Tom writes it as it was. No holds barred. I had many an experience of the supposedly allies(the arvn) running and leaving the Americans to fight alone. To all the helicopter pilots I take my hat off.If it hadn't been for them many more of our young men would have died over there. Roadrunner6 out

One of the battles will forever be a part of me. I was there and flew a huey into Laos many times. This book is most accurate! Black Widow 25

Tom Marshall has written about his experiences as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam with close attention to detail. His thoughts and feelings are very real about his fallen comrades. This book is an awesome tribute to them and their families. As a Vietnam Veteran, he has professionally told his story, and their stories need to be told and read. They are our best resource to the factual history of the VN war. Thank you Tom Marshall.

This is a great novel. Jimmie Butler can tell a story with great action and suspense, yet with precision and uncanny accuracy of detail. It could only be told this well by someone who was there, speaking from his own experience. I also was there, but only now have I gained a perspective of that bitter war over the Ho Chi Minh trail I never realized through all these ensuing years. I wish to have had this insight during my combat tour; I would have been a better FAC. Great job, Colonel! Your description of the NVA perspective is fascinating.

This is a great book full of interesting twists and turns. I was amazed how much those piolets have to go through, hot Jungles, bugs animals terrible conditions..I really enjoyed this story alot.It was an real eye opener well written book. The pilots characters are very interesting people. I really felt like I was right there in the jungle with them and in the air with them. Great book to read.

This book documents the last few chaotic weeks of the US presents in Vietnam. The human story is effectively conveyed by first hand accounts of eyewitnesses from many strata of Vietnam society. The author, an NBC reporter in Saigon, witnessed these events firsthand. His unique perspective and access to the diplomatic corps adds a fascinating credibility to the book. His discussion concerning the actions and statements of Ambassador Graham Martin particularly intrigued me. Did Martin's decisions during that period contribute to the frantic last minute evacuation that left many friendlies stranded? The author makes no judgments. Butler includes transcript of many diplomatic cables to and from Martin and Secretary of State Kissinger and the White House concerning events and plans for evacuation and rescue. Reading these transcripts today still convevs a strong emotional impact for this reader. Interspacing these high level discussions are the stories of a whole society turned upside down while "we" skipped town. The Fall of Saigon is not an easy book to read. We are forced to confront the final conclusion of our failed crusade. Our goal was the minds and the hearts but we ended up fragmented the lives of the people we were suppose to help. When one considers the sacrifices made by both countries in treasure and lives the facts concerning the events of April-May 1975 are hard to digest, even after 30 plus years. No judgments are made here, no accusing fingers are pointed; we must read, and ponder.

Butler was a reporter in Vietnam when the world came crashing down on the South Vietnamese government, the United States that had backed it, and the people who had joined the American cause. This is a searing book, worth any number of lofty Frances FitzGerald tomes. Butler was on the street, in the bars, and driving down the road. What's more important, he loved Vietnam and the Vietnamese. Their tragedy was his tragedy. Go find this book, in a library or a used-book store; it's worth the effort. And if you're a publisher, for God's sake get it reprinted.

This book takes you to the cockpit of a C-130A flying Blind Bat flare missions. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Blind Bat, but this book proved me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. If I had to make any complaint I wish it was much longer.

Our nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when The Paris Peace Accord was signed in 1973. It was supposed to be the end of the Vietnam War. As we would learn 2 years later, it was not. Olivier Todd originally covered the war from 1965-1973. After the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, he decided it was time to summarize the final days of the conflict. His book covers the infamous 4-month period from January to April in 1975 and the total collapse of South Vietnam. In reading this book, it is quite obvious he invested a great deal of time into interviews and research. The book not only reviews the final days but also raises many questions about the events surrounding them. The reader will find himself mixing memories with those questions in every chapter.

