensic scientists and relic hunters enlisted the aid of several veterans of the Bulge for one last mission: to return to the battle site and recover the lost remains of their brothers-in-arms, to ensure they would be buried with all the honors they deserve. Written by a member of the expedition, this is a story of loyalty and the bonds of war, a compelling scientific mystery, and a long-awaited homecoming for families who waited decades for the return of their loved ones. Also included is a CD/DVD with additional images from the expedition, as well as other supplemental materials.

CD-ROM INCLUDES:

Slideshow image collection of the search for missing soldiers from the Battle of the Bulge, including recovered artifacts, wartime photos, and profiles of the missing soldiers.

Customer Reviews:

Dead of Winter.......2007-10-10

Bill:
Great book and a great testament to the members of the greatest generation who gave all during the battle of the bulge. A easy read and very informative. Known Bill since we were both kids but it has been a long time since I seen him. Your tireless pursuit of closure to the families of the MIAs from the Bulge is commendable. Your portrayel of the compassion that many locals still feel for for the American GI in Europe is very neat. Keep it up and write another book.

Aftermath Of Battle.......2007-03-14

"The Dead Of Winter" by Bill Warnock, Subtitled: "How Battlefield Investigators, WWII Veterans, And Forensic Scientists Solved The Mystery Of The Bulge's Lost Soldiers". Chamberlain Bros. Penguin books, New York, 2005.

The subtitle sums up the entire book. Bill Warnock, however, has written a book that combines History with story-telling, with the science of forensics, with the lives of Americans and Belgians, and with the honor of being World War II veterans who had fought and bled in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. The book is excellent.

While serving with the United States Air Force, the author opts for an assignment in a small corner of Europe, near some of the more important battlefields of the Second World War. His life has not been the same since. His initial curiosity becomes what appears to be a life-long obsession, as Warnock and his Belgian friends search for the remains of those soldiers long since dead on the battlefield. But, it is not enough just to find the remains, Mr. Warnock follows through with modern techniques of identification of the deceased, and documents the entire process in an interesting and understandable fashion. While working on each individual solider, Warnock develops a story-book tale of how that individual lived prior to the war, how he entered the U.S. Army, and the probable cause of his death. It is surprising to me how many of the subjects of this book were members of ASTP, Army specialized Training Program. Further, I was surprised to see that my alma mater, Manhattan College (see page 238) had ASTP training. (Manhattan College is in the Bronx.)

Warnock's book is enjoyable and well documented. For example, Appendix B, entitled, "U.S. Army Dog Tags In world War II", had me pulling out my Navy dog tag (now fifty years old) for comparison. The dog tag had "...corners rounded and edges smooth" (page 286), with blood type and religion and service number, as in the appendix, but, in the left corner, mine had the term, "USN".

One little issue: page 118 had "... Camp Myles Standish near Taunton, Massachusetts." Myles Standish is about 30 miles, or so, from Taunton. The camp, now Myles Standish State Forest, IS located in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, best known, I would think, for being the place where the Pilgrims came ashore in 1620.

Exceptional!.......2006-09-24

This brilliantly written story follows the efforts of a group of people who dedicated themselves to locating the lost remains of the men who served with the 99th Infantry Division at the Battle of the bulge. THE DEAD OF WINTER begins with an introduction of two Belgian artifact hunters, Jean-Louis Seel and Jean-Philippe Speder who, in 1988, stumbled upon the remains and dog tags of an American soldier.

Readers will gain a true respect for the difficulty involved in researching, reconstructing and execution of actual artifact hunting undertaken by the dedicate group to find and identify the remains of American soldiers lost for half a century. For each of the soldiers that the team finds, Warnock gives the reader a detailed synopsis of his life (including excellent pictures of the soldiers and their surviving family members). Next he recreates how the soldier died on the battlefield and how he paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country. It is certainly a fitting tribute to these men and their accomplishments.

The author also gives an excellent overview of the contributions of the 99th Infantry to the Battle of the Bulge. The overview is supported by numerous first hand accounts. This covers the Bulge from the tactical, logistical and personal levels. Thanks to Warnock and his teams efforts, many lost members of the 99th Infantry have found their rightful place and final tribute.

The book is exceptionally well written and will be greatly appreciated by history lovers.

Bill Warnock's Magnum Opus.......2006-07-26

Bill Warnock has written a spectacularly detailed and wonderfully crafted tale of which he is a main protagonist -- a selfless American who has dedicated the last 20 or more years of his life to reuniting the dead heroes of World War II with their families. I must admit to the favoritism I feel toward Bill because he and I met on the Ardennes battlefield back in the early 1980s while I was researching my first book, The Key to the Bulge. Many of the people in this great work are close friends of mine. Even with this foreknowledge, I cannot help but stand in awe of Bill's skillfully written and masterfully researched chronicle of his team's efforts to discover and return to their homes the lost heroes of the Battle of the Bulge. This book is more than a simple tale of how a group of dedicated Americans and Belgians sought the final resting places of those men who went missing during the Bulge. Instead, it is a tale of devotion, Herculean persistance, and selfless dedication. The only reward that Bill and his team sought for their actions was the satisfaction of recovering the remains of our dead heroes and giving closure to families whose pain remained unhealed for 50 or more years. This book is a gem and a lasting testimony to those who truly appreciate the sacrifice of America's fighting men and women. Thanks, Bill. Well done.

