Customer Reviews

365 days

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read scores of books about the Vietnam war and witnessed countless movies. I have found no one who can capture, with such poignant clarity, the horror of the war and the nobility of those who fought it quite like Dr. Ronald Glasser. Through a series of deeply affecting vignettes, Dr. Glasser reveals the experiences of men who struggle with the personal and private moral conflict that only those who have taken a life can understand. These men did not, as later accused, lose a war; rather, their loss was their own youth and innocence.

The book is a haunting tribute that evokes images that are raw and bleeding...and yet bestows a sense of peace and understanding. I reread this book every year. It is a book about courage...the courage of the warriors who populate its pages...and the courage of the man who wrote their stories at a time when a Nation was not prepared to know a truth their sons could not convey. Thank you, Dr. Glasser, wherever you are....

As a student of SE Asia history I have over 300 books on the subject and 365 Days ranks in the top 5%. (Also a veteran of three tours in Vietnam & Cambodia). I first read Dr. Glassner's book over two decades ago and yet remember it as if it was yesterday.

For those who want to know what it was like to be in Vietnam, this is a must read book. The writing is very graphic and it is a book you will not soon forget.

My deepest gratitude to Dr. Glassner for his fine work. Not only for writing it but especially for publishing it at a time when it was not fashionable to be writing about Vietnam or Vietnam veterans. My sincerest thanks to Dr. Glassner.

I first read this book when I was in junior high school in the early 70s...if you read the publishing dates, it actually came out as that hell hole conflict was winding down...I still read it to reinforce lessons...I learned of sacrifice and of dedication, not to the country, but between comrades...At the same time I was reading this, the protests were still going on...and service people coming back to the "World" were being horribly treated by those that they had gone off to theoretically protect...it bothered me greatly that no one gave homage to those coming home...in my mind, a debt to those involved in a human tragedy was left unpaid...the war ended, I finished college and went to med school...when time for residency came, I chose the VA...and when I finished, I decided that I wanted to stay...Why? because I wanted to give back to all that served in the uniformed services, but especially those who went to 'Nam and never got a thank you...and importantly, I wanted to work to make the "system" better for those that served...the book really had an impact...read it for what it tells you about the human spirit and the inhumanity of governments...when I run into a vet from 'Nam that I don't know, I always try to remember to say "thank you for going and coming home" because I can't be sure that anyone else has told them that...we all should...will you?

During two combat tours in Vietnam, I was wounded a total of six times. Fortunately, none of those wounds was life threatening. Getting over the initial fear and shock in the aftermath of a wound, I was always somewhat relieved that I would be able to "relax" in an air-conditioned hospital, with hot food and American nurses. Since my return from the war and the commencement of my work in Vietnam veterans advocacy, I have had occasion to bring several nurses to my city to speak at my annual luncheon, most notably Lynda Van Devanter, Rose Sandecki, Mary Stout, and Diane Carlson Evans. Listening to those women, who fought a war without glory and rendered service beyond reward, it finally occurred to me the incredible weight placed on doctors and nurses in Vietnam. When I was "healed" and sent back to the boonies, someone was always there to take my place, to continue the "war" of the medical corps. They fought relentlessly to save lives only to send them back to the fight. What kind of pressure and strain must that have created for "healers?" Glasser's important book, 365 Days, tries to answer that question. Merely by posing it, he does all who served a great favor. By addressing the dichotomy of healing in a war, he creates an immenently readable book.

It's the old men who make wars happen, and cause us younger ones to go to far-off shores to give our lives in the name of ....whatever buzzword they've dreamed up to get the American Public beating the war drums. It wouldn't do the politicos any good to read it,....but, BY GOD, the American Public should...especially those interested in raising a right hand and enlisting. During the war in VietNam, I was a medical service specialist attached to a CONUS 350-bed medical center's Intensive Care Unit and Neuro/Neuro-Surgical Unit taking care of the soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who'd fallen. From that perspective, Doc Glassen tells it like it is. All that's missing are the smells and sounds...Maybe someday technology will be able to put THAT into a book form. Until then...an intense read. It gives a good perspective on why YOU DON'T want to go to war... Charley Mike

Dr. Glassner provides a unique perspective on the American experience in Vietnam -- that of a medical officer responsible for treating the shattered, burned, and exhausted men caught up in that conflict. There is plenty of heroism in his short tales, but usually it is the heroism of brute survival, of adapting to impossible conditions, of enduring the unendurable.

I have heard this book referred to as an "anti-war" work, and one that derides America's involvement in Southeast Asia. I disagree. Glassner simply tells it like it was -- he pulls no punches, so oftentimes reading this book is very unpleasant: how many "John Wayne shoot 'em up" memoirs of Vietnam recount the suffering endured on a burn ward?

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam War, the continued psychological and physical suffering of combat vets from all eras, or to anyone concerned with the consequences for our sons and daughters when politicans send our troops to war. Should be required reading for college students,...

This book is a series of short stories detailing personal accounts of US infantry combat operations during the Vietnam War. Fast-paced, vivid and well-written. Stories cover the individual spectrum from the most gung-ho Airborne-Ranger to the most reluctant drugged-out draftee. Helicopter, river, armored, long range recon and regular infantry operations are all part of 365 Days. The book shows clearly the human tragedy of war at a personal level. Recommended reading for the hawk and the pacifist.

Several years ago, when the movie SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was released to the movie theaters, I watched what I thought was one of the most painful and senseless battles in the history of the USA. However, after reading Ronald J. Glasser's book of "365 DAYS", I realized that thru his words -without the assistance of Surround Sound, Big Screen, or graphic video effects; the author had created a classic insight into our Country's History that I shall never forget. I never had to serve in Viet Nam since I was in Medical School at the time; but after entering my medical residency training in the early 1970's, I began seeing Viet Nam War Vets being transported to their home Veteran's Hospital for eventual medical dishcarge. The damage was so much more complex than their physical wounds. At that time in our history, the concept of PTSD was being trivialized by the VA Central Office and perhaps many American Citizens, as well. Now- 30 years later - many of our Viet Nam Vets are permanently disabled due to the psychological trauma they had to endure. "365 DAYS" comes as close as I have ever encountered to depicting the senselessness of the War and the trauma to to the soldiers, the Medics, and the Doctors who were expected to salvage as many wounded as possible and send them back into the Jungles, or Highlands, or Saigon....knowing there was no safe haven for the soldiers and no glory for serving their country. I strongly recommend the book to anyone now working with Viet Nam Vets or those who never understood "what the big fuss was all about" For Mental Health Professionals such as myself, it should be required reading in Graduate School or in all Psychiatric Residency Training Programs. I strongly rate Dr Glasser's book 5 stars. David Bransford MD

Dr. Glasser has written a great story on the Vietnam War and the Hospital and personnel envolved. Having read it almost right through it brought back lots of memories stored in the deep of my mind. I had lived a time in a Naval Hospital and was put back together in a wonderful way by many good Doctors and Nurses in the Boston area. I will always remember them and hope that many that have never associated the hospitals with the war will now understand how many men went through those portals in those years. Many to never be the same, God bless them all, and God bless our wonderful country.

This is a quick and easy read about the Vietnam War. Focus is on stories related to the the soldier's care in Vietnam and the
critical cases sent to Japan. For those interested in the glamour of war, read this book for the cost of such glamour, crippled men. Since this book was written in 1971, it does not
contain much of the later aspects of the war. Generally it is unsypathetic to the American pursuit of the war.