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Timothy N. Castle. One Day Too Long: Top Secret Site 85 and the Bombing of North Vietnam. Columbia University Press, 1999. Quite impressive research detailing a disturbing subject, namely, our government's attempts to cover-up covert operations in Laos, and specifically, the use of military personnel in a country declared off-limits by the Geneva Accords of 1962. Excellent research, well-written, and poignant. Families of American servicemen missing in action will find this book, verging on conspiracy theory, enlightening as Castle makes a strong case against our government's dishonest dealings with its citizens.
Tim O'Brien. If I Die In A Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Laurel Books, 1973. Another O'Brien classic on the order of The Things They Carried. This book will take you back to the Chu Lai war zone, treating you to all the sweat, fear, and remarkable fortitude shown by America's fighting soldiers. This is the same area, known to grunts as Pinkville, that contained enough hostility and land mines to emphatically send the message of "we don't want you Americans here." The public knows it as My Lai, site of Lt. Calley's downfall.
Frank Waters. The Man Who Killed the Deer. Pocket Books, 1971. Classic treatment of the Pueblo people. Originally written in 1942, it offers historians a look at the past and provides a place for a comparative analysis with today's Pueblo. In fact, the Blue Lake has been returned to them. It is the "chic" outsider's look at a people who loved their land and never let the sacredness escape them even through the government's best efforts to assimilate them.
Alfred W. Crosby, Jr. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Greenwood Press, 1973. An excellent overview of the flora and fauna exchange between the new and old world. Within the covers is unraveled the mystery of how and why the native peoples could be militarily reduced into bondage, yet it emphasizes the good things that the new world (to Europeans) shared with the old.
Erich Von Daniken. Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past. Bantom Book, 1973. A book much reviled by many. However, if scholars and layman can advance hypotheses to explain the past, Von Daniken's offers another angle to explain the inexplicable.
J. M. Moriarty. Ground Attack Vietnam: The Marines Who Controlled the Skies. Ivy Books, 1993. An excellent overview of the sky war in Vietnam by a skipper who kept his feet firmly on the "ground" (no pun intended) while providing assistance to the men on the ground. Here is found the pathos and vitality shared by men in combat situations.
John J. Culbertson. Operation Tuscaloosa: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, at An Hoa, 1967. Ivy Books, 1997. Primarily one man's experiences leading Marines. Not much context for the serious reader.
Stephen King. Tommyknocokers. Some more of King's thrillers. This one might be too wordy, but who am I to criticize America's premier horror writer.
Stephen King. Pet Sematary. Another one. This one is actually quite spooky to me. King does include an Indian legend in this narrative and I haven't figured out of that is good.
Miguel Leon-Portilla, ed., with a Foreword by J. Jorge Klor de Alva. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Beacon Press, 1992, paper, Expanded and Updated Edition. A classic account of the Tenochtitlan reduction written by Mexica in their native Nahua. Readers are introduced to cultural, political, and military aspects of native peoples prior to and after the Spanish invasion. A must read.
James Canan. War in Space. Berkley Books, New York, 1984, paper. An insider's view of Washington DC's various manipulations of "defense" strategy and weapons. Includes interviews with all top brass, civilian and military on exactly what the US's response should be to the USSR's threat to our security. Some interesting theories and downright ugly reasons why decisions were made in deciding "defense" policy.
Winston Groom. Better Times Than These. Berkley Book, New York, 1979, paper. Fiction centered on four principle characters outlining their lives prior to and the ramifications of as they begin their tour of duty in-country (RVN). An excellent look at a Company Commander's tasks, how he and his men cope with operations and the sometimes Catch-22 nature of the military. Readers will have to cope with many misspelled words, but still an excellent book. Set in the 1966 and early 1967 era, United States Army operations in and near the Ia Drang.
Mari Sandoz. These Were the Sioux. Hastings House Publishers, New York, 1961. For those who are interested in childcare and childraising among the Ocheti Sakowin, Seven Council Fires, or in the vernacular, the Sioux, this is an outstanding manuscript. From teaching respect to instilling values, Ms. Sandoz captured the essence of Sioux childrearing practices. This book is still timely not only for its historical sense but it provides an excellent reference for modern childcare.