Emotionalism At It's Purest Level.......2006-05-05

When I first started reading The Dead Of Winter I thought it would be another one of those books where there would be more boring facts and figures than personal, intimate, and emotional first hand accounts of infantrymen doing all they could do to survive the first few days of The Battle Of The Bulge. Bill Warnock, has done an outstanding job of resurrecting the fate of several infantrymen of the 99th Infantry who were killed and left behind after their positions in Belgium were overrun by the German jauggernaut of 16 December 1944. I became intimately attached to David Read, Mike Larson, Ewing Fidler, 2nd Lt Holloway, Sgt Frederick Zimmerman, and many of the others who died and were left behind to be buried in lonesome graves on the battlefield of Belgium and the Ardennes Forest. Thanks to the perserverance, tanacity, and cooperation of Carl Seel, Mr. Speider, Hans Honen, Ed Whithead, Mr. Swanson, and many others, these lost souls were found and brought home to their families, or given descent burials alongside their comrades who fought and died on the battlefields of World War II. Mr. Seel, and Mr. Speider who initially started this episode are the real heroes here too, because, as honest, caring, and loving men who cared about the American soldiers who liberated their country from the Nazi's, they took it upon themselves to try to locate, identify, and bring attention to these men who had died so gallently, but had to be left behind in the heat of battle. This is an awesome book, very well written, exactingly documented and recorded with all the facts of the men who were killed in action, and is well worth reading. I strongly urge everyone who loves freedom, history, and this great country to read this book. The men who were lost back in 1944, and the families they left behind, is a poignant reminder of just how fragile and important freedom is.

Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War

Average customer rating:

Good Anecdotal Information, but Limited in Scope
A deeper understanding about the experience of child soldiers
Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers go to war

Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War
Jimmie Briggs
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0465007988

Book Description

For readers of Philip Gourevitch, David Rieff, and Samantha Power, a sober, vitally important book on the global tragedy of child soldiers

Ida, a member of Sri Lanka's Female Tamil Tigers, fought with one of the longest-surviving and successful guerilla movements in the world. She is sixteen. Francois, a fourteen-year-old Rwandan child of mixed ethnicity, was forced by Hutu militiamen to hack to death his sister's Tutsi children.

More than 250,000 children have fought in three dozen conflicts around the world, but growing exploitation of children in war is staggering and little known. From the "little bees" of Colombia to the "baby brigades" of Sri Lanka, the subject of child soldiers is changing the face of terrorism. For the last seven years, Jimmie Briggs has been talking to, writing about, and researching the plight of these young combatants. The horrific stories of these children, dramatically told in their own voices, reveal the devastating consequences of this global tragedy. Cogent, passionate, impeccably researched, and compellingly told, Innocents Lost is the fullest, most personal and powerful examination yet of the lives of child soldiers.

Customer Reviews:

Good Anecdotal Information, but Limited in Scope.......2006-06-09

Although children have never been fully excluded from acts of war, the rates of child participation in armed struggle has increased dramatically in the past decades. As such, a growing literature is emerging on the subject and drawing light to a growing global problem. Riggs work spans the developing world in the search of personal accounts of children at war.

The author speaks personally with children who participated in war, their families, and others affected by armed conflict. The book spans the globe, ranging in location from West Africa to South Asia, and examining the present conflict in Afghanistan. With each location the reader is given an eye witness account of the brutality of child conscription. All though much of work is based on anecdotal information, the book contributes significantly to the cannon. The case studies provide food for thought regarding a variety of geographical regions and provide significant background to a host of conflicts employing child soldiers.

The limitations of the book mainly arise from the limited scope of the work. Riggs avoids an examination of the unique socio-economic circumstances that accompany many of the conflicts employing child soldiers, or truly addressing the long-term repercussions for a nation embroiled in conflict with child soldiers. In addition, it would be helpful if Riggs would have examined in greater depth the many development programs addressing children at war. Nevertheless, Riggs provides an enlightening and readable book and will not disappoint those attempting to better understand the emerging problem of children at war.

A deeper understanding about the experience of child soldiers.......2006-04-06

Jimmie Briggs, the author of this book details with great compassion and strong writing the personal accounts of children who are recruited as child soldiers. His telling of their stories deepens your understanding and connection with this growing humanitarian issue. As you read the book you cannot forgot the personal stories of the children that Jimmie meets. These children linger in your mind and heart.

The book also gives you a good idea of what is being done to re-habilitate and re-orient children who have been soldiers by community based and faith based groups and others who are addressing the larger human rights issue.

I think this book will appeal to anyone who is interested in children's rights, international health and human rights. It is an engrossing and interesting read.

Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers go to war.......2006-02-19

One of the most alarming trends in modern armed conflicts is the practice of using children as soldiers. These children are deployed both by government forces and guerilla groups. Inspite of several international initiatives to stop the child soldiers, including the United Nations practice of 'naming and shaming' the parties engaged in this practice, children continue to be used as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world.
Jimmie Briggs attempts to deepen our understanding of this terrible phenomenon by using the personal stories of some of the children in these conflicts. The book begins with the story of Francois Minani, a 16-year-old Rwandan son of a Tutsi mother and Hutu father who was forced by Hutu militiamen to kill his Tutsi nephews in other to prove his allegiance to the Hutu tribe. The story of clementine and her four brothers and sisters addresses the plight of " unaccompanied children" ie. those under eighteen without parental or adult member custody.

The book discusses the problem of child soldiers in the conflicts in Colombia which have been going on for a long time. According to the author, the conflict in Colombia is not solely about drugs but also about class, economics and power. Cocaine is merely the ugly means for perpetuating an unseemingly unwinnable war. Consequently, children have been the main casualties both as victims of violence and as perpetrators of it. Jimmie Briggs also used the conflicts in Sri Lanka, Uganda and Afghanistan to show that the methods used by these armed groups to recruit children are the same all over the world.

The great strength of the book lies in the way the children's stories are used to illustrate the problem of child soldiers: how they are recruited- including voluntary recruitment, abduction, coercion, indoctrination and physical threat- as well as their effect on the children. the author does not probe too deeply into the various International rules to stop Child soldiers and the role of the United Nations in implementing them. Instead he appears to let the children's stories expose the deficiencies in the system. And best of all, the stories are well researched, mesmerising and pretty short.

The book concludes with some recommendations. Such as curbing the flow of small arms and Light weapons to nations where children are at risk of being recruited, implementation of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Support for the International Criminal Court, the Protection of demobilized child soldiers and the sensitization of American forces to the personal and moral consequences of confronting children on the battlefield before and after deployment.

I went through a lot of emotions when I read the book. I was moved to tears at what the children went through, moved to anger at the perpetrators and later decided to do something about this tragedy by writing this review in other to give it the attention it deserves. The book is not too graphic but passionate and descriptive enough to put one there. I would recommend it to everybody particularly those interested in Child rights, Human rights and Humanitarian law.

Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior: A Personal Story of a Vietnam Veteran Who Lost his Legs but Found His Soul

Average customer rating:

A Story for Today's War Veterans
Good medicine
A Most Unique Vietnam Story And a Unique Soldier

Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior: A Personal Story of a Vietnam Veteran Who Lost his Legs but Found His Soul
Allen B. Clark
Manufacturer: Zenith Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0760331138

Book Description

It was early morning, June 17, 1967, and Dak To Special Forces camp in Vietnam was under attack. A mortar exploded, and West Point graduate Allen B. Clark Jr.’s life was changed forever. This is the story of how one soldier, so gravely injured that both of his legs were amputated, turned his grievous loss into a personal triumph. Clark describes his struggle through a year-long recovery and a severe bout of post traumatic stress disorder, so little understood at the time. He tells of earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University and finding employment as a personal financial assistant to Ross Perot, of moving on to public service and founding the Combat Faith Ministry, a lay ministry to veterans. Clark's story of growth and spiritual fulfillment wrested from his wartime tragedy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and is of special relevance in our day of so many soldiers returning wounded in body and spirit from Iraq.

Customer Reviews:

A Story for Today's War Veterans.......2007-06-03

Allen Clark's incredible autobiography is a story of service since he was a young boy in Texas. I feel a real afinity for Mr. Clark, since I also felt a "calling" to West Point at a young age. Mr. Clark volunteered for some of the most dangerous duty in Vietnam, when he could have continued in a relatively safe staff job in Saigon. And he suffered very much for answering what he felt was a call to hazardous duty that he had trained for his entire young life. Allen Clark went through his struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when physicians we just understanding it's implications. As many of our soldiers are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq severely injured both physically and mentally, Allen's story of perseverence and success over adversity, supported and guided by his religious faith, is equally important today. This should be required reading for every individual working at our VA and military hospitals, caring for this current generation of wounded veterans.

Good medicine.......2007-06-01

This heartfelt memoir provides unflinching historical and personal revelations. Its inspiring to read about this Viet Nam vet's patriotic calling to serve in that war. I was amazed by his youthful idealism and lack of cynicism. I liked the structure of the book which includes passages by key people in the author's story. The long and difficult medical recovery is not sugar coated and the toll it took on his loved ones is palpable. Hopefully other injured soldiers, and civilians as well, can get comfort when they read of his struggles and ultimate recovery, physically and spiritually. I felt that the spiritual component of his recovery is handled matter of factly but with great fervor and authenticity. I recommend this book without reservation.

