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A Slow Walk Through the Gardens of Hell, a CIA Man in the War in Vietnam and Laos
vBulletin Book Store > vBulletin books beginning with S
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A Slow Walk Through the Gardens of Hell, a CIA Man in the War in Vietnam and Laos |
Author: James Louis Gardner
Published: 2006-05 |
List price: $18.95
Our price: $15.35
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Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: December 01st, 2008 07:55:48 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Ridiculous
There are a few characterizations in this fantasy piece that ring true, but those few that do exist are smothered by the absurdity of the rest of this novel. It might have helped if the author had taken 10 or 15 minutes to do a little research geography alone. Yes, there were covert missions aplenty into Laos and even southern China. Yes, many were FUBAR at the moment of conception. But the portrayals in "Slow Walk through the Gardens..." don't even reach the level of comic book. Prospective readers are encouraged to save their money. There are plenty of accounts, and even some fiction, available on Amazon regarding US intervention in Laos...all far better than this mess. Without a doubt, "Slow Walk...Gardens of Hell" one of the worst books written to date on the war in Southeast Asia. Too bad "zero" stars was not a rating option.
 Not sure if this non-fiction book is really fictional
I have read dozens (hundred, plus??) of first person accounts of their action in SE asia. SOme of this story is so radically different I am having a hard time believing it. THe basis is that he was a graduate student in guerilla warfare hired by the CIA to help them in Laos and Thailand. The guy that hires him gets fired so the author is shipped off to do combat patrols.
br /He appears to be a CIA contractor, but not a CIA actual employee. His willingness and ease with which he supposedly kills superior officers and other members of the US Army either makes him the most honest author of the war to date or not completely honest about his history. As a civilian contractor I don't understand if he was under any contract, and if not why not just leave if it was so bad for him. Also, as a civilian, why the hell was he taking ANY orders from Army personel. As a discharged veteran, any military person who tried to give me orders I would tell to get bent as I am a civilian now. I don't understand why he allowed himself to be ordered into situations when he was not official CIA and his directions weren't coming from the CIA.
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br /That being said I am not a combat veteran so I will leave others to decide if it is true or not.
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br /Other than that it is an interesting read if nothing else. If you can keep a skeptical outlook it is a quick read.
 A graphic look at the Vietnam War
This novel is an intense look at the realities of war from the perspective of a soldier who was just trying to make it out alive. The main character is an American intellectual who was hired by the CIA to conduct intelligence in Laos and vietnam. Unfortunately for him, the CIA dropped the program and didn't know what to do with him. He was sent to command a small patrol in Laos as an "equivalent" officer, which meant that he was never officially part of the military, but was treated like one. Through a combination of resourcefulness, craziness, booze, drugs, and just plain luck he survived in the enemy-infested jungles of Laos against remarkable odds only to have to fight for his own survival against the local military brass who wished he would just disappear. He made a few friends but even more enemies as he did everything in his power to come through it all alive.
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