Burk Davis. Marine!: The Life of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller, USMC (Ret.). Bantom Books, New York, 1988. This is an outstanding look at the United States Marine Corp's MAIN MAN, bar none. Not only is his genius unveiled, his devotion to God, Country, and Family show him not as a warmonger but a peaceful man who put all his energies into fighting those wars, within his generation, so that his children would be able to enjoy the fruits of peace. The stories are here, the Chosin Reservoir: "We've been looking for the enemy for several days now. We've finally found them. We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them" (p. 280-281). That same week to his wife Virginia: "The only thing I want for Christmas is your continued love, Virginia, and that for ever and ever" (p. 281). A must read.
Elaine Brown. A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story. Anchor Books, New York, 1994. For those who have never understood the philosophical base and social activism of the Black Panther Party, this is a must read. Ms. Brown's story is of and in itself a chronicle of a woman making her way into a man's world, power chambers inhabited by strong, decidedly militant revolutionaries. What distinguishes her story however is her growth as an intellectual, leader, and finally that most human of all dimensions, a mother. Here we find the long-term visions that drove a deprived segment of citizens to demand, at gunpoint, the basic liberties guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution. This was not a spontaneous uprising, it was another in a long line of revolutions instigated by black people in America. Ms. Brown finally escaped the imprisonment of isms, racism and sexism, to influence her peers and take her place in our pantheon of American Revolutionaries.
Pete Catches Sr. (Petaga Yuha Mani), and Peter Catches (Zintkala Oyate). Ocheti Wakan: Sacred Fireplace. Pine Ridge, SD, Ocheti Wakan, 1997. Oral histories about the Spotted Eagle's way passed on by Ikche Wicasa Pete Catches to his son Zintkala Oyate. In this narrative the reader is given lessons on the way of the pipe, purification ceremonies, sundance, and how life was lived in the past that gives guidelines for the future. An excellent account of the Lakota Oyate way of life, still vibrant and fulfilling. Excellent reading.
Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. New York, Vintage Books, 1978, paper. I've read and reread this book and still have difficulty fully understanding the thesis presented by this erudite man. On page 25 of the paperback edition is found two sentences that offer a cogent background that describes Berkhofer's argument: "The definition and characterization of Indian as a general term constitutes the subject proper of this book as opposed to the history of the evolution of images and conceptions of specific tribes. The basic question to be asked of such overall White Indian imagery and conception is not, therefore, why its invention in the first place but why its continuance, or perpetuation, for so many succeeding centures?" The next line illuminates the question he seeks to answer: "To what extent do these old approaches to the Indian still constitute the chief White views of Native Americans even today?" Dr. Berkhofer takes the reader into many different areas of White experiences with Native Americans that should affect their perceptions, however, any effect emanating from these observations appear to have no significant change in the emergent ideology. This is an exciting and intellectually stimulating exploration of north American perceptions of aboriginal peoples.
Tom Holm. Strong Hearts, Wounded Souls: Native American Veterans of the Vietnam War. Austin, University of Texas Press, 1996. At last a book that begins to tell the story of America's least understood people whose history of serving their country for over two hundred years resembles a narrow and winding stream, hardly understood and filled with stereotypes and misinformation. Therein lies a paradox that Dr. Holm very carefully explains. Indians historically have fought against this country and for it but the Vietnam War seems to have created more problems for tribal members who served in-country. By this I mean not only combat related stresses, but to have served in a war that led from patriotism to revulsion in the American psyche. One must not paint Indians with a broad stroke from this reading, its core is based on a small sample of respondents to a federally funded survey. To his credit Holm has expanded his research to others, especially Vietnam Veterans, but with over 46,000 identifiable Indians from over 200 tribes with service in Vietnam, each will have a different approach to the problems, and triumphs, found in their war experience. An excellent scouting report, we can only hope for and encourage more research and writing on this subject.
Preston Holder. The Hoe and the Horse on the Plains: A Study of Cultural Development Among North American Indians. Bison Books, 1974. A very readable book that concentrates on the Indians living near the Missouri River. Holder compares the riverine or agricultural people's lifestyles with the emerging horse Indians and how they developed once the horse and attendant European intrusive lifestyles penetrated the interior. A broad overview with examples strewn liberally to explain his narrative. Excellent reading for those who desire northern plains Indian enlightenment.