A Most Unique Vietnam Story And a Unique Soldier.......2007-05-16

Actually the title of the book could easily have been "The Come-Back Kid". This remarkable man,Allen Clark,was down and out as a result of his injuries and extensive recuperation, but was able to defeat the deamons of dispair, depression, and Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome. His come-back was greater than could be expected. Through his love of Jesus Christ, and by dedicating his life to God, Allen has been able to live a remarkably sucessful life. Because of his personal experiences he is ideally suited for his special project. Allen devotes his energies to the special calling of helping others with problems such as he once had to transform themselves into happy,productive Christian men and women. I know this man. I knew him before his Vietnam injury and I know him now. His story is unique and worth reading. The organization and style of writing is very cleaver.

Average customer rating:

What does George Allen's team know?
Great book by Senator Webb
Brought Vietnam back to my mind
Almost perfect
Fascintaing look at Vietnam

Lost Soldiers
James Webb
Manufacturer: Orion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0752853740

Book Description

Brandon Condley survived five years of combat in Vietnam as a marine only to lose the woman he loved to an enemy assassin. Now he is back, and working to recover the remains of unknown American soldiers. On a routine mission, Condley finds a body that doesn't match its dog tags - a body that propels him into a vortex of violence and intrigue where past and present become one. As the mystery of the dead man unravels, a link is revealed to two notorious assassins, 'Salt and Pepper', who led a deadly Viet Cong ambush against Condley's own men. Galvanized by a fresh trail to these long-lost deserters, Condley has finally found a purpose: under the auspices of his government job, he is going to hunt down the traitors. On his own, he is going to kill them. Condley's hunt cannot be kept secret from his former enemies, or his friends. And in the shadows that linger from Vietnam's long season of darkness and terror, he has no way of knowing which side is more dangerous.

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Once in a great while there comes a novel of such emotional impact and acute insight that it forever changes the way a reader sees a nation or an era. Writing with an unerring sense of suspense and of history experienced firsthand, James Webb takes us on a myth-shattering cultural odyssey deep into the heart of contemporary Vietnam, with a riveting thriller that tells a love story -- love for those who perished, for family and friends, and between a soldier and the land where he had always been ready to die.

Brandon Condley survived five years of combat as a U.S. Marine only to lose the woman he loved to an enemy assassin. Now he is back in Vietnam, working to recover the remains of unknown American soldiers. On a routine mission, Condley finds a body that doesn't match its dog tags -- a body that propels him into a vortex of violence and intrigue where past and present become one.

As the mystery of the dead man unravels, a link is revealed to two well-known killers: "Salt and Pepper," a pair of treasonous Americans who led a deadly Viet Cong ambush against Condley's own men. Galvanized by a fresh trail to these long-lost deserters, Condley has finally found a purpose: Under the auspices of his government job, he is going to hunt down the traitors. On his own, he is going to kill them.

Condley's hunt cannot be kept secret from his former enemies, or his friends. And in the shadows that linger from Vietnam's long season of darkness and terror, he has no way of knowing which side is more dangerous.

Surrounding him is an unforgettable cast of characters: Dzung, Condley's closest friend, a South Vietnamese war hero who might have led his country if his side had won the war, now reduced to driving a cyclo as his family starves in Saigon's District Four. Colonel Pham, a battle-hardened Viet Cong soldier who lost three children to American bombs. Manh, a cutthroat Interior Ministry official who blackmails Dzung into a mission of murder. The Russian soldier Anatolie Petrushinsky, who left his soul in Vietnam as his empire collapsed around him. And the beautiful Van, Colonel Pham's daughter, who spurns the scars of war as she pursues her dreams of freedom.

As Condley stalks his elusive prey across old battlefields and throughout Eurasia, returning always to the brooding streets of Saigon, his mission -- and the odds of his surviving it -- grow more precarious with each step he takes toward the truth.

Lost Soldiers captures the Vietnam of past and present -- its beauty and squalor, its politics and people. Propelled by a page-turning mystery, shot through with adventure and intrigue, it irrevocably transforms our view of that haunted land and brings us as complete an understanding as we will ever have of what happened after the war -- and why. No writer today is more qualified to take us into that world than James Webb.

"Webb's cultural and political portrayal of Vietnam 25 years after the war's end is delivered with such bold strokes and magical detail. . . . This is a highly personal and empathetic look at today's Vietnam. . . . This detailed, lovingly drawn portrait of Vietnam reveals a sad, tortured country that has never recovered from the horrifying events of a quarter-century ago."
   PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"James Webb's new novel paints a portrait of a modern Vietnam charged with hopes for the future but haunted by the ghosts of its war-torn past. It captures well the lingering scars of the war, and exposes the tension between the dynamism of a new generation and the invisible bondage of an older generation for whom wartime allegiances, and animosities, are rendered no less vivid by the passage of time. A novel of revenge and redemption that tells us much about both where Vietnam is headed and where it has been."
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Customer Reviews:

What does George Allen's team know?.......2006-11-30

During the mid-term elections, Republican George Allen's campaign attacked Jim Webb for being "insensitive to women" and cited "Lost Soldiers" as evidence. I ordered the title the same day from Amazon. I read it cover-to-cover because it was a first rate page-turner. By 21st century standards, the sex was tame. The protagonist's code for female relations was traditional, if not old-fashioned. Perhaps the Allen wonks have not read enough books to know the difference between standard attitudes toward us women and those over-the-top. Jim Webb defeated George Allen by a comfortable margin for Virginia's junior seat in the U.S. Senate. Allen and his friends ought to use their newly found leisure to do some reading.