French author-journalist Jean Lacouture first met Vietnamese political leader Ho Chi Minh not long after World War Two, when the Frenchman, who would later write a distinguished two volume biography of French president Charles de Gaulle, had an opportunity to visit what was then French Indo-China. His resulting perceptive biography of the man his followers referred to affectionately as "Uncle Ho" provided potential food for thought for American policymakers as we tumbled bit by bit into the same kind of tragedy in Vietnam which had originally occurred with the French. Sadly there is no record of any Americans prominently involved in the decision making regarding our Vietnamese policy ever reading Lacouture's book, which was written after many interviews with the Vietnamese political leader and numerous excursions to the Southeast Asian country.

American presidents and their policymakers regarded Vietnam as an important test of America's world leadership. They believed in the domino theory, the idea that Vietnam would be the first of potentially many Asian dominos to fall unless Communism was repulsed. Ho Chi Minh was an independent-styled Communist with his own agenda, certainly no tool of Moscow or Peking, in some ways reminiscent of Yugoslavian leader Marshall Tito, who was known for his independence from the Soviet Union. Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese nationalist who insisted he had no designs beyond that nation. There is no evidence to refute this claim. We later discovered that there was no domino effect and now we have established diplomatic relations with Communist Vietnam as American business representatives compete for a share of the Vietnamese economic pie. A shrewd and careful reading of Lacouture's biography of Ho Chi Minh could have illuminated America's frustrated policymakers as the nation was led down a tragic slope to war, division, and fruitless conflict against an elusive foe.

William Hare

It's good it's good. Being light weight and small this edition is convenient. Plenty of useful information. The maps are accurate and comprehensive. Consulate information, and arrive/departure info. is good. The central area of Saigon is walkable and you can get some good exercise while seeing local street and shop life while admiring the nice archictecture. Some recent historical notes on what happened where in the city piques the interest. There are many listings in this LP edition for additional reading on Vietnam, and these books can be picked up here in the city, thanks to master copying abilities and black market. Changes are taking place here rapidly, but the communist government remains paranoid

This book is an interesting two-parter. The first is by the Vietnamese patriot Phan Boi Chau, writing from prison in 1914 for his efforts to overturn French rule and return the Vietnamese monarchy to the throne. Next, we read some pretty good poetry that Ho Chi Minh wrote while in jail in the early 40s for his revolutionary activities. This is a good way to become familiar with the history of the struggle for Vietnamese independence.

William Duiker researched extensively thru all available archives to compile all the information into this book about Ho Chi Minh, the myth and the patriot. If the readers enjoyed every little details about the developments of Uncle Ho, parties that he set up, meetings that he attended, negotiations that took place, etc., you would love this book. But for someone like myself who wanted to learn about Uncle Ho and Vietnam along the way, I find the book to be very time consuming to read and heavy handed to remember all those party names, Vietnamese names, small towns names. But the author did provide the readers with a heavy dose of pictures, maps of Vietnams in different periods, close ups of areas such as Dien Bien Phu which was significant for the creation of the modern Vietnam. In this book, we read about Uncle Ho's humble upbringing; his brief & tragic love life; his capture in Hong Kong which would almost cost him his life; his tireless efforts within the jungles trying to gain local support from small villages for his small but growing fast army; his extensive travel abroad; the exploitation of his own image as a simple person leading a simple life but fighting tireless for the betterment of his people; his assistance of the United States during the World War 2 campaign and along the way, he earned respects of many Americans but working relationships couldn't be carried thru due to the changes of Presidents; his pragmatism in clinging to countries that were willing to help him in attaining independence from France; and later on, his shrewdness in playing off a country with the other to obtain assistance to reunite North & South as one Vietnam entity; his last will to be cremated not adhered to but ended up embalmed in a Mausoleum. Many decisions he had made, some rite & some wrong & towards the end, the author analysed if Uncle Ho is in fact a Communist or a patriot. In the book, it said that despite Uncle Ho is not as revered by the younger Vietnamese generations these days, and that his legacy is not remembered in the South as much as in the North, his contribution towards Vietnam and that region is unmistakable, and the greatness of him doing anything for his country is to be admired and revered of. It also said that his replacements such as Le Duan simply lacked the charisma and the actions taken by him was bordering towards extremes rather than moderation, and therefore, further along, the support for his party seemed to wane, and the impacts caused by Le Duan's actions simply devastated Vietnam, and thus, the exodus of boatpeople, seeking a better life elsewhere. In this biography, readers would also understand why United States wouldn't intervene in France's colonialism of Vietnam after the World War 2 as it required its available force there to prevent the spreading of Communist power along the North, both USSR & China. But later, as the red power is gaining in force along the North, only then, the United States intervened in the South to prevent communism to be spread all around the world. But that was a marriage in hell with the Dien brothers as they supported the Catholics and therefore, they had a bad blood with the Buddhists and corruption was rampant, and that the population there was suffering. Moreover, with Khrushev in power in Russia, with his denouncement of Stalin, he wanted to keep the peace around the region & therefore, refused to endorse Vietnam engaging in war with the United States but China, on the other hand, reckoned a war was imminent and all this while, Uncle Ho, wished to keep concile both countries as inner conflict would give the Communism a bad name. Should readers simply want to learn about Vietnam, I do recommend another great book, which certain parts of the book is used as excerpts in Ho CHi Minh biography anyway: The Sacred Willow written by Duong Van Mai Elliott. It told the story of a Vietnamese family spanning 4 generations and by reading the plights of the family members who comprised of both Northerners and Southerners and the situations happening around them, you would get a feel of the developments of Vietnam towards the end. A superb effort.

