Lax has recreated the time and place (1970, Ohio) so well I lost myself there for a while. Want to know how it felt to be "that age" in 1970? to think you MAY be drafted? you or your friends MAY be sent to Viet Nam? and MAY not return? what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under you? Where does reality go when war intervenes? Who's right in a wrong war? What do you do when your choice becomes a mistake? THE YEAR THAT TREMBLED is a lovely book, with some beautiful use of language. There's a little awkwardness, but the elegant portions really overcame the other. It will make you think.

I have just finished reading The Year That Trembled for the second time and have to say it is one of the few books I have read in recent years by a contemporary author that is written with heart as well as humor. Both times I came away thinking about the characters for days afterward. That rarely happens to me. Mr. Lax writes with sympathy and humor and he recreates a painful and anxious time in our history like someone who was truly there. I highly recommend The Year That Trembled for anyone who wishes to know what it was like to live through the Vietnam War days in this country as a young, draft-aged man. I also recommend it for anyone looking to connect with good writing and well-drawn characters. An excellent book.