Published by Harper Collins Publishers Australia
ABN 36 009 913 517
ISBN 0 7322 8196 2
ABN 36 009 913 517
ISBN 0 7322 8196 2
Any book that can shed some light on how we ended up there , would be of great interest to any Veteran, especially a book so well written. It is a book that contains a lot of information about the early days of Vietnam, arranged in such a way that you don't realize that you are reading history.
It is Michel's story. A story of a young mans journey into manhood. Michel came to Hanoi as a young boy with his Mother and Father. He grew up there and grew to love the place as much as the Viets themselves.
Learn of how Michel"s friends, loves, fears and opium addiction, all at a comparatively young age, came together to mould Michel into a man. A man who watched as Vietnam became Vietnam. It tells how a little country became a pawn in world affairs. The world affairs players being, WW11, Viet Minh, France, China, Japan, England and of course finally the USA...... Eventually Australia
Michel had to watch as the world he loved was slowly and terribly torn apart in front of his eyes
In many ways a dark book, but having said that, it shows strengths of those caught up in the turmoil that was Indochina in the 1940's.
With a portrait of words Mandaley has captured the time, the beauty, the tragedy and the essence of Vietnam of the period.
A factual account told in the form of a memoir, makes very easy reading and I came away with greater understanding of the forces that made Vietnam and a quiet admiration for Michel
Highly recommended