- Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
- Publisher: Dell; Reprint edition (Aug 27 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0440240913
- ISBN-13: 978-0440240914
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 3.1 x 17.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #552,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Webb's cultural and political portrayal of Vietnam 25 years after the war's end is delivered with such bold strokes and magical detail that it really doesn't matter that the plot itself is relegated to the backseat. This is a highly personal and empathetic look at today's Vietnam, a land of misery and inequity, yet one still vibrantly alive. The story follows the experiences of Brandon Condley, an ex-Marine whose job it is to find missing American soldiers, dead or alive. Condley is trying to track down Theodore Deville, an army grunt who not only deserted his unit in 1969 and killed a fellow serviceman, but then joined the ranks of the enemy. Condley is convinced Deville is still alive, operating somewhere in southeast Asia's underground economy. Webb introduces a rich cast of supporting characters as Condley pursues his quarry across Vietnam, Australia, the former Soviet Union and Thailand. Among the most delicately etched is Dzung, a former South Vietnamese officer now relegated, like thousands of others on the losing side, to a menial station in life, one that he and his family have no hope of escaping. Such characters, as well as the highly textured mood and atmosphere that Webb creates, tend to further eclipse the main narrative and shift the focus to the moral consequences and social fallout of the war. 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. Major print and radio advertising. (Sept. 4)Forecast: Webb (Fields of Fire) is no stranger to the bestseller lists; endorsements from heavy hitters like Sen. John McCain will help put him there once again.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From Library Journal
Some of the memories were horrible. A few of them were good. But all of them had meaning. Thus begins a gripping tale of mystery and intrigue set in present-day Vietnam. The center of this fine novel is the search for two army deserters who led U.S. troops into ambush and then hid in North Vietnam after the hostilities ceased. Like the best of such tales, however, the novel offers more than the resolution of a mystery: it also tells a poignant story of a love that might have been and of friendship across partisan lines and is rich with the sounds and smells of its foreign setting. Former Secretary of the Navy and Assistant Secretary of Defense Webb (also the author of the best-selling Fields of Fire and other novels) has used his familiarity with the Far East to evoke the tangled net of loyalties and enmities bequeathed to a troubled country by a savage history of conflict. This exceptionally well-written book tells a gripping tale; enthusiastically recommended.
-David Keymer, Zayed Univ., Dubai
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
-David Keymer, Zayed Univ., Dubai
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
"Typhoon," said Brandon Condley, his hard gray eyes expertly searching the bruised horizon. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
"Typhoon," said Brandon Condley, his hard gray eyes expertly searching the bruised horizon. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Mystery that is Vietnam,
By
This review is from: Lost Soldiers (Mass Market Paperback)
"He loves Vietnam," says one of James Webb's Vietnamese characters, "He is like us, I think. He knows that to love our country is to experience tragedy." And Webb would know given his C.V.. He is a Senator from Virginia, author and a former Secretary of the Navy. A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Webb served as a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran (Navy Cross, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts).During Webb's four years with the Reagan administration, he served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy. So presumably he knows of what he writes. Webb is an interesting fellow - he also had a very tense exchange with President George W. Bush regarding Iraq. Lost Soldier could have been a "simple" thriller involving murder, treachery, and retribution (and a good one at that) but the book is much richer based the enigma that is Vietnam during the war and twenty-five years following when the book's action takes place. Webb's life has either been defined or greatly influenced by his experiences in-country. His avatar in the novel is the main character Condley, a marine veteran, who cannot detach himself from the country even years after the war. He is a philosophical, somewhat jaded, adrift warrior who is "always looking for answers". This drives him to investigate a murder mystery - one that results when a U.S. serviceman is discovered in a Vietnamese village cemetery. From there we are treated to a decent mystery but a more engaging cultural and political look at Vietnam. The Vietnam War has always fascinated me (I grew up in Canada listening to radio reports on the conflict) and wonder if James Webb's son who has served in Iraq will pick up a pen one day to illuminate aspects of that conflict.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascintaing look at Vietnam,
By Frank (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lost Soldiers (Mass Market Paperback)
This book was obviously written by someone with a keen knowledge and love of Vietnam. The characters are well described and seem real people.The plot is somewhat unimportant and there are probably holes in the story, but it is well worth your time
2.0 out of 5 stars
Totally Disappointing,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lost Soldiers (Hardcover)
As a fan of James Webb, I was surely surprised at this slow reading novel. Lost Soldiers is only a history/geography lesson of Viet Nam, Thailand, Hawaii, Russia and Australia that concludes with a predictable and disappointing climax. Let's hope that his fuure work is better than this one.
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