This is a thoroughly researched biography of one of the most important figures of our time. It is well balanced and provides insight into Ho's political, psychological and personal life. All other English language books on Ho pale in comparison. Here we learn of Ho's days in Moscow, as a Comintern agent, his life in China, his struggle to free Vietnam from colonialism and his leadership in the wars of Vietnam. It explicitly leaves the reader to make her/his own decision on issues regarding Ho. Nationalist? Vietnamese Patriot? Democratic Socialist? Communist Puppet? You decide. But, YOU must read this book!!

695 pages of valuable and well written research on Ho Chi Minh. For westerners this is a much needed book, dispelling many myths and providing great detail on this otherwise secretive leader of Vietnam. Although some publicity indicated it is the only biography on Ho Chi Minh and that isn't true, it far surpasses those of Charles Fenn and Jean lLcouture both written before the war in Vietnam ended in 1975. Of course a lot more information became available over time. It's just amazing how much of it the author found, some coming from France and Russian archives. Having just returned from a trip to Ha Noi where Ho is even more a symbol of the country then Washington is to us, it was good to find this newly published book to put a human face on the man still called Uncle Ho and revered by his people. For those interested in the facts of Ho Chi Minh's life rather then the propaganda put out by those who revere him and those who hate him, this is the book to read. Then draw your own conclusions.

You have to be or have been a dedicated runner, or at least a serious athlete, to appreciate the motivation behind the things that Don Kardong undertakes in this book. It also helps to be or have been a triathlete and/or a multi-sport enthusiast since Kardong frequently finds himself involved in competitions which require skill in something other than running. Fortunately for everyone involved, Kardong has a great sense of humor and is truly in love with his sport. Both dedication and humor are found in abundance here. I especially enjoyed the piece about Steve Prefontaine and Kardong's attendance at a Triathlete workshop where he steadfastly refused to so much as look at the swimming pool. However, I did get a bit tired towards the end of all the over the top races - the grueling 50 miles, the Grand Canyon trek and the seemingingly endless marathons where he inevitably gets nauseated at mile 22. Kardong is a truly talented writer whom I suspect has a bit more to say than he's letting on. Wonder what he'll write next?

If you are a runner who enjoys the unusual (or just dreams of it) this book will bring a smile to your face. Kardong taps into some of the things that make me (and I think other runners too) tick while adding his amusing outlook on many of his experiences.