Great book by Senator Webb.......2006-11-14

"Lost Soldiers" is top-notch James Webb, equal in stature to his great "Fields of Fire". Find out for yourself what the election controversy was all about regarding Webb's graphic fiction. Read "Lost Soldiers."

Brought Vietnam back to my mind.......2005-06-16

I loved Lost Soldiers. I haven't read James Webb since Fields of Fire and found that he hasn't lost his magic touch.

I'm a Vietnam vet with service as a military policeman in Saigon from 1969 through 1970. I found Webb's description of the city, its people and their customs to be right on the mark. It even made me want to go back, but I'm sure if I just sit for a while the feeling will pass.

Good story and fantastic descriptions of a country and a city that still has a salient place in this veteran's mind.

Loren W. Christensen, author of Warriors and co-author of On Combat with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

Almost perfect.......2005-03-14

This is a great book on many levels. Just a terrific story. I learned a lot about Vietnamese culture and what has become--sadly-- of the South Vietnamese since the war. Mr. Webb is particularly good at evoking sights and smells and describing personalities. In short, a real storyteller. What I didn't like was Brandon Condley's affair with Van, the daughter of the Colonel. To me she wasn't brave and striving for independence but silly, shallow and their sort of sleazy affair was an intrusion in an otherwise excellent read. But still, a very worthwhile book that I highly recommend. As other reviewers have commented it is far and away superior to Clancy, Griffith or any other writer of this genre.

Fascintaing look at Vietnam.......2004-06-24

This book was obviously written by someone with a keen knowledge and love of Vietnam. The characters are well described and seem real people.

Book Description

William C. Oates is best remembered as the Confederate officer defeated at Gettysburg's Little Round Top, losing a golden opportunity to turn the Union's flank and win the battle--and perhaps the war. Now, Glenn W. LaFantasie--bestselling author of Twilight at Little Round Top--has written a gripping biography of Oates, a narrative that reads like a novel and that reveals, for the first time, the compelling and sometimes astonishing dimensions of this remarkable individual. Oates was no moonlight-and-magnolias Southerner, as LaFantasie shows. Raised in the hard-scrabble Wiregrass Country of Alabama, he ran away from home as a teenager, roamed through Louisiana and Texas--where he took up card sharking--and finally returned to Alabama, to pull himself up by his bootstraps and become a respected attorney. During the war, he rose to the rank of colonel, served under Stonewall Jackson and Lee, was wounded six times and lost an arm. Returning home, he became wealthy investing in land and cotton, married a woman half his age, and launched a successful political career, becoming a seven-term congressman and ultimately governor. LaFantasie shows how, for Oates and many others of his generation, the war never really ended--he remained devoted to the Lost Cause, and spent the rest of his life waging the political battles of Reconstruction. Yet in one of the final acts of his political career, Oates championed the cause of suffrage for black Americans, delivering an impassioned speech at his state's constitutional convention. Here then is a richly evocative story of Southern life before, Fduring, and after the Civil War, based on first-time and exclusive access to family papers and never-before-seen archives.

Customer Reviews:

A Soldier in his Heart.......2007-05-23

On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate Lieutenant Colonel William C. Oates let his troops, the 15th Alabama, in the fateful and unsuccessful charge against Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine on the far left of the Union line at Little Round Top. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine have become American heroes, but far less attention is given to Oates. In "Gettysburg Requiem" (2006) Glenn Lafantasie offers the first full-scale biography of Oates (1833 -- 1910). It is an intruiguing picture of a man and his times and of the changing South after the Civil War. LaFantasie is a professor of Civil War history and Director fo the Center for the Civil War in the West at Western Kentucky University. He is the author of "Twilight at Little Round Top", a book which focuses on the stuggle for this famous hill on the second day of Gettysburg.

Oates lived a long and eventful life. He was raised in poverty. In his mid-teens, he fled Alabama to avoid prosecution for incidents resulting from what would become his lifelong propensity to violence. For several years, he lived the life of a wanderer in Texas and Louisiana. Oates returned to Alabama, disciplined himself, and became a successful attorney. An ardent Confederate, he raised a company, served with Stonewall Jackson, and with Lee, and participated in many important battles of the Civil War. He was wounded six times and ultimately lost his right arm. After the Civil War, Oates returned to Abbeyville, Alabama where he became wealthy through his law practice and land speculations. He served seven terms in the United States House of Representatives and one term as the Governor of Alabama. Oates was named a Brigadier General in the Spanish-American War, but he never saw combat in that conflict. In 1905, Oates published a book on which he had worked for years, "The War between the Union and the Confederacy and its Lost Opportunities."

