Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

SPARRING WITH CHARLIE [Paperback]

Christopher Hunt (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Paperback --   -- --
Audio, CD CDN $19.40   -- --

Book Description

Release Date: April 1 1996
When Christopher Hunt set off in search of Vietnam's notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail, he hardly expected to end up on a rickety, Russian-made motorcycle navigating 5,000 kilometers of paths rarely traveled by tourists and on roads missing from maps.

Hunt left the United States expecting to explore the 1,700-kilometer highway that was once the supply route for the North Vietnamese Army.  He soon found himself roaming the Vietnamese countryside in need of help and direction. In the process, he found that being an American in Vietnam conjured constant reminders of the past and encountered a country and a people poised precariously between the ancient and the modern.

With adventure, wit, and an eye for the absurd, Christopher Hunt goes beyond the newspaper headlines and myths about Vietnam to capture the color and complexity of Vietnam today.

Product Details

Product Description

From Amazon

With a Russian motorcycle as his means of travel and the Ho Chi Minh Trail his itinerary, Christopher Hunt, whose father, Richard P. Hunt, was a television reporter in Vietnam during the war, traveled through postwar Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. In Sparring with Charlie, he describes a country in which water buffalo cool themselves in bomb craters and he encounters "every permutation of amputee." He was amazed that no one pointed an accusatory finger at him--in fact the younger generation seemed obsessed by all that is American. At a museum in Ho Chi Minh City, with exhibits showing the horrors of war, four schoolgirls asked his name and told him, "Chris, America No. 1."

From Publishers Weekly

Neither a lark nor a pilgrimage, Hunt's Vietnamese travelogue was first conceived as deep background for a novel set in Southeast Asia. The subtitle refers to a web of tracks and paths, known collectively as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, that served as a north-south supply route for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. With an investment of $400, Hunt, a journalist for the Economist, purchased a Russian-made Minsk motorbike and rode it across some 5000 kilometers of Vietnam. At the outset, Hunt is acutely aware that his American passport won't permit him to travel incognito, because his "compatriots had dumped bombs equal to several Hiroshimas and a couple of Nagasakis on North Vietnam." He is all the more astonished that, this fact notwithstanding, a former South Vietnamese admits to him that "Americans sacrificed their lives to protect my freedom." More often than not, Hunt must search for the Ho Chi Minh Trail before he can explore it. While trying to reach Saigon, he encounters obstacles manifest as terrain, history, culture and, not least, an uncooperative automobile. This work captures a sense of sadness fused with a rush of adrenaline as Vietnam is once again reborn.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Product Description

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Educational and useful for planning a trip. July 24 2000
By Bob Smith
Format:Paperback
As both a motorcyclist and a traveller, I found this book both an interesting read and useful for planning a trip to Vietnam.
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent help in planning a visit to Vietnam July 21 2000
By Bob Smith
Format:Paperback
As someone who enjoys motorcycle travel overseas, I found this book invaluable for planning my own motorcycle tour in Vietnam. Some reviews have said the writer is 'shallow' etc, but I think his comments are dead on.
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
4.0 out of 5 stars A Witty, Surprising Ride Through Vietnam Jun 3 2000
By Eric H. Roth
Format:Paperback
While academics might look down on this witty work for merely touching on difficult questions, I found it the most useful preparation for a two week trip to Vietnam. Hunt gives poignant images of young people trying to survive in in a fast-changing country. They fantasize about the fabled suburbs of America - the land of infinite consumer goods, exciting movies, and Bay Watch. Yet the museums provide evidence of the long, brutal war known as "The American War."

Hunt's Vietnam remains an odd, exotic country where anything can happen. How many places are there where police shake you down, negotiate a bribe, and then give you a receipt! I could relate to Hunt's twin desires to push the limits and explore the unknown while riding along the broken Ho Chi Minh trail - and being genuinely afraid. When does riding alone on a dark road become stupid? Can you trust the innkeeper? How can you transcend being the "rich" American in a poor country? What do people expect or want from you? What do you want from them? When are you being set up? Does evil lurk behind that smile? What topics, besides critizing Ho Chi Minh, are taboo? Where are the boundaries of speech in a corrupt police state? Is it fair for an American tourist to even comment on Vietnam's woes If you plan to see Hue, Saigon, Hanoi, or go to Laos, then this book presents awkward situations worth considering before visiting Southeast Asia. It's a travelogue, not an academic history of the area. Hunt critizes many aspects of Vietnam - he's judgemental. That also makes the book more real because I can't avoid, no matter how hard I might try, making judgements. You have to make choices, and Hunt shares his decision making process with us. I appreciated that! I looked at many, many books before my trip. I took Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide. This was the only book on Vietnam that I read cover to cover with delight.

Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Want to see more reviews on this item?

    Your Shopping Cart is empty.

    Give it purpose—fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics, and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    View Cart (0 items)

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback

      Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?