ALONE IN THE VALLEY tells the story of 19-year-old Daniel Perdue and his year as a grunt, pursuing an elusive enemy through the steamy jungles of the Central Vietnamese Highlands. From the moment the boy solider touches down until he is airborne on his way home again, author Kenneth Waymon Baker makes sure the reader hears every sound, sees every sight, feels every emotion as his young hero faces the rigors of war. Daniel is changed forever, a man who will return with the instincts of a warrior. If you only read one book about Vietnam, make it ALONE IN THE VALLEY. It will leave you touched and changed.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This first novel by a disabled Vietnam veteran compassionately examines a year in the life of a combat infantryman during that conflict. As the protagonist, 19-year-old Daniel Perdue, gains experience in the field, so does the reader, who comes to share Perdue's heightened awareness and sense of paranoia. In his handling of the volatile subjects of serious injury and death, Baker sidesteps the trap of sensationalism--in fact, one important character is killed off-stage as the reader follows Perdue's exploits on R&R. The narrative remains focused on the grunt's life of monotony mixed with fear, so powerfully evoked as to provide a better understanding of why many veterans have never entirely overcome the war's terrors. Undue repetition and diffuse (but authentically profane) dialogue too often disrupt the novel's rhythm, but an absorbing plot unfurled with gripping realism and an evocative sense of time and place will stir memories and convictions.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Most Vietnam War novels recount soldiers' rites of passage in war, death, and, more often than not, sex; most portray the schizophrenic oscillation between boring trivialities and knife-edged fear. This first novel is by contrast a quiet, apolitical account of the overseas tour of one common infantry soldier: thoughtful, compassionate, 18-year-old Daniel Purdue. He leads an ordinary life, and Baker's prose is also ordinary, lacking a sense of urgency and purpose. The initially stilted dialog improves (as the book does) in the second half, when Daniel gains self-confidence as a soldier and leader of his squad. With a few changes in the language, this book might have been suitable for a high school audience, but it will not captivate most adults.
- Pamela J. Peters, SUNY-SICAS Ctr., Oneonta
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Pamela J. Peters, SUNY-SICAS Ctr., Oneonta
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seems a realistic view from the "trenches",
By A Customer
This review is from: Alone in the Valley (Hardcover)
This author knows not only the perils of the battle zone but the interpersonal pressures of enlisted men in situations of conflict - a rare view with a vocabulary that rings true.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insight into the reality of the war in Vietnam,
By A Customer
This review is from: Alone in the Valley (Hardcover)
I've seen 100s of war movies and read several war stories, but for the first time I feel I've gained at least a basic understanding of what it was like for the average "GI" serving in Vietnam and thus have gained a better understanding of the few veterans that I personally know. I have also personally met Mr. Baker (the author) and have had many long conversations with him. Although the book is written as "fiction", 90+% of the story comes from Mr. Baker's experiences in Vietman during his two tours of duty, not as a hero, but as a kid thrown into a frightening situation. I feel the book is valuable reading for anyone who has a friend or relative who has served in the armed forces in a combat situation or anyone who would just like a glimpse into that world which only those who have served can truly understand.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The War,
By David A. Spearman (Harbor Beach, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Alone in the Valley (Hardcover)
being a veteran and a rabid reader of Vietnam I now know I have read the best book ever written on the war. The ways of the men are just as they were and the discriptions of actions and non actions were perfect. It may be fiction but it is fact and any man that has served knows it to be. I certainly hope he can write another book as his abilitys are wonderful.
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