Lafantasie gives a full picture of Oates's career, and he describes Oates's character as well. Throughout his life, Oates was courageous, but he remained prone to violence. After losing his right arm late in the war, Oates fathered a child with a young African American woman who was his servant and was nursing him back to health. Later, Oates fathered another illigitimate child with an adolescent 14 years of age. At the age of 48, Oates married a young woman, "T" who was 19. The marriage was lasting (over 28 years) and Oates loved his family and supported the education of his children, including the two illigitimate sons, through college, graduate school, and successful careers. According to LaFantasie, Oates' life was driven by a desire to have power over others. He describes Oates as racist, sexist, and xenophobic. Yet he recognizes many fine qualities in his subject. In 1901, Oates acted courageously at the Alabama Constitutional Convention where he was in a distinct minority in opposing changes which led to the disenfranchismement of Alabama's black citizens.

The best parts of this book are those which describe Oates's early rootless days of wandering in Texas and those which describe Oates's career in the Confederate Army. Lafantasie has a close, detailed knowledge of the fighting for Little Round Top. By focusing on Oates' role in the struggle, Lafantasie made the battle, and the combat between the 15th Alabama and the 20th Maine clearer to me than many accounts which try to discuss the totality of the action. Lafantasie convincingly shows that the Battle for Little Round Top was the pivotal event of Oates's life. Oates's younger brother, John, was fatally wounded in the fight for Little Round Top. John had been ill, and Oates tried to keep him out of the combat, but John insisted on moving forward. Oates never forgave himself. Many soldiers close to Oates died on the hill. Oates relived his brother's death, the terrible combat, and the failure to take Little Round Top many times during the ensuing 46 years of his life. He tried, unsuccessfully, to get a monument to the 15th Alabama at the point of their closest penetration of the Union position and he corresponded with his one-time foe, Joshua Chamberlain.

Lafantasie also gives a good picture of the changes in the South following the Civil War as mirrored in Oates's long life and in his career as Congressman and governor. Oates became a proponent of the "Lost Cause" school of the Civil War, which romanticized the Old South and blamed the defeat of the Confederacy solely on the Union's superiority in numbers and material. Much in Oates life suggests he remained an unreconstructed Confederate to the end. But he did have moments, especially at the 1901 convention, that show he was finding his way to a different, broader view.

It is good to have a biography of Oates. Lafantasie's study is thorough and well-documented. In places it is also polemical, insufficiently historical, and psychologistic, as Lafantasie criticizes sexist attitudes in the South, in particular, and is overly harsh in his speculations on the reasons underlying Oates' attraction to young women. Lafantasie also at times adopts the tone of a historical novel more than that of a history as he tries to read Oates's thoughts and mind in the absence of hard evidence. With these qualifications, I enjoyed and learned something about Oates, the Civil War and the post-Civil War South from reading this book. Readers with a deep interest in the Battle of Gettysburg or in the South after the Civil War will benefit from Lafantasie's study.

Robin Friedman

He fought for more than the South.......2006-11-28

Two men who have had a very significant impact on the Civil War as we know it today lived a century after it ended. Neither was a soldier; neither was a professional historian. Michael Shaara was a novelist. Ken Burns is a documentary filmmaker. As evidence of their influence, just take a look at that standard reference, Mark M. Boatner's Civil War Dictionary, first published in 1959. Look there to see what you can find out about William C. Oates, the colonel of the 15th Alabama who led the attack against the 20th Maine on Little Round Top. What will you find? Nothing. Oates isn't in the book. Now, however, nearly fifty years after Boatner compiled his dictionary, Oates is a very well known character to anyone who has read Shaara's book or seen Burns's Civil War series.
This past summer the first full-length biography of Oates appeared, more than 400 pages about a man who never actually attained the rank of colonel, a man who was replaced as commander of the 15th Alabama after leading it for nearly two years, a man who fifty years ago did not warrant a footnote in one of the Civil War's standard reference works. So, does he warrant being the subject of a full-blown biography?
You bet. Glenn W. Fantasie has done a terrific job of telling Oates's tale, and of using him as a tool to delve into the greater issues that filled Oates's own life and times. Oates's path through life was one that easily lends itself to the telling of a great story. He began as a hot-tempered brawler who frequented the small towns of pre-war Texas. He ended as a Southern politician who could actually entertain, and fight for, the idea of giving black men the vote. In between he raised a company to fight for the Confederacy, was brave to a fault (or so his men thought), lost an arm at Petersburg, served seven terms in Congress fighting against railroad land grants and for free silver, and one term as the governor of Alabama.
As the title suggests, the cause of the Confederacy was not his only "lost cause," and it is by laying those others before us that Professor LaFantasie makes this biography so much more than just another biography about a Civil War soldier whose main attraction to an author is that he has not been written about before. Oates was a fascinating character. His constant desire to lead from the front made him a prominent figure throughout the times in which he lived. This fine biography does him the justice denied him in times past.