Otto J. Lehrack. No Shining Armor: The Marines at War in Vietnam: An Oral History. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS, 1992, paper. Captain Lehrack was a Company Commander of a line company, "grunts," and it shows through in the compilation of this oral history book. Over 68 interviews interspersed with editorial comments take the reader on the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division's over four year tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam. 3/3 started at Chu Lai in 1965 and in 1969, when they were withdrawn from the combat zone, they were engaged in halting the North Vietnamese invasion through the Demilitarized Zone. Lehrack skillfully weaves together oral snapshots of his beloved battalion's many personnel as they fought from the sands of Chu Lai to the war torn DMZ. There are many unforgettable warriors in this book sharing their candid thoughts on a variety of issues and experiences, from pathos to exultation. I'd enjoy meeting Lance Corporal Frank Isbell and Lieutenant Dan Ryan; they have stories to tell! While many thoughts are shared, two stand out as I write this, both famous and oft quoted. Found at Khe Sanh combat base: "For those who fight for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know;" and "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Semper Fi and thanks Captain Lehrack for giving us this memorable book, may we never forget our Marine sacrifices in the service of our beloved Corps and country.
Eric Hammel. Ambush Valley: I Corps, Vietnam, 1967--the Story of a Marine Infantry Battalion's Battle for Survival. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1990. "For the Marines and Corpsmen of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, Class of September 1967, for Those Who Helped Them, and, Especially, for the Fallen." So reads the dedication of this oral history outlining 3/26's battles with mainline North Vietnamese troops in and around the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Con Thien, The Rockpile, Gio Linh, Dong Ha, Cam Lo, C-2, Khe Sanh, Camp Carroll, Ca Lu, the Churchyard, and Hill 48 are familiar terms defining the area of operations for this battalion's bloodied introduction in-country. Two great battles are intimately related, the September 7th battle at the Churchyard, and the September 10th battle on Hill 48. Arrayed against them were regiments of General Vo Nguyen Giap's famed 324B division. The Marine's who shared their memories offer acute, sometimes pungent, but lasting testimony to the bravery displayed in individual, company, and battalion warfare waged in the DMZ's no-man's land. Keep your head below the skyline. Semper Fi!
Maurice J. Jacques and Bruce H. Norton. Sergeant Major U. S. Marines: The Biography of Sergeant Major Maurice J. Jacques, USMC. New York, Ivy Books, 1995. An excellent first-hand (in many cases hands-on), account of a man's rise from Private to the highest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps. Starting and ending his career as a rifleman, or "grunt" (though being assgined to work with Recon does change his attitude at bit), SgtMaj Jacques gives a straight forward interpretation of his two wars and the between time of getting and staying ready. Also an excellent introduction into the work of this terminal rank, something I never fathomed in my brief tour with the Corps; they were always too high on the pedestal! Sergeant Major Jacques retained a strong physical and mental presence throughout his career and it shows on his record, he carried a rifle, grenades, and radio just like everybody else in his Reconnaissance Company unit while serving in the Republic of Vietnam. This assignment meant he also stayed "jump" qualified, a demanding exercise even for the youngest Marines. This book is a great introduction to the United States Marine Corps for "boots;" rollicking good reading for "salts."
William Prochnau. Once Upon a Distant War: David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, Peter Arnett--Young War Correspondents and Their Early Vietnam Battles. New York: Vintage Books, 1996. A colorful account of the early stages of the Vietnam War as viewed through the eyes of a covey of young war correspondents out to make a name for themselves. Of course the military establishment practically gave them the story because of its own need to cover up the shocking mishaps occuring within the South Vietnamese government and its misadventures in combating the growing North Vietnamese pressures of reunification of the country. Halberstam, Sheehan, and Arnett became the most vocal and vociferous critics of United State's policy in the formative years of our commitment. An excellent but long read.
Farley Mowat. Never Cry Wolf. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1963. An excellent and funny account of a Canadian government biologist's adventures while assigned to collect data on wolves. Not only does the account dismiss the common misconceptions attributed to wolves, it gives reader's a breathtaking glimpse of the lifeways of the wolf and its environment. Far from being the ruthless killer as despicted by many, the wolf family takes its place in the natural cycles of plants, animals, birds, and yes, humans on our earth. So take a swig of "wolf-juice," curl up on the couch, and enjoy your adventure with "Varley Monfat."
Wallace Terry. Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans. New York: Ballantine Books, 1985. A poignant look at how Black men viewed their experiences in the Vietnam War. A collection of twenty interviews, readers are exposed to the veteran's dual war, the combat aspect, and the human side. The 1960s cultural revolution in the United States had a profound effect on the military and these brave souls share their accumulated angst. Some heroes, some less than, but all in all their dialogues contain an even interpretation that fits into mainline cultural histories. An excellent read.
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11 December 1999, lrb