"A Truant Disposition".......2006-11-04

William C. Oates, the subject of Glenn LaFantassie's "Gettysburg Requiem" is a bundle of contradictions: born poor, died wealthy; apparently racist, secretly intimate with his black servant; a respected attorney and newspaper publisher but shot and killed a man; wounded six times in battle but rose no higher in rank than lieutenant colonel; saw Lincoln's election as a danger to the South, lamented Lincoln's assassination.

LaFantasie's research reveals a Confederate hero whose life was characterized by anger, violence, guilt,inconsistencies, weaknesses, and relentless struggle for success. Oates may well be described as one of those souls who can resist anything but temptation.

The book's bibliography is a compendium of excellent Civil War
sources, the research seems to be as complete as anyone could compile, and the presentation is as clear and easy to follow as the subject matter will allow.

Those who have climbed Little Round Top at Gettysburg, who are fascinated with the battle between the 20th Maine and the 15th Alabama, who want to know more about the post-war conflicts between General Joshua Chamberlain and "Colonel" Oates over the placement of monuments on the battlefield will find "Gettysburg Requiem" required reading.

Lost Soldiers: The French Army and Empire in Crisis, 1947-1962

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Lost Soldiers: The French Army and Empire in Crisis, 1947-1962
George Armstrong Kelly
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0262110148

Their Last Words: A Tribute to Soldiers Who Lost Their Lives in Iraq

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Many errors but a touching book
Touching Book
A Tribute of Sorts.
Great book, powerfully moving, but prepare yourself

Their Last Words: A Tribute to Soldiers Who Lost Their Lives in Iraq
George G. Sheldon
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Last Letters Home
Voices from the Front: Letters Home from America's Military Family
Last Letters Home - Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq
Faith of Our Sons: A Father's Wartime Diary
My War: Killing Time in Iraq

ASIN: 0425203859

Book Description

Over 1,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq since combat began in 2003. Their Last Words is a remarkable homage to the lives and deaths of some of the Americans who died in the war on terror. Family and friends share fond, revealing remembrances and photographs of the men and women who answered their nation's call - and made the ultimate sacrifice. But most memorable are the haunting last letters home in which the soldiers themselves tell not only of the hardships and loneliness of war, but of their pride and determination in serving their country, and of their undying devotion to those who'd given their lives its greatest joy and meaning - the loved ones they'd never see again.

George Sheldon, author of the Washington Post bestseller When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg, has created a remarkable testament preserving the final words of a generation of Americans who exemplify honor, duty, and love of country - and who have given their lives so that others might live in freedom.

Customer Reviews:

Many errors but a touching book.......2005-10-19

This book mirrors the one that HBO did on Last Letters Home. I have issues with him bringing Jessica Lynch up during the chapter about the 507th Soldier who was found dead a few days after the attack. He mentions her twice on the page and I feel that took away from the deceased Soldier's story. Also, the author should have had someone with military rank knowledge edit his book. The rank is Private First Class not Private, First Class which he writes all the time. Also there are several inconsistencies in dates which could drive a reader nuts. The last letter home was written 10 years before the Soldier died??? Or was written 6 days after the soldier died??? His editor needs to be fired!

Touching Book.......2005-06-09

This book is very touching. I honestly had to hold back my tears. This book is a quick read but worth it.

A Tribute of Sorts........2005-04-23

THEIR LAST WORDS is a collection of stories, letters, and emails constructed together as a tribute to some of the soldiers who have lost their lives fighting in Iraq. The lives of 14 different soldiers are told in this book. The soldiers profiled all lived a variety of lives: some were men, some were women, some were white, some black, some were young, some were about ready to retire, some were in support of the war in Iraq, some were opposed to it. However, each and everyone of them shared a love for their country and fought and served bravely because despite their differences, they knew that what they were fighting for was something bigger than themselves. Each section of the book includes at least one personal email or letter written by each soldier. Some of these were their last pieces of correspondence before being killed. I got choked up a couple times while reading this book and I feel it really captures the essence of what each of these individuals sacrificed to protect. Reading this helped make the war in Iraq more personal for me.

Great book, powerfully moving, but prepare yourself.......2005-03-19

As the wife of a Marine who is "over there", I have become obsessed with reading books about the Marine Corps, the Iraq conflict, and books like this one, windows into the lives of soldiers and Marines who have lost their lives. Every single letter in this book made me cry, and not just because they hit close to home, but because of what these men and women gave up to do their duty, and protect the men and women fighting alongside them. My heart broke for every grieving family, and this book and others like it are neccessary, especially for those who do not have a loved one serving, if only for such people to understand the true cost of this and any war.

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The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers
"It is a myth we prove ourselves in war, he thinks: we test ourselves in silence."
The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers

The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers
Delia Falconer
Manufacturer: Soft Skull Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Service of Clouds
Little Big Horn 1876: Custer's Last Stand (Campaign)
Gallatin Canyon: Stories
The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
Christine Falls: A Novel

ASIN: 1933368179

Book Description

Georgia, 1898: On what may be the last day of his life, Captain Frederick Benteen — the man who saved Custer’s Seventh Cavalry from almost certain death at Little Bighorn — receives a letter from an ambitious boy offering to “restore” his reputation. For over 23 years Benteen has silently watched Custer’s legend grow. His General has been dead for more than 20 years, killed in action, considered a hero, while the public has never forgiven Benteen for surviving. Now, at last, he begins to put down some account of those two horrific days pinned down on a ridge. What follows is an exquisite eulogy for his fellow soldiers, both alive and dead. Funny, moving, rich in character and incident, this acclaimed novel avoids the bloody battle scenes and maudlin romance that characterize much Civil War-based fiction in favor of an unsparing and poetic story that explores what it means to be a soldier — then and now.

Customer Reviews:

The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers.......2006-07-18

What a glorious concept for a novel. Captain Frederick Benteen, despite his Civil War record and his service after June 25, 1876, is remembered in history as the man who failed to obey General George Armstrong Custer's last order. This distinction has made him a focal point of the continuing debate of what really happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn and keeps Benteen, a man who made no secret of the fact he detested his commanding officer, a major player in the controversy. Would Custer and his immediate command have survived if Benteen had answered the order to "Be quick. Bring packs."? Did Benteen, by ignoring his commander's plea and essentially taking command of the men under Major Marcus Reno, save the rest of the Seventh Cavalry from meeting the same fate as Custer? Because of his central role in discussions of the battle, any new book concerning Benteen will be of interest to a great many historians and casual readers. Unfortunately, The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers will yield no insight. Granted, it is marketed as a novel, not a biography, but when that marketing plays upon the central character being a person from history, an expectation is generated that this work can only disappoint. Fans of "literary fiction" with its zealous embracing of all bodily fluids will count this book as beautifully written. Many readers will find it offensive and vulgar, bordering on adolescent. But readers hoping to find a glimpse of the fascinating personality Frederick Benteen must have been will be ill-served by this work of fiction.

"It is a myth we prove ourselves in war, he thinks: we test ourselves in silence.".......2006-05-10

More than twenty years after the end of the Civil War, Custer is a hero while Captain Frederick Benteen - the man who infamously saved the remnants of the Seventh Cavalry at Little Bighorn - has never been forgiven for presumably disobeying orders and thereby surviving. Now Benteen receives a letter from an ambitious youth offering to restore his reputation by telling the "true story" of what happened. As Benteen ponders the possibility one morning at home, he's drawn back into the past and an exploration of his life and self ... "He moves indirectly" are the first words of this novel. They physically describe the central character, Benteen, but they're also an apt announcement of Falconer's narrative choice. She follows the pattern of memory, moving in and out of her character's past in short fragments, exploring connections that might not seem initially obvious but which are, in the end, the only stuff of which our mental lives and identities are actually composed. This is one of those rare novels in which the author's poetic choices are entirely appropriate to the type of story she wants to tell. Indeed, this is a work of immense precision. The language is nothing less than exquisite; the novel is a collection of beautiful miniatures that keep you engrossed despite the absence of immediately discernable plot. I suspect, however, that this beautiful novel is destined to be ignored by Civil War scholars or dismissed with slight bemusement. But they'll miss out on something wonderful by holding it to a goal it doesn't set out to achieve: despite its reasonable adherence to historical facts (creative departures from which Falconer happily acknowledges), this isn't an attempt at biography or historical "truth" in any factual sense, whatever that might mean in these postmodern times. Falconer is more interested in exploring larger issues of memory, celebrity and identity, and uses the Civil War as a ready context. The point is entirely transportable to any mythologized conflict, or indeed to any sphere in which public myth eclipses and ultimately effaces the private lives and memories of actual human beings: "This is history too, he thinks, the weight of gathered thoughts, the cumulus of idle moments." My only reservation is on one aspect of style. Many of the short sections surprise, at their end, with an unexpected moment of violence, overt sexuality or scatological humour. The technique is wonderfully effective when used sparingly. However, by my count it's used more than 30 times in 140 pages - that tends to dilute its force.

The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers.......2006-02-16

Short, intense, incandescent, brooding, mysterious and brilliant. Falconer had given us a heavy meditation on the true value of life and mtyh, the enduring power of love and the equations that govern destiny. The story of Frederick W. Benteen, survior (peerhaps by proxy) of the Battle of Little Bighorn and his struggle to honour, in his own mind and to that of a public craving myth, the memory of those who died - both of the 7th Cavalry and the Indians whom they pursued and slaughtered is slow, at time lugubrious, but frequently leavened with a rough humour which contrasts with Falconer's flightly, elliptical and highly poetic story-telling - yet still it is perfectly rounded and timeless to read - ending where, and on the note which, it should

But this is more than story telling. Like the "Service of Clouds" this is a book you let wash over you, you let enchant you, you let transport you to the crepuscular dimness of the final corners of a obtuse and oblique man's life. This slim book is and is of a world unto itself.

Falconer is a wonderful, wonderful writer. "The Service of Clouds" is the best book I have read in the last ten years, and "The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers" is a worthy and powerful work which, even in the mighty shadow of her previous book, did not disappoint me. In fact, it filled me up.

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